Switching things up a bit, Josh and Andrew go to the French countryside with Alain Guiraudie’s Misericordia. Featuring an opening French lesson/cameo by Josh’s husband, our hosts get into the intricacies of this dark comedy-thriller, including its observation on relationships, rural France, and “one of the biggest jumpscares of the year”.
They have fun talking about a film where everyone in this small town is, to put it lightly, “a little bit gay.” Then, they have One More Thing, recommending the new Netflix true crime hit The Perfect Neighbor and Joseph Losey’s 1963 psychodrama The Servant (or “Parasite meets Phantom Thread meets Homoeroticism” according to Jake Cole’s Letterboxd).
Next week, say “and here’s to you” for guest Drew Wendt of Do You Like Apples? as he gets Josh and Andrew to talk about the movie that made him interested in film criticism, the 60s classic The Graduate!
Until then, 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.
After having to skip an episode due to Josh being held captive in Andrew’s basement last week, our hosts can finally have a dialogue over the latest Lanthimos/Stone collab, Bugonia! Diving into the sci-fi (maybe?) thriller, they debate over all the conspiracy theories, politics, the ending, and which Lanthimos movie is worthy of being put in the vault before the green planet is saved.
Then they get into One More Thing, bringing up the 1950s Technicolor Knight epic Ivanhoe (starring the always stunning Elizabeth Taylor) and friend-of-the-pod Katie Carter’s new Substack The Tea is Going Out along with her upcoming Forbidden Hollywood screening of Smarty at the Arkadin Cinema & Bar in St. Louis.
Until then, 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.
Here comes the Fuzz! Alex McPherson of PoplifeSTL brings in Edgar Wright’s cop comedy Hot Fuzz for Josh and Andrew to take a look and probe their thoughts. Together, the trio discuss the sidesplitting highlights, its nature as a Tony Scott parody/giallo/bromance befitting the Dudes Rock! canon, and if it fits within the guidelines of Copaganda. Along with their differing thoughts on Wright’s movies, you’re in for a debrief that provides the greater good (“the greater good!”) elevating Hot Fuzz’s reputation as more than just a funny movie.
Following that is One More Thing, where they recommend YouTube channel Be Kind Rewind and iFixit.com.
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.
Rise and Shine! What Time is It? Well, Comrades Josh and Andrew take a look at PTA’s explosive new thriller One Battle After Another. Together, they praise the film’s views on rebel militias, family, and the current political climate as well as gush over the comedy, the cast, a Support the Girls reunion, the rolling hills, and the Thomas Pynchon of it all. Then they'll have One More Thing about One Battle (and some other things too)!
Next week, Alex McPherson returns with his pick for the show, Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz! Until then, 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.
From the moment Billy Rock of Do You Like Apples? watched Signs with his family as a kid, its themes on faith and dedication to genre thrills served as a starting point for his growing interest in films. Twenty years later, Rock brings the M. Night Shyamalan alien thriller to the Take-Up, where Josh and Andrew swing away with their own polarizing thoughts on its intrigue and M. Night’s up-and-down career. Don’t worry, the trio have more to say beyond aliens having a weakness to water and wooden doors.
Then, Josh and Andrew continue onto One More Thing, recommending local St. Louis pride event Tower Grove Pride (and a very groovy booth featured there) along with continuing their extraterrestrial talk with FX’s Alien: Earth.
Next week, bat an eyelash for our hosts going deep into One Battle After Another, PTA’s action-comedy-thriller that is quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed and talked about movies of the year.
Until then, 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.
Andrew and Josh marathon through their thoughts on the recent Stephen King adaptation, The Long Walk, going into discussions of King’s long history writing the novel, its connection to the Vietnam War/contemporary times, and its growing Conclave-esque fan reclamation. It turns out this small-scale thriller has more to offer than a depressing time. Then the duo continue their King talk with this week’s One More Thing, going into their picks for the most underrated Stephen King adaptations.
Next week, our hosts bring in Billy Rock from Do You Like Apples? to talk about his personal pick for the Take-Up’s Permanent Cinema, M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs. Remember to have a glass of water handy for this discussion.
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.
Buckle up for guest Cliff Froehlich's pick, Martin Scorsese's landmark 1976 film Taxi Driver, with a hall-of-fame performance from Robert DeNiro. The great St. Louis film-scene leader guides Andrew and Josh through his cinematic upbringing in St. Louis and the morally murky streets of Scorsese's scuzzy NYC. Despite all that, do Andrew and Josh think Taxi Driver belongs in the Take-Up's pantheon? After they answer that burning question, they'll recommend One More Thing with Jia Zhang-ke's Caught by the Tides, and Stephen King's From a Buick 8.
Next week Andrew and Josh continue talking King, going long on the latest big-screen adaptation of his work, The Long Walk.
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.
Gather your bolt pistols and money satchels, friend-os! Andrew’s pick for the film that made him a cinephile is the Coen Brothers’ violent noir/western No Country for Old Men. He and Joshua partake in a ramble about evil, age, philosophy, movie tattoos, and most importantly, which one of them lost the most out of a coin toss (spoiler: it was Andrew). And then stayed tuned as they bring up One More Thing, going into the apocalyptic zoo novel The Island of Lost Things by Emma Sloley and the latest Big Thief album Double Infinity.
Next week, special guest and The Take-Up contributor Cliff Froelich guides the hosts out of the west and into the dark, scuzzy streets of 70s New York with Taxi Driver, the classic Scorsese thriller that led to Froelich’s own cinematic awakening. Let’s hope that was the only thing that movie inspired him to become.
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.
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!
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.
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. Up next is Katharine's classic pick, Fred & Ginger's tap-tastic Follow the Fleet. 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.
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!
Next up is Andrew's fashion-frenzy pick, Sion Sono's Why Don't You Play in Hell? 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.
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! 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.
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. 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.
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.
Joshua and Andrew time-travel alllll the way back to 2019 to discuss guest Alex McPherson's favorite movie year! His pick from the not-so-distant past? Jim Jarmusch's star-studded zom-com The Dead Don't Die. First, Challengers, Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, Hundreds of Beavers, and The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed are Now Showing. Finally, they've all got One More Thing with Fallout, Normal Gossip, and Slow Horses.
Next up is a new series when taking a peek into The Celluloid Closet with some queer classics. 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.
Katharine Coldiron joins Joshua and Andrew for a showdown with Andrew Dominik's "Imagined West" in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Before discussing Andrew's Brad Pitt-starring pick for the My Favorite Movie Year program and the cinematic year that was 2007, Sasquatch Sunset and The People's Joker are Now Showing. Finally, they'll visit the Wisconsin Film Festival, Marleen Gorris on the Criterion Channel, and a movie YouTube channel that doesn't suck.
On the next episode, film critic Alex McPherson argues that 2019 is supreme with his pick, Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die. 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.