This week Simon and Mark are away so instead we have a clip episode for your viewing pleasure featuring interviews with the likes of Ramy Youssef and Emma Stone, Denis Villeneuve and Hans Zimmer; and reviews of everything from ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ to Madame Web. Enjoy listening to some of the best The Take has had to offer these past few months! Timecodes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!): 2:08 The Holdovers (Alexander Payne, Universal) 4:57  Scala!!!...

This week, Kirsten Dunst and Alex Garland sit down to chat with Simon about their new film ‘Civil War’, which sees Dunst star as a photojournalist travelling with her team across a dystopian United States, engulfed by a second civil war, in a bid to interview and photograph the president. Mark also gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’, a drama in which a teacher decides to step in when one of her students is suspected of theft, finding herself caught...

This week, the lovely Dev Patel is on the show to chat all things ‘Monkey Man’, his (co) writing and directorial debut, which sees a young man hunt down the group of corrupt leaders responsible for his mother’s death. Mark also gives his thoughts on the film, as well as reviewing ‘Evil Does Not Exist’, an enigmatic eco-parable, which sees a Tokyo company buy up land near a pristine lake in a bid to turn it into a glamping site; and ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’, a Rebecca Hall-starring...

This week, Obi Wan Kenobi himself, aka Ewan McGregor, sits down with Simon to discuss his new miniseries ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’, which sees a Russian aristocrat spared from death and placed under house arrest while the Bolshevik Revolution plays out before him. Mark also gives his take on the series, as well as reviewing ‘Mothers’ Instinct’, a Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway-starring thriller about a pair of rich suburban housewives, whose sisterly bond is unraveled after a tragic...

No interview this week, but even more witterings from your favourite duo for your trouble. Mark gives his thoughts on new releases, including ‘Late Night with the Devil’, a found footage horror, which sees a 1977 live television broadcast go horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms; ‘Immaculate’, a Sydney Sweeney-starring horror about an American nun who heads to a convent in Italy only to discover that her new home harbours a sinister secret; and ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen...

This week, the one and only Cate Blanchett joins Mark and Simon for a chat about her drama ‘The New Boy’, which follows a young Aboriginal Australia orphan, who is brought into a Christian monastery, run by a renegade nun, begin to question his faith and loyalty to his heritage. Mark gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘Monster’, a Japanese psychological mystery thriller about a mother who confronts a teacher after noticing disturbing changes in her son’s behaviour; and ‘Drive...

This week, acclaimed director Ava DuVernay chats to Simon and Mark about ‘Origin’, her new biographical drama based on the life of the author Isabel Wilkerson who wrote the seminal book ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’, while coping with personal tragedy. Mark also offers his thoughts on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The Inventor’, a Stephen Fry-starring animation, which imagines Leonardo da Vinci, as he leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment, study and...

With the 2024 Academy Awards taking place on Sunday, the most trusted voices in film Mark and Simon are here to guide you through the 10 films in the running for Best Picture.   Featuring highlights from interviews with directors Greta Gerwig, Celine Song and Jonathan Glazer, and actors Cillian Murphy (an exclusive unheard part of his chat with the pair), Emma Stone, and Jeffrey Wright. Plus Mark’s thoughts on all of the films involved.   Timecodes for the Vanguard:   02:36 Cillian Murphy...

This week, acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve and renowned composer Hans Zimmer join Simon for a chat about their hotly-anticipated project, ‘Dune: Part Two’ - the next chapter in their adaptation of Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi saga.  Mark also gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘Four Daughters’, Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated documentary, which mixes fact and fiction to tell the story of Olfa Hamrouni, a Tunisian woman whose two eldest daughters were radicalized by...

This week, director Jonathan Glazer talks to Simon about his Bafta award-winning and Oscar-nominated historical drama ‘The Zone of Interest, which follows the commandant of Auschwitz and his wife, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house next to the camp. Meanwhile, Mark gives his take on an array of new releases, including ‘Perfect Days’, Wim Wenders’ latest offering, which follows a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, who finds joy in the mundane, but beautiful, details of...

Happy Valentine’s! Sit back and enjoy our latest episode – a gift to all film lovers. This week, director Michael Winterbottom talks to Simon about his new biographical thriller ‘Shoshana’, which follows the tragic real life love story between Shoshana Borochov and Tom Wilkin, set against the British Mandate in Palestine. Mark will be reviewing ‘Shoshana’ next week, but, in the meantime, gives his take on various other new releases, including ‘Someone’s Daughter, Someone’s Son’, a...

This week, Steve McQueen and his wife, historian, filmmaker and producer Bianca Stigter, are in the studio to chat with Simon about ‘Occupied City’, their four-hour documentary about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam from 1940-45, which is based on Stigter’s book on the subject. Mark gives his thoughts on the film, along with reviewing ‘Your Fat Friend’, a documentary that charts the rise of writer and activist Aubrey Gordon from anonymous blogger to NYTimes best-selling author and podcaster,...

It’s a bumper week for (lauded) guests! Simon chats to Jeffrey Wright about his Oscar-nominated role in ‘American Fiction’, which tells the story of a Black novelist, frustrated with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes, who uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, only to find himself at the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain; and both Simon and Mark talk to Cillian Murphy about his...

This week, Simon sits down for a thoughtful and moving chat with director Andrew Haigh about his new Bafta-nominated drama ‘All of Us Strangers’, which sees Andrew Scott play a lonely screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home, where his parents appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died 30 years ago. Mark also gives his take on the film, as well reviewing ‘Baghead’, a horror in which a young woman discovers the pub she’s inherited is home to a 400-year-old she-devil; and...

Hey listeners! Get ready for a delightful detour from the cinema and our chats to the candid world of failure. We're thrilled to announce a brand-new season of the podcast How to Fail featuring the incredible Elizabeth Day. The new season has started with none other than the incomparable and multi-award-winning Dan Levy as her first guest! Check it out now – wherever you get your podcasts.   An Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Original Production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music...

This week, the one and only Daniel Kaluuya is in the studio and ready to chat with Mark and Simon about his dystopian directorial debut – co-directed with his longtime friend and collaborator Kibwe Tavares - ‘The Kitchen’, which sees a funeral-service worker looking for a way out of the chaotic housing block of the title.   Mark also offers up his critical perspective on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The End Where We Start From’, a Jodie Comer-starring drama about a woman trying to find...

OK, now we are really back! Mark and Simon are firmly back in their seats and ready to shepherd you through a new year in cinema. This week, Simon sits down with Emma Stone and Ramy Youssef to discuss their roles in Yorgos Lanthimos’ wild new science fantasy black comedy ‘Poor Things’, which tells the story of a young woman in Victorian London, who, after being crudely resurrected by a scientist following her suicide, runs off with a debauched lawyer to embark on an odyssey of self-discovery...

We’re back! Well kind of. This week, Robbie Collin and Rhianna Dhillon are filling in for Mark and Simon, who are still recovering from their completely raucous New Year celebrations. Rhianna chats to director James Hawes about his new war drama ‘One Life’, which sees both Anthony Hopkins and Johnny Flynn star as humanitarian Nicholas Winton, who is known for his role in rescuing Jewish children during the Holocaust. Robbie gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘Night Swim’, a...

This week sees Mark review ‘Raging Grace’, a social issue drama-come-gothic horror about a Filipino single mother working in a sinister British family mansion; ‘Priscilla’, Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir about her complicated relationship with music icon Elvis Presley; and ‘Scala!!!’, a documentary telling the riotous story of the famed London cinema, which inspired a generation during Britain’s turbulent Thatcher years. Plus, Mark talks us through his best and...

It’s Christmas! This week, Simon chats to Zack Snyder about his new space opera ‘Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire’, which sees an ex-soldier search for allies to help defend her home when it is threatened by the cruel ruling Imperium. Mark gives his take on the film, as well as reviewing ‘The Boy and the Heron’, the long-awaited and apparently final film from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, which follows a 12-year-old boy, who, after speaking to a talking heron, journeys into...

This week sees Mark and Simon chat to director, writer and producer Taika Waititi and American Samoan footballer Jaiyah Saelua about ‘Next Goal Wins’, a sports comedy-drama based on the documentary of the same name, which chronicles the national team of American Samoa as they try to recover from the indignity of the worst loss in international football history and attempt to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Mark also offers up his thoughts on the film, along with reviewing ‘What Happens...

Simon sits down with director and screenwriter Paul King and screenwriter Simon Farnaby to discuss their new Timothée Chalamet-starring Christmas blockbuster, ‘Wonka’, which is a prequel to the Roald Dahl children’s classic ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. Mark gives his take on the film, along with reviewing ‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’, the Saturday Night Live trio’s first comedy feature about a three childhood friends who realise they don’t like their life...

It’s another bumper week for guests: Simon and Mark chat to their fave “gorgeous George” Mackay about his new psychosexual noir ‘Femme’, which sees a man who is targeted in a horrific homophobic attack seek revenge on one of his attackers, played by Mackay. They also say hello to Jason Isaacs, who is here in the studio to chew the fat and discuss his turn as Hollywood legend Cary Grant in the ITV miniseries ‘Archie’. Mark gives his thoughts on both, along with reviewing ‘Eileen’, an...

Strap in for a bumper week of interviews: Simon sits down for an entertaining chat with Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby to discuss their turns in Ridley Scott’s new epic, ‘Napoleon’, which looks at the military commander’s origins and ruthless climb to emperor through the prism of his volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine; and both Simon and Mark talk to Jodie Whittaker about her new Australian-set series ‘One Night’, which follows three friends whose friendship...