The Long Take Review

When I think of the genre of prison drama, what do I think of? As a child of the 90s, Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Green Mile (1999) come to mind first; the former in particular defined the genre forever thereafter. I think of the struggle to survive, full of violence and terror. I think of the bleakness of never getting out and the desperate scheming to escape or undermine the system. I think of crime and corruption perpetuated within the carceral system itself.

Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing, in theaters now, defies all of these expectations. While it does not shy away from the oppressive confinement of prison life, it offers a story of the hope and joy experienced by inmates participating in the RTA or Rehabilitation Through the Arts Program, which began in 1996 at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York. It’s a moving love letter to the dramatic arts, and is never exploitative or voyeuristic.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I identify ways in which Sing Sing subverts prison movie stereotypes, reflect on how the film represents incarceration, and try to understand how this film achieves its authenticity and avoids saccharine storytelling. Could it be an early frontrunner in the Oscar race? Is Coleman Domingo a shoe-in for Best Actor, hot off his nomination last year? And what additional insight can Antonio’s legal background offer our interpretation of the film? Join our conversation to find out.

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: A24

Movie News Update: What’s going on with Joaquin and Todd? (But not the Todd you think.) 3:50

The Short Take: Our spoiler-free review Sing Sing. 12:57

The Recommendation Algorithm: Why might folks who wouldn’t normally go for a movie about prison want to watch this? How does it align with or subvert the prison movie genre? 18:23

SPOILER MODE: How does this film represent incarceration and the criminal justice system? What is it trying to say about the prison system? Featuring Lessons in the Law with Antonio! 24:28

The Rhetorical Situation: How does this film represent theater and the arts? What does this film have in common with our teaching? 51:45

Oscars Watch: This movie seems poised to make an Oscar play. How far can it go? 1:01:11

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This past weekend, George Miller’s long-awaited follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) unfortunately became the impetus for headlines about a failing film industry. After the rom com stunt spectacular The Fall Guy underperformed at the box office and then whimpered onto home video much earlier than expected, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has emerged as another big disappointment, opening during a holiday weekend to a measly $32 million domestically. As a result, trade journalists have already begun to question whether the next Mad Max film, which George Miller has referred to as The Wasteland, will even get made now.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, chronicling the life of Imperator Furiosa as she is abducted as a child and becomes embroiled in the harsh realities of The Wasteland. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a younger version of the character Charlize Theron played in Fury Road, and Chris Hemsworth co-stars as a new character, a kooky war lord named Dementus.

In this episode of The Long Take Review, Antonio, Greg, P.T., and I comprise the full spectrum of reactions to Miller’s latest action epic. We offer theories as to why crowds aren’t rushing movie theaters, share our favorite scenes, discuss what worked and didn’t work for us, and consider how the prequel status of the film influenced its construction and/or our interpretation. Regardless of our feelings on the film, our hearts are full of hope, not hate. Witness us!

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: LA Times

Movies News Update We react to the Cannes Film Festival award winners. 4:10

The Short Take We each share our general impressions of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. 16:45

The Recommendation Algorithm Who should see this film? Do you need to have seen any other Mad Max films? We also try to manage expectations about how this film might differ from Fury Road. 24:05

SPOILER MODE What accounts for Furiosa’s low box office numbers? What’s our favorite action scene? Favorite non-action scene? What does this film have to say about Furiosa? About storytelling and history? About hope? How does this film re-contextualize the events of Fury Road? 37:40

The Rhetorical Situation How has the prequel factor influenced the composition and interpretation/reception of this film? 1:40:11

Oscars Watch Does Furiosa have any Oscars potential? What happens when it enters the Thunderdome with Dune: Part Two? 2:01:18

Notes:

No one asked for this, but here’s more information on the Palm Dog awards at Cannes.

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Thirty years after the original Mad Max films — Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2: Road Warrior (1981), and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) — George Miller wowed critics and Academy voters with Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). The dystopian post-apocalyptic action spectacle won six Oscars, and has earned a spot on countless best of lists for 2015, the decade, and even the century. It stands to reason, then, that many eagerly await the next installment in the franchise: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The prequel film, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival tomorrow and hits theaters May 23rd, recounts the traumatic past of Fury Road’s most beloved character.

On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, and I try to pass the time as we impatiently wait for Furiosa by looking back at the entire franchise to date. We recall our initial reactions to all the films (some made as recently as this past weekend!), try to trace common themes and elements across them, and rank them all based on personal preference. We eventually focus in on Fury Road and try to determine what made it so exceptional. Along the way, P.T. shares fascinating behind-the-scenes stories that re-contextualize a lot of what we notice in Miller’s work. The episode concludes with our discussion of early reviews of Furiosa as well as our speculation for it and the summer box office more broadly. Rev your engines and buckle up for another deep dive of an episode!

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: Variety, LA Times, and IMDb

The Mad Max Franchise We each share how we have engaged with the franchise and what our reactions to the different films are. What appeals to us about this franchise? What common themes or elements can we trace across all the films? 4:58

To what extent has the role of women and feminism in these films evolved? 29:59

What context about the production or George Miller’s history can help us understand the franchise better? (There’s more of this throughout the rest of the episode as well.) How are we supposed to think about the original trilogy in relation to Fury Road? 41:46

P.T. asks Jen to guess what happens at the end of Beyond Thunderdome . 54:45

We very quickly rank all four films. 1:14:40

Oscars Watch Why did Fury Road win so many Oscars? Why is it so exceptional? 1:18:01

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Preview How do we think Furiosa will compare to Fury Road? What have early reviews of the film been saying? And what does the success of this film mean for the summer box office? 1:29:50

Show Notes:

The Kyle Buchanan piece from The New York Times that P.T. referred to during the episode.

And here are pieces on early reviews of Furiosa: Screen Rant on Hideo Kojima, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety.

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Hot off the success of four-time Oscar winning film Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos is already back with Kinds of Kindness, playing in theaters now. This anthology film, with three distinct stories in one, is very different fare, with a darker, more brutal humor and more obtuse storytelling. Most critics agree that this is a return to the Yorgos of yore, when he previously collaborated with Efthimis Filippou on films such as The Lobster (2015) and The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), as opposed to Tony McNamara, who was the writer for the relatively tamer (emphasis on relatively!) period pieces, The Favourite (2018) and Poor Things (2023).

On this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Antonio, and I search for meaning by dissecting individual stories and zooming out to try to connect common themes across all three. What does Kinds of Kindness have to say about power and control? Where does reality end and fantasy or allegory begin? And will this film be too weird and too abstract for The Academy?

You can listen to The Long Take Review on Substack, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Image Credit: NPR

The Short Take Our overall impressions of Kinds of Kindness. (The noise you hear in the background are fireworks going off in P.T.’s neighborhood.) 3:15

The Recommendation Algorithm If you liked Poor Things, will you like Kinds of Kindness? 7:54

SPOILER MODE How would we rank the three stories? What are the themes that cut across all three stories? Who is RMF and what is their purpose? 14:13

The Rhetorical Situation What do we call these stories? Allegories? Parables? Myths? And what role do dreams or visions play? 1:02:06

Oscars Watch Will Yorgos ride the Poor Things wave into this year or will Kinds of Kindness be too extreme for The Academy? 1:34:29

Notes:

P.T. referenced a couple of articles this week:

Variety article. What Yorgos Lanthimos has to say about RMF.

Films Fatale review. A potential explanation that unlocks the entire film!

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At a time when so much of public discourse surrounding A.I. swirls in fear and doom, it is rare to find a movie about a robot that does not tap into that sentiment. From Minority Report (2002) to Ex Machina (2014), Hollywood often adopts the position of a canary in the coal mine, trying to warn everyone about our robot overlords. And considering corporate interest in using artificial intelligence to replace human creators, I don’t necessarily blame them for wanting to do that, especially now.

Chris Sanders’ The Wild Robot, however, defies that popular narrative, with a fresh take has been welcomed by critics. Many go so far as to suggest that the film deserves to be nominated not only for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, but for Best Picture, joining the ranks of the few animated films that have made that jump: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Up (2009), and Toy Story 3 (2010). But how justified is that hype?

In this episode of The Long Take Review, P.T., Greg, Antonio, and I debate how well the film could do (and deserves to do). We also discuss what parts of the film had an emotional impact on us, what the film is trying to say about A.I., how this adaptation differs from its source material, what voice performances stand out, and more.

Before we dive into The Wild Robot, however, we check in to discuss our picks for Vulture’s Movie Fantasy League, in which players must draft 8 movies that were pre-priced based on buzz. Who made a big play for box office numbers? Who went for potential awards attention? Who just went with their heart? Listen to about the first 30 minutes of this episode to find out! Registration for the draft has closed, but if you already registered, you can still join us by emailing [email protected] to say that you’d like “The Long Take Review” to be your “mini-league” before October 14th. We are just one person short of being able to compete for prizes, so please help us out if you can! Plus, our highest-scoring mini-league member will be able to come on the show and discuss a film of their choice.

The Movie Fantasy League talk ends at 30:46 when we start the Short Take on The Wild Robot. We later go into SPOILER MODE at the 42:24 minute mark. If you’re still not yet sure whether you want to check out the film, pause there!

Image Credit: Vulture

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