Guillermo del Toro has waited his whole life to adapt Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. But do critics and audiences think the Gothic tale starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi was worth the wait? Could the Netflix film receive Oscar nominations? On this episode, we tackle this question and many more.

Welcome to a new subseries on The Long Take Review feed: LTR Quick Takes! Greg flies solo offer some SPOILER-FREE thoughts on Wake Up Dead Man, Is This Thing On?, and The Testament of Ann Lee. Is a solo pod a good idea? Does Greg have a meltdown and start crying? Only one way to find out...

How does Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear attack thriller A House of Dynamite hold up? We had a healthy debate covering to what extent the unconventional structure of the film worked, what the film might be trying to say about nuclear proliferation, and which members of the deep bench ensemble stood out.

Check out P.T. on @forceghostpod.bsky.social talking about the all-time classic Back To The Future!

Luca Guadagnino has had some success with the Academy, but he has yet to have his big Oscar moment. Many predicted that his new film, with big stars and a thriller story, could change that. Then people actually saw After the Hunt. What did we make of it? Hear our reactions as we try to unpack it!

We were lucky enough to attend a screening of Park Chan-wook’s thriller-comedy, No Other Choice, at the Newport Beach Film Festival. We liked it so much we couldn’t wait until December to talk about it. Come check out our thoughts on its social commentary, innovative camerawork, and dark humor.

Casablanca is a classic, consistently ranked as one of the best films ever made. We couldn’t have been happier when our friend Ross Hollebon suggested that we discuss it on the LTR Guest List. We share our favorite performances & iconic quotes, as well as unpack the themes behind the timeless story.

The Venice Film Festival went wild for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, based on the life and struggles of MMA/UFC Fighter Mark Kerr. When the film opened in theaters last weekend, however, the box office was a huge disappointment. What is the decision of The Long Take Review crew?

Check out @sopchockchai.bsky.social talking Ahsoka on @forceghostpod.bsky.social!

The superlatives thrown around the new Paul Thomas Anderson movie are hard to believe: it’s his best film, the best film of the year, even the best of the decade. Could it live up to all that hype? We try to answer that, unpack why it feels both timely and timeless, and much more. Check it out!

We launch into award season with the kind of prestige drama that was designed for the fall: an adaptation of Ben Shattuck’s The History of Sound. We talk about the decades-spanning drama starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor, plus since we've all read the text, we get in some book club time!

Now is your chance to show us up! If you want to more actively follow this year's Oscar season with us, join our mini-league "ltrpod" in Vulture’s Movies Fantasy League. Visit moviegame.vulture.com to sign up. When you register, type ltrpod under “League Name (optional).”

When our favorite critics travel across the globe — from Venice to Colorado and Toronto — to watch and review new movies, Oscar addicts like us sit up and pay attention. It’s never what anyone expects. We share our winners, losers, and head-scratchers coming out of recent festival premieres.

The air is turning crisp and the coffees are getting pumpkin spiced, but we want to do a quick recap on Summer 2025. On this episode, we debrief the season, reliving the highs (biplanes!), the lows (mutant dinosaurs!), and the forgotten (what is an Elio?). Listen along as we reveal our superlatives!

Is an author allowed to deny any interpretations of his film? In our discussion of the movie Weapons, we debate how much the film is trying to say something vs. what it’s actually saying to us, as well as why the film is structured in the way it is and how scary it actually is.

In more ways than one, The Fantastic Four: First Steps defied expectations. It was well-received by many critics, but the box office returns have been lacking. In this episode, we share our range of reactions to the film, and then proceed to debate what works, what doesn’t work, and our faves.

And here is Part 2 of our discussion of the best movies of the 21st Century, covering our picks from #1-6. Let us know how we did!

When The NY Times released its full list of “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century,” we realized it deserved an episode. Then, after recording, we realized it should be two! So in Part 1, we talk about the NYT list, our list-making processes, and reveal of picks #7-10. Part 2 coming next week!

Listen to Hasib and go listen to Hasib...along with fellow guest Ann and host Jen discussing the breakout Netflix hit of the summer, Kpop Demon Hunters!

One final Jaws (?) movie to discuss on @forceghostpod.bsky.social -- Greg joins Andrew to talk about the pseudo-sequel Cruel Jaws, a real movie that really exists.

Who knew the movie of the summer would be an animated feature about KPop stars who protect the world from demons? Guest hosts Hasib and Ann join Jen to pick favorite songs, break down the themes of the story, and Ann drops her extensive knowledge about the influence of Korean culture on the film.

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s…the biggest movie of the summer? So did James Gunn do it? Did he do justice to Superman? Did he successfully launch the new DCU? On this episode, we question, we fight over CGI animals, and wrestle with how the movie exists in the current state of world politics.

And if that weren't enough, you can also hear P.T. discuss the well remembered and much loved Jaws 3-D on @forceghostpod.bsky.social (Memories and love not guaranteed.)

Did you wish you could get more Jaws from the LTR crew? Good news! Jen returned to @forceghostpod.bsky.social to discuss Jaws 2 -- check it out below!

In this Oscar Fairy Flashback episode, we look back at the 90th Academy Awards, a stacked year of beloved movies and less beloved winners. Between The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Get Out, Call Me By Your Name, Phantom Thread, and others, we had some tough choices to make — find out how we did!

Want more Jaws talk? Check out 3/4 of The Long Take Review on @forceghostpod.bsky.social discussing one our favorite flicks!

Even with Formula 1’s global popularity, can F1: The Movie be a winner of the summer? We speculate about F1’s future success in terms of both box office and awards. We also explore this as a cinematic experience, debate the screenplay’s attitude to its main character, and discuss the film’s release.

If you were Dakota Johnson, would you choose Pedro Pascal or Chris Evans? We reveal our thoughts as we delve into what whether The Materialists is as much a rom-com departure from Celine Song's Past Lives as its marketing suggests and what Song has to say about dating, marriage, and market value.

When Steven Spielberg made Jaws in 1975, he changed Hollywood filmmaking forever. To mark the film's 50th anniversary, we couldn’t be happier to celebrate it with our longtime friend, Sarah Hastings. We pinpoint what makes this film hold up, break down Spielberg’s use of genre, and more!

Wes Anderson has a new film for all you girl dads. The Phoenician Scheme stars a customary starry ensemble in a story about fortune, family, and, yes, schemes. On this episode, we shoutout our favorite players from Anderson’s troupe and try to discern what messages the film might be conveying.

Director Mike Flanagan brings us another Stephen King adaptation, the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) audience award winner, The Life of Chuck. We debate if the film succeeds with its attempts to balance different narrative flavors. Thanks, Chuck!

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, came out this past weekend. On this episode, we dive into what we thought of the film. What were our favorite callbacks? Who was our MVP in the cast? How were the themes different than the preceding film? And what is our final rank(en)ing of the series?

It is an absolute delight to finally be able to review an MCU film that everyone else seems to like: Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*. We rejoice in critics’ declaration that Marvel is back on track, unpack the themes of this story, and debate what this film says about the future of Marvel’s slate.

Our guest for the inaugural episode of the LTR Guest List, Karl LaClair, is the co-host of one of The Wampa’s Lair and Chaplain & Coordinator of Christian Life at Brandeis University. Karl chose Edward Berger’s Conclave, a political thriller set in the Vatican. Join us for a new look at the film!

Hello there! We’re so happy Revenge of the Sith returned to theaters this spring because it gave us an excuse to talk about Star Wars on the show. We provide a retrospective look at our 2005 experiences, our 2025 ones, the impact of audience expectations, and share our list of favorites.

Ryan Coogler’s new film Sinners is a critical and commercial sensation. On this episode, we try to explain why his technically impressive and deeply felt film is deserving of all the sales and acclaim, sharing favorite moments and interpretations before closing out with some serious Oscar talk.

Will the movies survive or thrive in 2025? The whole crew gathers together to try to answer this by taking turns picking four of our most anticipated films in our annual Movie Hype Draft. Which films will be selected? Listen and see, then go to Jen's Substack to vote on the roster you like best!

We are back with another Oscar Fairy Flashback, in which we reexamine a year of nominees. We’re looking at the 89th Academy Awards — the infamous Moonlight vs. La La Land year. Which film should have won? Which tune from La La Land should have won? How much did we agree overall? Tune in to find out!

Listen to find out what happened to my inflatable Jar Jar chair.

The Russo brothers directed four of the biggest films in the MCU. But with bad reviews and soft streaming numbers, is Electric State proof they no longer have a golden touch? Jen and Greg debate this as we unpack the movie, what films it relates to, and how we feel about the shaggy haircuts.

After delays and reshoots, the latest MCU film, Captain America: Brave New World, released to mixed-to-poor reviews. On this episode, Jen and Greg share what actually worked for us with this film, acknowledge its flaws, and speculate how it may fit into the future of the MCU with what we now know.

Clocking in at a crisp 1 hour 33 minutes, Steven Soderbergh’s smart and stylish genre exercise Black Bag was as fun to talk about as it was to watch. We give shoutouts to our favorite cast members, share suspicions we had during the film, and try to pinpoint what makes the screenplay so clever.

Check out my debut on The Long Take Review where we break down Mickey 17 directed by the GAWD Comrade Bong

Bong Joon Ho's follow up to Parasite, Mickey 17, has been far from a financial success, however. On this episode, we are joined by @hasibprobably.bsky.social to level some criticisms but mostly celebrate what we loved. Join us for comparisons, analysis, and a few imitations.

For many, one of the happiest upsets at this year’s Oscars was Flow winning Best Animated Feature. The film’s tiny team from Latvia went home national heroes. We share our thoughts about this special film, its storytelling style, and its allegories, with a few animal imitations along the way.

Got my Daredevil: Born Again review in just under the wire. Might be a decent refresher before you watch Episode 3 tonight! #mcu #daredevil #daredevilbornagain

What a night, especially for Anora! The film won five of the six of its Oscar nominations, surprising even those who had predicted it to win Best Picture. We discuss its impact and react to the ceremony more generally. Winners, losers, surprises, predictions, Bond themes — we cover it all!

One last pre-Oscars episode: our final Best Picture 10 movie to cover: I'm Still Here. We finally caught up with Walter Salles’ film about a family targeted by a military dictatorship in 1971. We share why Fernanda Torres is so acclaimed, debate the film’s thesis, and discuss a dog named Pimpão.

In an epic episode, we discuss every category to fully help with your Oscar pool. First, we talk “above the line” categories (up to the 1:32 mark), then animation, docs, music, and shorts (until 2:15), and, finally, the remaining tech categories. Come check out some or all of the Longest Take yet!

Jen is prepared for Sunday -- are you?