The Long Take Review

You know, you have ONE troubled production that culminates in Harry Styles allegedly spitting on Chris Pine and that’s all critics want to remember you for. That may very well be a major frustration for Director Olivia Wilde as she tries to promote her newest film, a sex comedy drama called The Invite. Because over and over again I have seen headlines and reviews from critics framing their praise of the A24 film in relation to Wilde’s previous controversy-embroiled flop, Don’t Worry Darling. Never has a compliment been so back-handed. The praise is deserved just the same, as this comedy for adults has been deemed a box office success in spite of competing against The Odyssey.
On this episode of The Long Take Review, we were lucky enough to have Antonio back on the show to pick apart The Invite’s screenplay, discuss each of the performances/characters that constitute the foursome at the center of the story, and speculate as to whether or not this film has any “little indie that could go all the way to the Oscars” energy. Join us for some jamón and flan!
We go into SPOILER MODE at the 23:53 minute mark. If you wish to take a raincheck on spoilers, you can listen safely until then.
Image Credit: IndieWire
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Happy Spider-Man weekend to all who celebrate! Our review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day may take a little while because I’m on vacation for the next couple of weeks, but, to tide listeners over, we wanted to record an episode in which we discuss Tom Holland’s portrayal of your friendly neighborhood Avenger up until Brand New Day. And who better to join us than our very own Marvel correspondent, Colby Mead of The ColbyCast?
We begin by sharing our relationship with Spider-Man as a character/franchise and pinpointing what unique qualities Tom Holland brings to the role. Then we rank all six films in which Tom Holland has appeared as Spider-Man* in order to set up a larger discussion about how much the MCU has defined his version of the character and to what extent we can historicize each Spider-Man as a product of Hollywood and American culture at the time.
*This number doesn’t include Venom: Let Their Be Carnage, which P.T. notes should technically be on the list. Guess how many times we mention this Sony Spider-Man Universe film before you listen.
Note that we’re doing all spoilers for any Spider-Man or MCU-related content in this episode from the start.
Image Credit: IndieWire
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Image Credit: original image from Meming Wiki, modified in Canva
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com


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Lightning does strike twice sometimes. Thank Zeus, Christopher Nolan has done it again with his epic sword and sandals adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. After the enormous critical, awards, and box office success of his last film, Oppenheimer (2023), it’s hard to believe that Nolan could have immediately followed with an even bigger hit. But, with a $124 million domestic opening weekend and a worldwide total of $640 million to date, it appears that he has.
With a new movie this big and all three of our regular co-hosts going on vacation at different times, we decided that not one but two episodes dedicated to The Odyssey were in order. In this first one, Greg and I focus on how Nolan has adapted and modernized Homer’s epic poem, with a deep dive on Odysseus as a character, the modern themes Nolan uses the ancient story to emphasize, our favorite scenes, the stacked cast, and everything else the film prompted us to consider. Greg specialized in the epic as a literary genre and is extremely familiar with Homer’s text, so he was an amazing resource throughout this episode. For more of his thoughts, check out his Substack for this great article he wrote for those who didn’t have time to read The Odyssey before seeing Nolan’s film.
We go into SPOILER MODE at the 25:46 minute mark. If you wish to sail around spoilers, you can listen safely until then.
Image Credit: IndieWire
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com


Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

If you’ve listened to our show for any sustained amount of time, you’ve probably heard me play a tiny snippet of the Indiana Jones theme anytime Greg brings up our favorite archaeologist adventurer. It comes as no surprise, then, that we will take any excuse we can to talk about one of the five franchise installments. And this year marks the 45th anniversary of the first, Raiders of the Lost Ark. We go down memory lane for a bit, share our personal favorites (characters, scenes, etc.), and then discuss loftier notions such as nostalgia, genre, and Indy’s legacy in cinematic history. Unlike the Nazis, we’re digging in the right place.
(Oh, and listen to find out the story behind the amazing artwork below.)
Image Credit: the illustrious Steph Marcus, circa 1999
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com


Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe

Pixar films, and especially those in the Toy Story franchise, have always excelled at pitching to both kids and adults. Toy Story 5 takes that feature to the next level by tackling issues on every parent’s mind: screen time, devices, and Internet safety. As both parents of grade school kids and teachers of college students, Greg and I really ran with this topic and the film’s treatment of in it in our discussion. We share our prior relationship to the franchise, compare this fifth installment to the previous ones, and share what moved us and what made us laugh.
We go into SPOILER MODE at the 25:13 minute mark. If spoilers are not a part of your daily weather forecast, you can listen safely until then.
Image Credit: NPR
You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
Logo art: Illustration 73265080 © Worldofvector | Dreamstime.com


Get full access to The Long Take at thelongtake.substack.com/subscribe