The Rolling Tape

Inspired by Derrick B. Harden’s travels to Bulgaria, The Black Sea is the transformative journey of a man who finds unexpected connections in a small coastal Eastern European town even as he finds himself to be the only black person around. Gabe Lillianthal speaks with co-director Crystal Moselle, co-director and cast member Derrick B. Harden, and producer Izabella Tzenkova about the experience of...

We recently had the opportunity as an outlet to cover one of the most prominent spring festivals, SXSW in Austin, Texas. As the festival comes to a close, we recap our festival experiences as an outlet joined by guest Larry Fried, Senior Writer at Geek Vibes Nation. We discuss some of the highlights, special shout-outs, and in-person coverage of reviews and interviews. Follow our guest online: Lar...

With a full week to debrief the 96th Academy Awards, we gather our reflections, discuss our favorite (and least favorite) moments of the ceremony, and break down what we learned from this year’s voting results. We assess the highs and lows of the night, what we were most surprised, disappointed, and happiest about, and look ahead to next year to see what we can learn for our predictions in 2025. F...

In “Masters of the Air” (Apple TV+), airmen forge a brotherhood in courage, loss, and triumph as they risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group during World War II. Supervising sound editor Jack Whittaker, and re-recording mixers, Michael Minkler and Duncan McRae utilize authentic and groundbreaking sound design to immerse viewers in the true stories of the brave men who risked their lives for th...

The girls are all here! This week we got together to discuss Women’s History Month and some of our favorite women in film. Listen to us discuss Barbie, international film, gender, female-led films and more in this very special episode hosted and discussed by TRT’s female team members. Follow our team online: Sara Ciplickas on Letterboxd , Instagram , and Twitter Katie Mann on Letterboxd , Instagra...

The 96th Academy Awards ceremony has happened! Here are our live, uncut reactions to the full night from the red carpet to the Best Picture. We will return next week with a full recap and breakdown of the results. Congratulations to all of the winners, with Oppenheimer taking home 7 awards including Best Picture. Our guests: Sean Place Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , I...

Denis Villeneuve’s long-awaited return to Arrakis is here bringing us Dune: Part 2, the continuation of the 6 Oscar-winning Dune: Part 1. Adapted from the 1965 Frank Herbert sci-fi classic, the film stars Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Austin Butler. Following the heir to the house Atreides, one of the Great Houses of the Imperium, Paul unites with Ch...

In the closing couple of weeks before the 96th Academy Awards with all major televised awards now in the rearview mirror, we cast our final predictions for all feature categories. We discuss the state of the awards race as it comes to a close before the ceremony on Sunday March 10th. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Linktree Bryan Sudf...

Another week with stories, announcements, and trailers to look at, we will discuss a few headlines in our news roulette once again before we announce the winners to the second annual TRT Awards. We cast our nominations as a team, and over the past month you have been voting on our website, so today we will be revealing your winners for the second official year of our outlet’s awards. Follow our te...

Within the Sony-owned Spider-Man universe in connection with Marvel characters, Madame Web is an origin story for the titular character played by Dakota Johnson and directed by S.J. Clarkson. Following a NYC paramedic who grapples with episodes of seeing the future, the film also stars Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, and Tahar Rahim. We review the film joined by guest David Rosen...

With a week full of a variety of stories, announcements, and trailers, we unpack some of the biggest headlines of the past few days including the recent announcement of a new Oscars category from the Academy for Best Casting, the lineup for the upcoming SXSW Film Festival, and the release of several announcements and trailers around the industry. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek on Letterboxd...

As the directorial debut of Zelda Williams, Lisa Frankenstein follows a teenager and her undead crush. As a horror comedy written by Diablo Cody, and according to her, existing in the same universe as Jennifer’s Body, the film stars Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, and Liza Soberano. Blending coming-of-age high school slasher and the supernatural world of Mary Shelley’s namesake monster, we’re here t...

If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to find out who is the real Agent Argylle, your time has finally come. From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn comes the spy action thriller whose trailer we’ve been seemingly watching nonstop for months. Starring Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Sam Rockwell, we review the latest directorial effort from the mind behind the Kingsman series. Cha...

After the Oscar nomination announcements for the 96th Academy Awards, we are joined by Reece Beaumont to break down the results by analyzing all of the expected nominations we received along with the surprises and snubs. We reveal how accurate our final predictions were before we move into analyzing the final phase of Oscar campaigning leading up to the announcement of the winners on March 10th, 2...

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s first film in 10 years follows a Nazi commandant and his family living on the outskirts of Auschwitz. The film was recently nominated for five Academy awards including International Feature Film, Sound, Directing, Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. We review Glazer’s harrowing work and examine how the A24 film has haunted audiences since its Cannes premie...

Oscar Nominations for the 96th Academy Awards have been announced live by Zazie Beets and Jack Quaid! Here are our live, uncut reactions to the nomination announcement ceremony. Our guests: Gage Warren, Ross Bullock, Claire Lustig, Nate Hayden Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Linktree Tate Fowler on Letterboxd and Instagram Paul Rai on...

With 2023 and the first full calendar year of The Rolling Tape in the rearview mirror, we celebrate the year’s best moments in cinema by talking about our favorite movies, performances, and scenes before releasing our team’s top films of the year. We discuss some of the movie trends we witnessed in 2023 before looking ahead at 2024 and our most anticipated releases that will be screening and strea...

Doug Pray and Laura Gabbert both got their start at UCLA graduate film school where they studied under Professor Howard Suber. After graduating, both went on to successful careers making documentaries, with some notable credits between them including “Love, Lizzo” (2022), “Disclosure” (2020) and now “The Power of Film” (2024). Pray and Gabbert reunite with Howard Suber on their passion project “Th...

With Oscar nominations for the 96th Academy Award Ceremony being announced in less than a week, our team speeds through each category to share their final thoughts and predictions for what to expect on Tuesday, January 23rd. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Linktree Eugene Rocco Utley on Letterboxd , Instagram , and Twitter Paul Rai on...

We aren’t recording on a Wednesday, but we are here wearing pink because today we’ll be reviewing the newest iteration of Mean Girls, the movie musical based on a musical based on a movie based on a book written by Tina Fey, directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., and starring Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, and Auli’i Cravalho. Don’t end up in our burn book and listen to us review our first f...

We’re closing out our predictions episodes today before we finalize all of our predictions for every category by talking about 3 in particular today: Costume Design, Production Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Linktree Paul Rai on Letterboxd , Instagram , and Twitter Evan Miller on Letterboxd , Twitt...

Based on the true story of the Von Erich family, director Sean Durkin dives into the 1980’s world of professional wrestling with The Iron Claw, his third feature film. Starring Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Harris Dickinson, we review the triumph and tragedy of the wrestling quartet and their domineering father and coach who pushes them to the biggest stage in the sport. Chapter Timestamps: 0...

Continuing the conversation leading up to the 96th Oscars, our team breaks down the sub-picture categories: Best Animated Feature, Best International Feature, and Best Documentary Feature, with their predictions and callouts of what to expect with these nominations. Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , and Linktree Eugene Rocco Utley on Letter...

Based on Alice Walker’s novel of the same name, The Color Purple was originally adapted by Steven Spielberg in 1985 and went on to be nominated for 11 Oscars including Best Picture. Today, we review the 2023 adaptation from director Blitz Bazawule who introduces “a bold new take on the beloved classic.” The film stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Colman Domingo. Chapter...

Grab your buddy and sit down for this latest double feature of The Rolling Tape where we discuss the dynamic partnerships of cinema and what makes them so unique to play out on-screen. For this discussion of companionship in film, we will be covering Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and RRR (2022). Follow our team online: Danny Jarabek Website , Letterboxd , Instagram , Twitter , TikTok ,...