🎬 What if talking about movies felt more like improv?

Not “being clever on cue” improv.
But listening closely.
Picking up on what someone just noticed.
Adding something new.
Discovering something together.

That’s the spirit we bring inside The Long Take.

seventh-row.com/the-long-take

When we first watched 45 Years, we thought their marriage was doomed.

10 years later?
We’re not so sure.
We might even think it makes their relationship stronger.

🎙️Clip from our latest episode with @bwestcineaste.bsky.social & Lindsay Pugh.

One of the smartest things about the Langley sequence in Mission: Impossible (1996)?

The way it builds tension from something as tiny — and human — as a single drop of water.

That cold drink on the table? It’s not just set dressing. It’s foreshadowing.

In this podcast excerpt, we unpack how the very first scene of Mission: Impossible doesn’t just kick off the action — it sets the tone for everything that follows.

👀 Someone’s always watching.
🎭 Everyone’s performing.
🎥 And spycraft? It’s just filmmaking with higher stakes.

One of the things that makes Mission: Impossible (1996) land?
The writing.
The characters’ motivations make sense. The plot is straightforward without being over-explained.
We’re told the plan — and then we get to track how it unfolds, step by step.
🎧 In this clip, @amuredda praises the writing.

In Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, Agathe dances through a Paris bookshop — past shelves lined with red books.

Not by chance.

In the episode, I discuss how subtle choices like that shape the film’s emotional world.

🎧 For when you’re in the afterglow — or wondering if this one’s for you.

Part 2 of me talking about Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.

This time: the bookends.
What the opening + closing scenes reveal — about hiding out from life, and maybe coming back to it.

🎧 For when you want to live in the afterglow of a great film.

JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE is one of the year's best movies.

Yes, it’s a rom-com — and a fantastic one at that — but it’s also an anti-rom-com about a woman in her 30s who’s stuck, not just romantically, but professionally and personally.

Listen to the episode: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1...

It's a little-known fact that some of the most important films in cinema history that have screened at Cannes didn't actually screen in the Official Competition.

E.g. Akerman's Jeanne Dielman screened in the Directors' Fortnight.

So many gems hide out in the festival's sidebars.

Why is it so hard to see African films?

On today's podcast episode, @bwestcineaste.bsky.social explains the many levels of this problem...and what you can do if you'd like to see more African films.

seventh-row.com/2025/05/08/e...

What do we love about David Cronenberg's films?

"Regardless of what genre he's currently ostensibly working in, his movies are about talking and about working through ideas." -@amuredda.bsky.social

In this clip, Angelo gets at so much of what makes Cronenberg's films great.