Conclave with Karl LaClair is on the (brand new!) LTR Guest List
05/13/25 • 100 min
We have wanted to get more guests on the show for some time now, but didn’t necessarily want to subject them to the pace of our regular coverage of new releases and award season. Thus, we’d like to welcome you to The LTR Guest List, a special series in which we ask our friends to pick a movie – any movie – to discuss with us on air.
Our guest for this inaugural episode, Karl LaClair, is the co-host of one of our favorite Star Wars podcasts, The Wampa’s Lair. When we’re not talking to him about Star Wars, he’s the Chaplain & Coordinator of Christian Life at Brandeis University. Considering his day job, it’s no wonder that Karl chose Edward Berger’s Conclave, a political thriller set in the Vatican. This pick could not have been more timely: real-life Pope Francis, sadly, died just a few weeks ago on April 21, and the very day we recorded this episode, Pope Leo XIV was elected at the conclusion of a two-day conclave.
In this episode, we discuss what this film has to say about the Catholic Church, politics, and humanity at large. How accurately does it portray the Vatican and modern day Catholicism? What lessons would we want real-life cardinals to learn from the film? What did we notice or consider upon a rewatch? Did this film deserve more Oscars? And how awesome is Ralph Fiennes really (spoiler: very)? Join us to hear a whole new conversation on the film, influenced by Karl’s unique perspective as an expert of both theology and Star Wars storytelling.
SPOILER WARNING: Unlike our regular reviews, LTR Guest List episodes will be in Spoiler Mode from the beginning so that our guests can feel as unencumbered as possible. So if you have not yet seen Conclave and do not want it spoiled, come back here after you’ve seen it.
Conclave is available to stream on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter
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
We have wanted to get more guests on the show for some time now, but didn’t necessarily want to subject them to the pace of our regular coverage of new releases and award season. Thus, we’d like to welcome you to The LTR Guest List, a special series in which we ask our friends to pick a movie – any movie – to discuss with us on air.
Our guest for this inaugural episode, Karl LaClair, is the co-host of one of our favorite Star Wars podcasts, The Wampa’s Lair. When we’re not talking to him about Star Wars, he’s the Chaplain & Coordinator of Christian Life at Brandeis University. Considering his day job, it’s no wonder that Karl chose Edward Berger’s Conclave, a political thriller set in the Vatican. This pick could not have been more timely: real-life Pope Francis, sadly, died just a few weeks ago on April 21, and the very day we recorded this episode, Pope Leo XIV was elected at the conclusion of a two-day conclave.
In this episode, we discuss what this film has to say about the Catholic Church, politics, and humanity at large. How accurately does it portray the Vatican and modern day Catholicism? What lessons would we want real-life cardinals to learn from the film? What did we notice or consider upon a rewatch? Did this film deserve more Oscars? And how awesome is Ralph Fiennes really (spoiler: very)? Join us to hear a whole new conversation on the film, influenced by Karl’s unique perspective as an expert of both theology and Star Wars storytelling.
SPOILER WARNING: Unlike our regular reviews, LTR Guest List episodes will be in Spoiler Mode from the beginning so that our guests can feel as unencumbered as possible. So if you have not yet seen Conclave and do not want it spoiled, come back here after you’ve seen it.
Conclave is available to stream on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.
Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter
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
Previous Episode
Revenge of the Sith 20th Anniversary Special
Hello there, and May the 4th be with you! We’re so happy Revenge of the Sith (2005) returned to theaters this spring because it gave us an excuse to talk about Star Wars on the show. Greg, P.T., and I provide a retrospective look at how we experienced the film in 2005 vs. how we see it now. We discuss the impact of audience expectations, how this film influenced the future of franchise filmmaking, and share our list of favorites. Let us know in the comments if we had the high ground by the end!
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
Next Episode
Thunderbolts Review*
It’s difficult to write an intro to a Marvel movie review without feeling like a broken record: Marvel has been in a slump, it’s no longer king of the Hollywood hill, fans are out, theatrical releases aren’t an event anymore, yada yada yada. To be honest, I’ve grown very tired of talking about how far Marvel has fallen, so it is an absolute delight to be able to review an MCU film that everyone else seems to like: Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*. In this episode of The Long Take Review, Greg and I rejoice in critics’ declaration that Marvel is back on track, unpack the darker themes of this anti-hero team-up story, and, because we can’t help ourselves, debate what this film tells us about the future of Marvel’s slate.
We go into SPOILER MODE around the 17:43 minute mark. If you are still undecided as to whether or not you want to team-up with spoilers, you can listen safely until then.
Please note that we did actually record this right after Thunderbolts’ opening weekend on Monday May 5th, but had to hold the episode to make way for our very topical Guest List episode about Conclave with Karl LaClair and our Star Wars Day celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Revenge of the Sith.
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
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