The Take-Up is the place to gather when the film is over. Every episode, film critics Andrew Wyatt and Joshua Ray break down one film to decide if it enters the Take-Up's canon of films that reflect the website's ethos: Creator-owned independent online film criticism, based in the Heartland but traveling the world through cinema. Special guests plead the case for for their personal picks, with new releases getting a chance to sit alongside the greats.
The Take-Up is the place to gather when the film is over. Every episode, film critics Andrew Wyatt and Joshua Ray break down one film to decide if it enters the Take-Up's canon of films that reflect the website's ethos: Creator-owned independent online film criticism, based in the Heartland but traveling the world through cinema. Special guests plead the case for for their personal picks, with new releases getting a chance to sit alongside the greats.
We're putting a big beautiful bold bow on the films of 2025 with a little help from our friends. Joshua talks to previous guests Elliott Collins of MovieFiles and Webster University Film Series Director Pete Timmermann about a few of their favorites from last year, and new-to-the-pod friends Taylor Blake of ZekeFilm.org and filmmaker Stephen Tronicek are on deck to discuss their choices. After that, Producer Ethan and Joshua count down their top 10 films of 2025.
Want a preview of the films discussed? Listen to find out who shares the critical love for The Mastermind and Sorry, Baby; and who's stumping for The Naked Gun; The Phoenician Scheme; and Resurrection. Of course, Joshua can't give quit The Secret Agent, One Battle After Another, and Misericordia—all previously covered on the podcast.
On next week's episode, Andrew returns to expand upon Bi Gan's latest, the aforementioned mind-trip meta-movie Resurrection. 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.
Wishing everyone a happy New Year, Josh and Andrew purify 2026 with fellow contributor/podcast editor/synopsis writer/ZekeFilm writer Ethan Tarantella’s pick, Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria!
Prepare to have your head explode with an extended discussion ranging from the remake’s unrelenting arthouse madness, sociopolitical talk about 70s Berlin, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, witchcraft and dance, fascism, queer theory, acclaimed actor Lutz Ebersdorf, the way Dakota Johnson says “Ohio”, and much, much more. Give your soul to a movie so powerful, overwhelming, and crammed with ideas no wonder it's one of this writer’s favorite movies.
Complimenting this episode includes Ethan giving an impromptu Guadagnino ranking (can you guess where After the Hunt is?) and the trio having One More Thing, recommending Kinji Fukasaku’s Black Lizard, Hong Kong gangster film Exiled, along with recent shows The Chair Company, Women Wearing Shoulder Pads, and Haha, You Clowns.
Next week, friends of the Take-Up join Josh to discuss the best of 2025! 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.
As we here at the Take-Up wish everyone a happy holiday, we bring the gift of Keith Watson’s and Sarah Barabas’ pick of the week and iconic “wallpaper cinema,” Suspiria! As the Arkadin Cinema owners alongside Josh and Andrew wander down the vast candy-lit halls of this witchy giallo, raving over the fairy tale aesthetics, camp quality, dream logic, and how it all makes for a great date movie.
Completing this episode is a preview of the Arkadin’s “Weird Canadian” theme for next month, featuring some Cronenberg, Kids in the Hall and upcoming animated documentary Endless Cookie. Plus Josh and Andrew having One More Thing with hit HBO queer hockey drama Heated Rivalry and point-and-click murder mystery game The Séance of Blake Manor.
Next week, Josh and Andrew keep this macabre gift-giving, bringing in fellow Take-Up contributor/podcast editor Ethan Tarantella (you know, the guy who writes these episode synopses?) to discuss his own first kiss with cinema, which just so happens to be Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Suspiria. Witness your writer come out of the shadows to talk about a film that breaks the nose off of Argento’s original and replaces it with an uglier attack of the senses.
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.
Film critic Dr. Diane Carson spills the beans on director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s latest political thriller The Secret Agent! Together with Josh and Andrew, the trio give praise to its pointed commentary on the Fifth Brazilian Republic and darkly comedic portrayal of a political refugee. Featuring a disembodied leg, Carnival, Mendonça's love of cinema, and so many other things, listen in on our hosts gushing over this wild thriller before it drops in theatres this Christmas.
Later, they make sure to have One More Thing to say about this year’s film turnout, recommending Bi-Gan’s upcoming sci-fi film Resurrection, last summer’s A24 horror film Bring Her Back, the Cannes Grand-Prix-winning family drama Sentimental Value, and 90’s Iraq period piece The President’s Cake.
Speaking of holidays, we here at The Take-Up decided to give our listeners the best fitting yuletide gifts of the season: Dancing! Goblin! The Color Red! Arkadin Cinema & Bar owners Keith Watson and Sarah Barabas come in to discuss their first love of cinema, the Italian horror classic Suspiria. Get cozy by the excessive amount of razor wire and grab a glass of blood-building wine for what will be a fun discussion on everyone’s favorite giallo fairy tale.
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.
Max Havey of STL Magazine shares with Josh and Andrew a film he holds dear, Wes Anderson’s Rushmore! A beloved staple from Anderson’s early stage in his career, the hosts dive into the comedy of this odd coming-of-age tale, Havey’s last-minute Wes Anderson movie rankings, and which one of the three was a Max Fischer in high school. Also expect a couple Graduate comparisons.
Then, expect three things to look out for from this week’s One More Thing, including the wild Godzilla movie Destroy All Monsters, Vince Gilligan’s new sci-fi series Pluribus, and the “Battle of Seattle” documentary WTO/99.
Keep an eye out for next week, where Josh and Andrew get to discuss a favorite from this year’s Cannes, The Secret Agent! As Kleber Mendonça Filho’s political thriller makes its way to St. Louis this Christmas, make sure to listen in on the duo’s take on the acclaimed movie.
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.
Drew Wendt of Do You Like Apples? has one word to say to Josh and Andrew, just one word: Garfunkel.
This week, Drew seduces our hosts into talking about Mike Nichols’ New Hollywood classic The Graduate, a film that appears to defy its reputation as an iconic Boomer comedy. Getting into the nitty gritty of all the power dynamics, WASP-y suburbia, youthful aimlessness, grey morality, and just how catchy "The Sound of Silence" is, the trio dive deep into a movie that leaves them coming away with new thoughts after every rewatch. Then, they have One More Thing, with the 1980 Roeg psychodrama Bad Timing, (starring Art Garfunkel as himself but if he went into psychology) and Anthony Mann’s police procedural noir (and documentary?) T-Men.
Expect no episode next week as Josh and Andrew will be attending SLIFF, but they’ll be back in time for Max Havey’s lesson on the film that made the STL Magazine writer fall in love with movies, Wes Anderson’s Rushmore! In two weeks, make sure to listen in on this crash course in one of Anderson’s early works.
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.
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.