The Take-Up Podcast returns with a spiffy new coat of colors in Todd Haynes' 2002 Douglas Sirk homage Far From Heaven. It's Joshua's pick for building a Take-Up permanent cinema of what made them film-lovers. He and Andrew discuss the Haynes canon, the Sirk canon, and coming out of the "Criterion Closet" in 2002. Alert to fans of stars Julianne Moore, Dennis Haysbert, Dennis Quaid (you exist?), and Viola Davis: your people are praised. Finally, the duo bring up One More Thing with returning favorite show Slow Horses and newcomer Netflix series Long Story Short.

Next week Andrew's gone country... or No Country For Old Men, that is, with his 2007 Coen Bros. cinephilic awakening.

Read on at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTake-Up.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us @thetakeupstl on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to Social Media Manager Kayla McCulloch and Contributor Ethan Tarantella. Theme music by AMP.

On the eve of Academy Awards weekend (which is how we celebrate in this house) The Take-Up pod has its final say on the best films of 2024. Andrew and Joshua countdown(-ish) their favs with an epic two-hour episode (supplementing their website's annual written celebration).

They talk some Oscar hopefuls (The Brutalist, Nickel Boys, and, if I'm reading this correctly... The Substance?), festival and critical darlings (Hard Truths, I Saw the TV Glow), and personal hobbyhorses (Luca Guadagnino for Joshua, Robert Eggers for Andrew). Of course, everyone agrees on everything and no feelings are hurt at all. Read on at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTake-Up.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us @thetakeupstl on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to Social Media Manager Kayla McCulloch. Theme music by AMP.

Katherine takes Contemporary Costumes to the high seas with musical classic Follow the Fleet, starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. But before she, Joshua, and Andrew can let themselves go into the costumes and chemistry, the Take-Up brings out spooky season with what’s Now Showing: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Front Room, Red Rooms, and acclaimed documentary The Mother of All Lies. Finally the trio have just One More Thing to say about The Last of Sheila, Gojira, Blake Eckard, and more! 

After a summer break, the Take-Up falls back into Contemporary Costumes with Andrew's pick, Sion Sono's Why Don't You Play in Hell?

Before trying to keep up with with the manic meta-movie, they'll catch up with some recent releases Now Showing: Alien: Romulus, Starve Acre, The Crow, Blink Twice, and Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person.

Finally, they've all got One More Thing with Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, The Avian Hourglass, and Wim Wenders.

Critic and culture writer Brandon Streussnig glams up the pod with his pick Du Jour for the Contemporary Costumes program, 2001's "teen comedy" cult classic Josie and the Pussycats. Before he, Joshua, and Katharine break down all the fashions, all the pr🎯duct pl🎯cement, and all the Parker Posey, Andrew stops by with Now Showing reviews of Cuckoo and Handling the Undead. Finally, there's just One More Thing with Female Prisoner Scorpion, Peter Greenaway, and the Olympics for cinephiles!

Joshua is dressed to kill with Ken Russell's 1984 Psycho-sexual thriller/satire/melodrama Crimes of Passion, his pick for the new Contemporary Costumes program. Before digging into the Big Performances of Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins in full drag(s), he, Katharine, and Andrew are Now Showing yet another crime of passion with Catherine Breillat's latest, Last Summer. Finally, they've all got One More Thing: a new Elaine May biography, an old No Man's Sky, and the old/new of Les Vampires.

Next up is a special guest, critic Brandon Streussnig, and his pick of Josie and the Pussycats! Until then, please share, subscribe, and review! Read on at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTake-Up.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us @thetakeupstl on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to editor Jessica Pierce and Social Media Manager Kayla McCulloch. Theme music by AMP.

For the final episode in the Queer Classics program, Katharine picks the 1959 queer killers story Compulsion, based upon the real-life Leopold and Loeb case. Of course she, Joshua, and Andrew couldn't help but go into the other Leopold and Loeb-inspired films, Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and Tom Kalin's Swoon, also covered here.

First up is a killer of a different kind in Osgood Perkins' Longlegs. For this Now Showing segment, the Take-Uppers go long (spoilers from 11:45-28:20) on Mr. Downstairs. Finally, they've got One More Thing with Paula Prentiss, Riddance, and Alt Shift X explainers for you House of the Dragon fans.

Queer Classic Summer is over and next up is the Contemporary Costumes program. Fear not, however, since Joshua's pick of Crimes of Passion keeps things boiling hot!

Mother of Mercy, Katie Carter is back guns a-blazin' with her pick for the Queer Classics program, Little Caesar (1931), the landmark gangster picture featuring Edward G. Robinson's breakout performance.

Before she schools Katharine and Joshua on queer depictions in the Pre-Code Hollywood era, Andrew appears to review MaXXXine, America, and A Quiet Place: Day One with everyone. Finally, they'll have One More Thing with Burt Reynolds, Siskel & Ebert, and The Projection Booth.

Up next is a Leopold & Loeb-palooza with Katharine's pick, Compulsion (1959) (and a little Rope [1948], for good measure). Until then, please share, subscribe, and review! Read on at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTake-Up.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us @thetakeupstl on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to editor Jessica Pierce and Social Media Manager Kayla McCulloch. Theme music by AMP.

It's a matter of life and death when Andrew picks famed French Renaissance Man Jean Cocteau's Orpheus for his pick in the Queer Classics program. Joshua and Katharine roll on their rubber gloves, paint eyeballs on their eyelids, and join Andrew to jump backwards into the 1950 Orpheus redux.

First, they go Inside Out (2) with Disney/Pixar's latest and Kill Your Lover, both of which are Now Showing. All three hosts take the Known 4/IMDb Game challenge with some classic gays before stumping for Agatha Christie, Ohuhu markers, and a forgotten film by Mike Nichols during One More Thing.

Up next, Katie Carter returns with her pick, 1931's Little Caesar.

Bang, bang! Joan Crawford shoots a whole town down in Nicholas Ray's 1954 cult/camp/queer/western/melodrama classic Johnny Guitar. It's Joshua's choice for the first episode in the Queer Classics program, celebrating our favorite queer-leaning films made before 1960.

Before they figure out if its Cahiers du Cinéma stamp-of-approval is appropriate or not, he, Andrew, and new co-host Katharine Coldiron discuss Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Bikeriders: A Midwest Accent Saga, I Saw the TV Glow: A Take-Up Brawl Saga, In Our Day: A Hong Sang-soo Saga. Lastly, it's all creamy keyboards and new and old Star Wars for One More Thing.

Up next, Andrew picks Jean Cocteau's classic waking dream Orpheus. Until then, please share, subscribe, and review! Read on at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TheTake-Up.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and follow us @thetakeupstl on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Twitter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Special thanks to editor Jessica Pierce and Social Media Manager Kayla McCulloch. Theme music by AMP.