Hit Factory

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.We got our hands on Sofia Coppola's diary and read it to try and make sense of her dreamy, quietly devastating debut The Virgin Suicides. Adapted from the Jeffrey Eugenides novel of the same name, Coppola's film tells the story of the five Lisbon sisters as seen through the eyes of the boys they charm and perplex in equal measure. Adopting the male gaze as a means of dismantling it, the film is a gauzy, stylish showcase that approaches the concerns of girlhood with sincerity while unearthing the tragedies of femininity under the patriarchal thumb of suburban American life.We discuss the film's aesthetic contradictions and how it weaponizes its own visual splendor against the viewer, its beauty a calculated veneer masking uncomfortable truths. Then, we examine the film's brilliant narrative device, using a single unidentified narrator to represent the collective attitudes of the young men incapapable of comprehending the fullness of the Lisbon sisters and their interiority. Finally, we ponder the connections Coppola draws between femininity and the natural world, how she literalizes this coupling within the film's suburban landscape and distinctive milieu.The Roxie theater in San Francisco is still seeking funds to help buy their building! Be sure to listen to our recent conversation with producer and Roxie board member Henry S. Rosenthal and visit the Roxie website to donate today!....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We finally bring the brilliant, indelible work of Claire Denis to the pod with a discussion of her 1994 TV movie U.S. Go Home. Produced as part of the anthology series Tous les garcons et les filles de leur age… alongside work from other French visionaries like Chantal Akerman, Olivier Assayas and André Téchiné, Denis' film is an elliptical, compassionate coming-of-age story that regularly subverts expectations and never succumbs to the potentially regressive tendencies of its narrative milieu. We begin with some chatter about recent Hit Factory-featured filmmaker Edward Yang and a recent watch of his final work, Yi Yi. Then, we explore Denis' film - its lyrical formalism, its exquisite soundtrack - and how she crafts a work of simultaneously keen observation and hypnotic ambiguity. Watch U.S. Go Home on YouTubeThe Roxie theater in San Francisco is still seeking funds to help buy their building! Be sure to listen to our recent conversation with producer and Roxie board member Henry S. Rosenthal and visit the Roxie website to donate today!Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.David Cronenberg returns to the big screen this week with The Shrouds, perhaps his most autobiographical film to date. The film involves grieving tech entrepreneur Karsh (played brilliantly by Vincent Cassel) who has developed the means to surveil the dead in their tombs, including his recently deceased wife. After a series of grave defacements in the cemetery plot he owns, and in which his wife is buried, Karsh ventures down a rabbit hole of conspiracies technological, geopolitical, and psychosexual seeking answers in an increasingly indeterminate reality.We attempt to unpack this rich text with an examination of Cronenberg's perspectives on our hypermediated present, and how the constant hum of "connectedness" becomes an impedement to our ability to process our own traumas. Then, we explore the films labyrinthine narrative, weaving an intricate - a deliberately unresolvable - web of various plots, evoking the derealization of our interconnected age of information overload. Finally, we explore the films nuanced, mature eroticism, and illuminate why Cronenberg is the master of making non-cinematic sex feel simultaneously trenchant and deeply arousing.The Roxie theater in San Francisco is still seeking funds to help buy their building! Be sure to listen to our recent conversation with producer and Roxie board member Henry S. Rosenthal and visit the Roxie website to donate today!....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

The Roxie Theater, a San Francisco landmark in the Mission District, is one of the oldest continuously operated cinemas in the United States, with its history tracing back to the early 1900s. Recently, The Roxie kicked off the public phase of their fundraising campaing, Forever Roxie, in order to purchase their buidling, invest in technology upgrades, and expand their programming. As the premier theater destination for both hosts of Hit Factory, we want to get the word out to listeners and ask for your support in ensuring that The Roxie remains a cherised and thriving institution in San Francisco for the long haul. We sat down for a breif conversation with film producer, former punk drummer, and Roxie board member Henry S. Rosenthal to learn more about the Forever Roxie campaign, to talk movies and the state of cinema more broadly, and cast light on why The Roxie's efforts to guide their own future as the owners of their building extends beyond San Francisco's film community and could become a roadmap for independent film exhibition all over the country. The Roxie is more than a theater. It is a home alive with engagement and inspiration where filmmakers, artists, and audiences forge a creative community through workshops, conversations, collaborative projects and fierce programming that place The Roxie at the forefront of independent film. Please donate what you can to help bring this quintessential SF film instituion into the future! Donate to Forever Roxie & Find More Ways to Support HERE.Help spread the word on your own with the Forever Roxie Social Media Toolkit.Follow The Roxie on Instagram for more updates. 

We inaugurate the brilliant Taiwanese master Edward Yang with a conversation about his transcendent 1994 social satire A Confucian Confusion. Following up his staggering masterwork A Brighter Summer Day, Yang turned his attention to Taipei in the 1990s at the height of its rapid evolution into a port city of global capital and the effects this shift had on the value systems and relational dynamics of the city's people. Evoking the slapstick and breackneck pacing of more popular modes of cinema - including the American romantic comedy - the film follows a large ensemble of Taipei's young professionals caught up in the frenzy of capitalism's mechanisms of social order, all in pursuit of an irresolute alternative that can liberate them from their self-made misery and help them achieve something approaching an honest, authentic way of life. We begin with a conversation about Yang as artist, his preoccupations, his distinct convergence of heart and wit. Then, we break down A Confucian Confusion's ensemble, how the characters reflect Yang's feelings about Taipei's consumer-friendly, corporatized status, and how honest desire is sublimated into the cold calculus of business language - a phenomenon that presages and predicts modern tech culture and its bastardized language of wellness and attunement. Finally, we discuss the film's unique and delicate balance of trenchant political satire and touching character drama; how Yang achieves a profound and honest reflection of the minor victories and acts of liberation we can achieve within a totalizing capitalist milieu. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Xuanlin Tham, author of the new book Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene returns to the show to discuss the Wachowskis' debut feature - the sharp, sexy sapphic neo-noir Bound. Emboldened by brilliant performances from its two leads Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly, the film is both an assured and nimble stylistic calling card for the future Matrix directors and a carefully studied lesbian romance, rendered in considered motif and visual flourish.We begin with an examination of the Wachowskis as filmmakers and how their work exists at a singular nexus of mass appeal and subversiveness. Then, we discuss the influence of feminist author and journalist Susie Bright, a key influence and collaborator on the film, and how she informed the Wachowskis' formal approach to formally conveying the slow burn of lesbian eroticism. Finally, we discuss the film's erotic sequences, how they transcend simple arousal, and what they tell us about the revolutionary capacity of sex and pleasure as a weapon against capitalism's confining homogeneity.Buy and read Xuanlin's book Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene at 404Ink.Read Xuanlin's Manifesto for the Modern Cinematic Sex Scene at AnOther.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Film critic and author A.S. Hamrah joins for a conversation on his recent Fast Company piece "Hollywood's obsession with AI-enabled ‘perfection' is making movies less human", which details some alarming (and frankly, depressing) recent use cases of A.I. in both studio blockbuster fare and awards-contending independent releases like Brady Corbet's The Brutalist.We attempt to unpack the psychology driving the pervasive and exponential use of A.I. in moviemaking - Is there a genuine impetus on the part of a moviegoing audience to iron out anything that antagonizes credulity? Why do filmmakers seem so eager to embrace the ease of A.I. at the expense of cinema's sense of "authenticity"? The, we examine the material implications of A.I. on film workers, and how the unanimous embrace of the technology poses an existential threat to the future of craftspeople in Hollywood. Finally, we look to the near future and ask, "Are we already past the tipping point? What, if anything, can we do to oppose A.I.s dominance of Hollywood at the expense of real artistry?"Buy A.S. Hamrah's book, The Earth Dies Streaming from n+1Read A.S. Hamrah on the 2025 Oscar nominees and the best films of 2024 at n+1.Follow A.S. Hamrah on Twitter.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Returning friend of the show Comrade Yui swings by to discuss the 1994 Full Moon direct-to-video masterwork Dark Angel: The Ascent. The story follows the exploits of a bored, beautiful young demon Veronica Iscariot (Angela Featherstone) as she defies the orders of her parents and the rules of hell to visit Earth and walk among the humans. It's not long before she realizes that humanity has forsaken its God-given gifts and descended into all manners of evil, which must be brutally punished. Written by Freeway director Matthew Bright and directed by Linda Hassani (her sole feature directorial effort), the film defies all expectations of the DTV format with an unusually rich premise, emotional depth, and style to spare.We begin with a discussion of the film's unique theology, offering a vision of Heaven and Hell working in concert to do the bidding of the Almighty. Then, we explore how Bright's script searingly antagonizes many of society's ills, especially those germane and topical to the mid-90s - anti-welfare rhetoric, police brutality, antisexualism. Then, we uncover the film's depthful look at the notion of fallenness, and how its characters perceive of complacency and disregard for evil as tantamount to evil itself.   Follow Comrade Yui on Twitter.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.We're back talking about the recently-released Babygirl, directed by Dutch actor-turned-director Halina Reijn. Despite some initial apprehensions based on the discourse and reviews from trusted sources, we both found the film to be a stylish, funny, and intelligent examination of desire, kink, and the ways that the patriarchy suppresses and rejects expressions of female pleasure that are incongruent with the capitalist guardrails of our culture.We begin by discussing the film's nimble balancing of aesthetic impulses which heighten the proceeding's with a sense of hyperreality without sacrificing the story's emotional core. Then, we praise the magnetic work of Nicole Kidman, and the nuances of her performance and character: a high-powered woman caught in the ideological trap of patriarchy that grants her material success while demanding that she stifle her corporeal desires, judging them as aberrant, even wicked. Finally, we explore the film's thoughtful approach to the nature of sexuality and erotic experience, finding compelling layers of meaning and understanding often missing from today's films.Read Justine Peres Smith on Babygirl for Cult MTL.Read Jourdain Searles on Babygirl for the Los Angeles Review of Books.Pre-Order Xuanlin Tham's Revolutionary Desires from 404Ink.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Fan favorite Hard Mike returns to the show alongside newcomer Syd Bricks to discuss Paul Schrader's Affliction, one of the filmmaker's most well-observed explorations of addiction and the generational cycles of suffering that manifest as a result of leaving personal trauma and pain unresolved. The film follows Nick Nolte's Wade Whitehouse, an alcohlic, washed-up cop in a small New Hampshire town whose maladies put him at odds with his community as he circles the drain, falling deeper into his own delusions of murder, conspiracy, and betrayal. The film also stars a monstrous James Coburn as the Whitehouse patriarch, in a role that would earn him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Together, we discuss our personal experiences with alcoholism and why the film is one of the very best about the subject in its dizzying, unmooring evocation of being caught in the chaos of addiction, both as the afflicted and as someone who loves them. Then we discuss the film's novel use of the neo-noir format as a subversive element of narrative to capture us in the dragnet of delusion meticulously architected by the film's unreliable protagonist. Finally, we praise the exemplary work of the film's cast, especially Nolte and Coburn, and how their screen personas function perfectly as characters filled with unmanageable woe, malice, and hurt. Follow Hard Mike on Twitter. Follow Syd Bricks on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Film critic Eamon Tracy returns to the show to discuss Renny Harlin's mountain-bound Die Hard riff Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, and Michael Rooker. A taut, well-staged action thriller that served as a revitalization effort for Stallone's leading man bonafides in the early 90s after a rough patch of box office and critical bombs, the film sports a refreshingly lean premise and a host of jaw-dropping setpieces that were rewarded with a massive $255 million worldwide box office haul and a quietly outsized influence on the past three decades of action cinema.We begin with a discussion of Stallone and how the film makes use of both the actor's surprising capacity for subtlety in performance as well as his much more conspicuous and impressive physique. Then, we pull apart the film's broadly apolitical plot mechanics, including the intricate ways the script navigates around giving John Lithgow's Eric Qualen an explicitly partisan or geopolitical motive. Finally, we talk broadly about the sport of mountain climbing, the colonial ideology perpetuated by notions of conquering forbidding terrain, and the ways that indigenous communities are seeking to problematize imperialist narratives and perspectives within arenas of outdoor sport and recreation.Read Eamon's recent reviews for Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain and Seijun Suzuki's Underworld Beauty at Irish Film Critic.Follow Eamon Tracy on Twitter.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.It's a New Year and we don't feel any different!In typical Hit Factory fashion, the simple task of creating an "In/Out" list for 2025 became a discussion about the infantilization of culture, embracing cinephilia beyond marketing cycles, and how the current state of art reflects an empire in decline. If you've ever wanted to hear a movie podcast tell you that you "have an ethical and spiritual imperative to seek out better films...you're in the right place!Other topics include the reign of filmmaker Alan Rudolph, how autonomous vehicles are definitely surveiling you, whether Doechii will be at the Met Gala, and our eager anticipation of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Brooklyn-based writer and editor Robert Rubsam joins to discuss the work of Terence of Davies and his 1992 masterwork, The Long Day Closes. An impressionistic evocation of memory and sensation, the film is the culmination of Davies' early autobiographical period, exploring the roughly 5 year period between when the filmmaker's abusive father died and when he began his time in primary school, which Davies has called "the happiest years of [his] life."We discuss the films distinctive formal approach to autibiography, forgoing concrete scenes in favor of a densely-woven, ellipticap tapestry of music, sounds, and images that give the impression of searching memory in real time. Then, we explore how the film reckons with the concept of nostalgia, offering reverence for and criticism of the social values of Liverpool in the 1950s in equal measure. Finally, we explore the life and work of Davies beyond The Long Day Closes, how the filmmaker's irresolute feelings about his own identity informed his later works, and why he may never be en vogue with cinematic tastemakers.Follow Rob Rubsam on Twitter and visit Rob's website to read his work.  Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.We discuss the winner of our latest Patreon poll: Aki Kaurismäki's The Match Factory Girl, the story of a young working class woman, Iris, looking for love and a sense of belonging in industrialized Helsinki. The final installment of Kaurismäki's 'Proletariat Trilogy', the film resembles that of a fable that takes an unexpected and comically violent turn as Iris seeks revenge on those who have done her wrong.We describe the film's sparse formal elements - an abbreviated runtime, minimal dialogue, nominal use of diegetic music, and austere mise en scène - and how it employs these components to reflect Iris' profound subjugation. Then, we examine the film's narrative and how it functions, briefly, as a mechanized process, mirroring its opening assembly line sequence and asking us to connect modes of production with an atomized social structure. Last, we discuss the film's final act, and how constant reminder of our own unfreedom often results in unexpected, volatile response.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Toronto-based critic, lecturer, and author Adam Nayman joins us to look back at Billy Bob Thornton's directorial debut and acting showcase Sling Blade. Once considered a high-water mark of 90s American indie cinema success within popular culture and the awards circuit, Thornton's film is now often relegated to 'curio' status; a fascinating time capsule of the mid-90s with very little (if any) cultural purchase among today's cinephiles. We discuss the work of Billy Bob Thornton, the evolution of Sling Blade (from one man show to short film to feature), and suggest some reasons for its breakout success. Then, we discuss the film's fascinating hodgepodge of elements and inspirations, combining the social economy of Southern American Gothic, the moralism of Christian parable, and formal qualities of independent cinema to make something at once distinctive and comfortably inessential. Finally, we ask if movies like Sling Blade can still gain the same level of critical and commercial cachet in today's film environment and what some of this fall's box office hits and awards front-runners might indicate about where we're headed.Follow Adam Nayman on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

London-based film writer Esmé Holden joins us to discuss David Cronenberg's M. Butterfly. Based on the Tony Award-winning David Henry Hwang play - itself based on the the real life relationship between Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a Beijing opera singer - Cronenberg's film embraces the conventions of melodrama while thoughtfully exploring gender & queernes and weaving a complex romance tragically undone by the conventions and bigotries of the colonial-capitalist order.We begin by discussing the films explorations of gender, queerness, and transness, and how Cronenberg showcases an exceptionally forward-thinking and nuanced portrayal of these concepts in an era of films content with caricature, stereotype, and parody. Then, we consider how M. Butterfly presents a ground-zero for further explorations of the body, its presentation within societal perfrormance, and the fluidity of sexual expression that would become hallmarks of Cronenberg's signature style throughout the next few decades. Finally, explore the complicated ideological stictures that confine the film's protagonists and how capitalism's myopic definitions of identity continue to hinder self-actualization in its subjects.Follow Esmé Holden on Twitter. Read Cinema Year Zero. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Following our conversation with the film's director Pascal Plante, we dive into one of the year's best films, Red Rooms: a thriller tailor made for our disaffected, hyper-mediated moment that asks many unsettling questions about the way emerging technologies sever us from empathy, create parasocial complexes, and push toward frightening new modes of nonconsensual connectivity and surveilance.We continue our contemplations on Haneke's "Violence and the Media", and how Red Rooms explores notions of equivalency amongst the images on our screens. Then, we praise Plante's formal control and ethics, how he constructs his 21st century milieu, what he chooses to show and how he shows it. Finally, we caution against passivity when engaging with mediated forms and why our moment demands that we make meaning of our realities, even as powerful forces work toward our mindless complicity in ever-expanding horrors.Red Roomsis available now on VOD and on Region A Blu Ray from Vinegar Syndrome.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Filmmaker Pascal Plante (director of Red Rooms, one of our favorite movies of the year) joins to discuss Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar's 1996 debut, Thesis. While riveting simply at the topical level of its tense genre thrills, the movie also metatextually concerns itself with the moving image as a mediated reflection of our corporeal realities, the push-pull of commercialism and artistry, and the ethics of satisfying a violent culture's sublimated desires for shocking, exploitative imagery. We discuss Amenábar's preternatural capacity behind the camera; how his ability to mystify with the language of cinema allows viewers to recognize their complicity in the film's graphic scenarios as spectators while never sacrificing the raw thrills of moviegoing. Then, citing Michael Haneke's writing, we discuss the nature of violence in media, the responsibilites of the artist, and the morbid concept of mindless entertainment. Finally, we connect the film's subject matter to that of Pascal's latest, discussing parallels, distinctions, and the reward of watching films that assume their audience's intelligence. Red Rooms is available now on VOD and on Region A Blu Ray from Vinegar Syndrome.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.George Washington University ungergrad and Liberal Currents contributor Sami Gold just informed us that there's an election coming up in the good ol' US of A, so we decided to discuss a foundational text of presidential cinema - Oliver Stone's brilliant, frenetic JFK. Meticulously composed on several different film formats, masterfully edited in a radical, experimental style, and structured as a steady unraveling of institutional footings, the film stands as one of the finest formal evocations of political radicalization ever made for the silver screen.We discuss the film's groundbreaking formalism, how it creates an unmooring effect on behalf of its viewers, and charts the cacophonous frenzy of conspiracy thinking. Then, we talk about where Stone sits in relation to the film's protagonist Jim Garrison, what the film gets very wrong, and why the minutiae doesn't ultimately matter in the borader context of its critique of empire. Finally we look to the upcoming election, share our personal thoughts on the outcomes, and what it means for Palestinian resistance and political movements in our own country.Follow Sami Gold on Twitter.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

An impromptu decision to do something "Halloween-y" led us to 1994 meta-slasher Wes Craven's New Nightmare, the seventh installment in the long-running A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, which sees Craven returning to the director's chair for the first time since the original installment and OG Nightmare final girl Heather Langenkamp returning, playing a semi-fictionalized version of herself. Several layers more complex than the premise initially suggests, New Nightmare brings the franchise back to its roots, examining childhood trauma and ideation and offering thoughtful considerations about Craven's legacy as a storyteller and how his films have affected those who participate in bringing his nightmarish visions to life - a full two years before Craven's smash hit Scream would go on to mine similar thematic territory with its meta explorations of genre. We discuss the film's self-reflexive look at the Nightmare franchise, and how Craven attempts to ellicit new fears from purposefully identifiable rehashes of his work. Then, we discuss the film's surprisingly intricate exploration of Langenkamp as performer and icon - how the film reckons with audience expectations and seeks atonement for turning its star into curio for our own catharsis. Finally, we discuss reference, reflexivity, and homage and consider why Craven's self-quoting offers more than the empty nostaligia-laden iconography of so many current films.  Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Justice Warrior Ben Clarkson returns to discuss the 1997 action thriller The Jackal, starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, and Sidney Poitier in his final film role. Ostensibly a remake of the the 1973 Fred Zinneman film The Day of the Jackal (itself an adaptation of Frederick Forsyth's 1971 debut novel of the same name), the film attempts to update the story of lethal methodology and intrigue to a contemporaneous post-Cold War, "End of History" milieu that sees a collaboration between US intelligence, Russian police, and a former IRA sniper to stop Bruce Willis's titular shapeshifting hitman from assassinating (spoilers) an analogue of Hillary Clinton. While there are some fun bells and whistles, and a heaping of Bruce Willis disguises, the movie ultimately represents diminishing returns on the promise of this type of movie, forsaking procedural thrills for something far more rote and predictable. We begin with an extended discussion of form and film language, why it's meaningful in the context of our current media landscape, and what an illiteracy toward formalism suggests about the way culture engages with everything we see via a screen. Then, we discuss the distinctions between Fred Zinneman's 1973 thriller and its 90s update: what it does well, and where it goes very, very wrong. Finally, we expound on the film's sociopolitcal moment, and what its moralizing of its most compelling character says about the broader cultural trends of nationalism in the mid-90s.Justice Warriors Vol. 2: Vote Harder is out now. Find your copy HERE.Follow Ben Clarkson on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Writer, curator, and author of the upcoming book Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene, Xuanlin Tham joins us to discuss the work of Taiwanese New Wave director Tsai Ming-liang and his 1994 film Vive L'Amour. It's a quietly devastating exploration of longing, desire, and urban alienation about a trio of young Tapei residents who, unbeknownst to one another, all occupy the same luxury model apartment.We discuss the context of early 90s Tapei, its status as a bustling center of rapid economic growth and a hub for global commerce, and how this unique urban setting coupled with Tsai's outsider status as a Malaysian-born transplant inform his cinema. Then we explore the distinctive formal components of Tsai's filmmaking, its radical underpinnings, and its rejection of commodifying language or labels. Finally, we look to Tsai's evolution across the decades since Vive L'Amour and how his self-referential and increasingly sparse approach has further liberated his cinema from the strictures of capitalist impulses. Follow Xuanlin Tham on TwitterPre-Order Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene from 404 InkGet access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.We take a moment away from the 90s to share our thoughts on Coralie Fargeat's latest brash body-horror festival darling The Substance, starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. It's a stylish, blunt provocation ostensibly targeting the oppressive brutality of patriarchal beauty standards that feels completely at odds with its own intentions, often reinforcing the very ideology it purports to be railing against. We discuss the film's formal elements, and how they so frequently contradict the film's messaging. Then, we talk about the the movie's many (empty) reference points and why they are indiciative of the diminishing returns of a generation of filmmakers interested in aesthetic homage to great filmmakers without seriously contending with their themes. Finally, we consider some troubling rhetoric around who the movie is for, who "genuinely" understands it, and who is excluded from this understanding. ....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Writer, researcher, and fellow podcaster John Semley joins the program to discuss Buffalo '66, directed, written by, and starring the ever-controversial Vincent Gallo and co-starring Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston, and Ben Gazzara. It's a film of profound beauty, humor and humanity, and although Gallo claims the movie is non-autobiographical, it nonetheless draws from deep reservoirs of personal experience in its depiction of alienation and the grace that can bring broken people back from the precipice.We discuss the career of Vincent Gallo and his status as perpetual provocateur, often exchanging barbs with fellow flimmakers and critics alike, including a notorious saga with the late Roger Ebert. Then, we talk about the film's depthful exploration of its thoroughly unlikable character as portrayed by Gallo, and how he manages to make Billy Brown a remarkably captivating misanthrope through his particular manner and distinctive speaking cadence. Finally, we discuss Gallo's recent foray into the MAGA movement and adjacent vestiges of the right, and why his work's portrayal of ecstatic revelation feels antithetical to the politics of resentment that defines the modern conservative movement.Follow John Semley on Twitter. Read John's piece on Gallo's work with The Daily Wire, "Can Conservatices Make a Real Movie?" at The New Republic.Watch Vincent Gallo's infamous 2003 interview with Hikari Takano.Watch Vincent Gallo confront critics on a 1998 episode of Sky TV's Movietalk.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Twitter-banished Brazilian Gus Lanzetta makes a long-awaited and triumphant return to discuss Iain Softley's sexy, stylish Hackers. Impressively researched and committed to creating a dazzling, expressionistic visual style to evoke the sensations of exploring the uncharted corners of the world wide web, the film is both an ode to the young, brilliant minds at the forefrunt of cyberspace and an anthropological time capsule of a subcutlure that would aesthetically inform the way the burgeoning landscape of the internet and its denizens were depicted on film throughout the rest of the decade and beyond.We discuss the film's impressive layers of authenticity, as elicited by screenwriter Rafael Moreu alongside real-life hacker consultants (including then-teenager Nicholas Jarecki, who would later become a filmmaker himself). Then, we discuss Hollywood's attempts to visualize the unconquered, uncharted landscape of the fledgling internet, and how the film paints its protagonists as intrepid trailblazers in the same spirit as classic character motifs from the American western. Finally, we discuss the noteworthy landmark design of the film, from its production and sets, to its immaculate fashion, and its pitch-perfect, multi-volume soundtracks of contemporary electronic music.Brazil isn't on Twitter anymore, so follow Gus Lanzetta on Bluesky.Check out Gus's latest podcast adventure The Boku Diaries.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Independent filmmaker Zach Clark joins to discuss the work of punk auteur legend Jon Moritsugu and his 1994 cult favorite Mod Fuck Explosion. A riff on classic Hollywood tales like West Side Story, the film is brash, outrageous, occasionally reprehensible, and is (in Zach's words) less about teen angst so much as it simply *is* teen angst manifested onscreen.We first discuss the singular style of Moritsugu as filmmaker, his movies' no-budget charms, and how their hyper-stylized aesthetic, formalism, and performances turn the film's budgetary limitations into distinctive attributes that call attention to the their own artifice. Then, we discuss Mod Fuck Explosion's brilliance as a totem of 90s teen ennui and an interrogation of Moritsugu's career-long targets such as the prison of domesticity, anti-Asian racism, and gender roles. Finally, we discuss why the film's of Moritsugu transcend basic descriptiors like satire and camp, embracing genuine sincerity and uncovering deep emotional truths with a commendable level of vulnerabiltiy. On the back half of the show, we spend some time discussing Zach's new film The Becomers, a 21st century take on science fiction B-movies about body snatching aliens finding love in the time of COVID. The Becomers is out on VOD today! Check out the trailer here.Pre-order The Becomers on limited edition Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Journalist and writer Séamus Malekafzali returns to the program to discuss Johnny Mnemonic. Directed by artist Robert Longo and adapted by William Gibson from his own short story, the film was met with lukewarm box office reception and critical derision upon initial release, but has since endured as a classic of 90s cyberpunk aesthetics and startling prescience in its depiction of a 21st century dystopia overrun with corporate malfeasance, an increasingly atomized technological existence, and a global pandemic overwhelming the world's healthcare systems. We discuss the work of William Gibson, pioneer and godfather of cyberpunk; how the film functions as an extension of the worlds he created with his landmark debut novel Neuromancer, and how the film honors both his vision and distinctive style. Then, we praise the incredible cast of characters, led by a deliberately mannered Keanu Reeves performance, with support from Dina Meyer, a crazed Dolph Lundgren, resistance leader Ice-T, and the great Udo Kier. Finally, we discuss the film's breathtaking production design and worldbuiliding, the merits of art that swings for the fences, and the exceptional experience of viewing the film in its Black & White version (as originally intended by Longo, if he had been granted full control of the film). Watch Robert Longo, Keanu Reeves, and William Gibson in conversation for the Black & White release of the film. Follow Séamus Malekafzali on Twitter.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.You voted for it, we watched it.We discuss the winner of our Patron Poll, Krzysztof Kieślowski's The Double Life of Veronique - A new film to both Hit Factory hosts, and one that has become an instant favorite.Enigmatic, ethereal, and steeped in a gentle magical realism, the film finds ways to make grand the quotidian and the interior emotional plane of existence, transcending attempts to articulate its power and majesty with mere words.We discuss the brilliant Irène Jacob, whose dual performance as Weronika and Veronique communicates an entire world of feeling with her eyes, and we ask if this is perhaps the most beautiful anyone has ever been onscreen. Then, we make meaning of the film's many distinct totems of symbolism - refracted images, melodies, marionettes, and their significance as links not just to the film's two protagonists, but to the imperceptible bond between all people. Finally, we discuss director Kieślowski's initial plan to release hundreds of slightly different iterations of the film in various theaters across the globe, and how the film's subtle graces are made more meaningful by their potential absence.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Director, co-writer, and star of The People's Joker (one of our favorite films of the year), Vera Drew joins for a discussion of the sexy, taboo-breaking, teen thriller Cruel Intentions. A 90s update of the 18th century Peirre Choderlos de Laclos novel 'Les Liaisons dangereuses' (aka Dangerous Liaisons), the film is a darkly comic and gleefully misanthropic erotic thrill ride featuring a top notch cast of up-comers-comers playing deeply unlikable - but incredibly sexy - people, who are all (in the words of our guest) "acting their asses off."We discuss the sensational young cast, including Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair, Ryan Phillippe, and an exceptional Sarah Michelle Gellar, and find delights in the "teens play-acting adults" uncanniness of the movie's milieu. Then we revel in the film's preternatural handling on eroticism and desire, finding ways to constantly steam up the screen even while the actors (mostly) keep their clothes on. Finally, we find a through-line from some of Vera's other favorite films to Cruel Intentions, note how the movie defies a "so bad its good" valuation, and illimunate why criticisms of the film's supposed moralism might be reading it wrong. The People's Joker is still in theaters and now available on VOD, Blu-Ray and VHS! Find showtimes near you or purchase your copy today.Follow Vera Drew on Twitter.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Writer, programmer, and filmmaker Juan Barquin joins to explore the work of M. Night Shyamalan and his breakout feature, The Sixth Sense. Now somehwat underrated in Shyamalan's impressive oeuvre, even and especially by M. Night die-hards, the film is a patient, startling, and deeply human ghost story that also functions as gorgeous melodrama, introducing Shyamalan's career-long pet themes of parenthood, familial reconciliation, the beauty of otherness, and the power of love as a shelter from the terrors of modernity. A critical and commercial hit, The Sixth Sense became the second-highest grossing film of the extremely stacked 1999 box office (behind only Star Wars Episode I), and netted six Oscar nominations including Best Picture.We discuss the career of M Night Shyamalan, its peaks and valleys, and how his vision as an artist often places him at odds with cultural and critical trends. Then, we discuss the phenomenon that was/is The Sixth Sense, and how its power stems from far more than just its (very good) shocking twist ending. Finally, we discuss the filmmaker's singular humanity, and how his films reflect form and function aligning with profoundly personal vision, resulting in truly peerless work.Then, it's time for some TRAP talk, as we give our initial thoughts on Shyamalan's latest film TRAP, now in theaters. We discuss the incredible work of Josh Hartnett as a serial killer evading capture at a pop concert, the gorgeous cinematography from Thai visionary Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, and the film's many narrative surprises (some more effective than others).Follow Juan Barquin on Twitter.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Writer, critic, and editor of the Electric Dreams newsletter Fred Barrett joins the show to discuss the neon-drenched, saxophone-laden, softcore erotic thrills of Nico Mastorakis' In the Cold of the Night. The film is a hazy, dreamlike cut of meathead De Palma references, prolonged sex scenes, and fascinating gestures toward deep state mind control conspiracies that make for a truly singular thriller punching well above its presumed weight. We disucss the history of director Nico Mastorakis, and how his time working withing the Greek junta regime informs the film's intricate subplots. Then we examine at the movie's absorbing atmosphere, and how it steadily brings you into its elevated, uncanny rhythms. Finally, we look at the film's intriguing explorations of pleasure and eroticism and how it pushes past the boundaries of "good taste" to arrive at fascinating, titillating places courtesy of too-close close-ups, a well-utilized bowl of marbles, and more. Follow Fred Barrett on Twitter.Read & Subscribe to Fred's newsletter, Electric Dreams. Read "A Fever All Through the Night", Fred's words on In the Cold of the Night at Electric Dream.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Film lover and zine-er Katie Stebbins joins to discuss Alan J. Pakula's smart, understated legal thriller Presumed Innocent featuring Harrison Ford in one of his finest performances. Taut, richly detailed, and featuring a considerable bench of "that guy" character actors (including John Spencer, Joe Grifasi, and Brian Dennehy), the film rises above the usual theatrics of the Grisham-era Hollywood legal drama with a crackerjack, densely-packed script that rewards upon repeat viewings while never sacrificing its immediacy.We discuss Harrison Ford in the early 90s, his contemporaneous swings into dramatic territory, and the considered decisions to separate the film's protagonist Rusty Sabich from audience's familiarity with the Harrison Ford action-hero brand. Then, we look at the film's complex narrative features (adapted from a book by lawyer-turned-novelist Scott Turrow) and how the film weaves in its rich details with respect for its audience's ability to connect the dots. Finally, we discuss the Extended Presumiverse - sequel novels and television adaptations of the further works within the Scott Turrow canon, including the most recent AppleTV+ series by David E. Kelley starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.Follow Katie Stebbins on Twitter.Check out Katie's Etsy for cool prints and film zines.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We sat down for a brief conversation with Alex Cox, the director of Repo Man, Sid & Nancy, Walker, and many more to talk about the state of filmmaking today, the sensations Alex hopes one feels when watching his films, and the sanctity of digital media and curation in an era of endless, decontextualized content streams. Alex is currently crowdfunding what may be his last movie, a Western version of Nicolai Gogol's book Dead Souls. Please consider contributing to “My Last Movie” on Kickstarter here:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexcoxfilms/my-last-movie....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Producer and filmmaker Chadd Harbold returns to the show to discuss Terrence Malick's awe-inspiring WWII epic The Thin Red Line. The film marked Malick's return to the director's chair after a 20 year absence from filmmaking and features an ensemble cast of dozens of recognizable faces, including many massive stars of the period reduced to mere minutes of screen time and a handful of lines of dialogue. Based on the James Jones novel of the same name, the movie is unlike any war film ever made and showcases Malick venturing deeper into his style of meandering camerawork, striking images of the natural world, and contemplative monologues delivered in voiceover (occasionally by actors we seldom see onscreen). We discuss the storied, decade-long journey of getting The Thin Red Line to screen, a process that involved Malick spending heaps of cash satisfying every one of his fleeting whims and every actor in Hollywood vying for a spot on the film's massive roster characters. Then, we discuss the film's juxtaposition of horrific war imagery with breathtaking shots of wildlife and nature - a visual contrast that enhances Malick's existential preoccupations with the nature of good and evil, darkness and light in the world. Finally, we praise Malick's working method, and how his decision to "shoot everything" allows his films to be born in the edit, often taking on thematic and visual nuances that were far from intentional on set, on the day. Chadd produced a new movie, Crumb Catcher, which is out in theaters TODAY 7/19/24. Check showtimes at your local Drafthouse or AMC. Follow Chadd Harbold on Twitter. ....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Another solo Aaron & Carlee episode as we dig into an oft-forgotten erotic thriller of the early 90s, Nicholas Kazan's Dream Lover, starring James Spader and a post-Twin Peaks Mädchen Amick. A story of love, lust, and betrayal, the film exhibits a disorienting, fragmented editing style that adds fascinating dimensions to its characters' psyches and indicts the film's ostensible victim, Spader's Ray Reardon, in his own deception as more and more layers of Amick's (playing Spader's wife) carefully guarded true self are revealed.We discuss the film's script and its thoughtful probing of the male ego; how a woman might take advantage of a man because of his own refusal to know her deeply, and how the slow revelations of truth can feel like deceptions to someone willfully ignorant. Then, we discuss the superlative performances from Spade and Amick, particularly the latter's singular ability to remain an object of desire even as she steadily becomes an antagonizing force within the film. Finally, we discuss the movie's relationship to other films that explore the casually kept secrets within matrimony and the turmoil that erupts when the facade of domestic bliss is shattered, most notably David Fincher's excellent 2014 thriller Gone Girl.Own the documentary We Kill For Love, courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome or stream the film on the people's streamer, Tubi.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Hit Factory's Chief Canadian Correspondent and host of Junk Filter Podcast Jesse Hawken is back to discuss the work of French genre provocateur Claude Chabrol and his 1995 thriller 'La Cérémonie' starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert. Inspired by the true story of Christine and Lea Papin - two French sisters who, as live-in maids, were convicted of murdering their employer's wife and daughter in 1933 - the film follows Sophie (Bonnaire) a housekeeper for a wealthy family in Brittany who befriends Jeanne (Huppert), the local postal clerk. Together, the two slowly begin to form a shared psychosis, sharing a collective fantasy of paranoia, resentment, and eventually explosive violence. One of Chabrol's most championed works, the film was a key influence and inspiration for Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 film 'Parasite'.We unpack Chabrol's prolific career as filmmaker, beginning with his origins in the Nouvelle Vague, before leaning into more commercial tendencies during his "Golden Era" of the late 60s through the 70s, and culminating in some of his most accomplished and acclaimed work in the 1990s. Then, we discuss La Cérémonie as genre exercise and how it yields further reward with repeat viewings. Finally, we attempt to make meaning of Chabrol's joke that the movie was "the last Marxist film" by unpacking its ideas about class resentment and the disaffected, uncaring attitudes of the rich toward working class anxieties. Follow Jesse Hawken on Twitter. Follow Junk Filter on TwitterListen & Subscribe to Junk Filter and support the podcast on Patreon. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.We've reached the halfway point of 2024, which means it's time to sit down with the joint CEOs of Hit Factory LLC and discuss some of the best films of the year, recent finds, and new additions the CarleeCore™ Canon.Sit back as Carlee (the preeminent online authority on horny movies) shares her read on Luca Guadagnino''s 'Challengers', Aaron talks through a few international features topping his best of the year list, and we both explain why 'The People's Joker' director Vera Drew is the new Tony Scott.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Producer and co-host of Die Hard On A Blank Podcast and recovering Lars Von Trier superfan Liam Billingham joins to discuss enigmatic Danish provocateur Lars Von Trier and his breakout Cannes award-winning feature 'Breaking the Waves' starring then-newcomer Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, and the late Katrin Cartlidge. The film, set in a small comminuty in the Scottish Highlands in the 1970s, tells the story of Bess McNeill, a simply, godly woman who marries outsider oil rig worker Jan. When Jan is paralyzed after a work accident, he compels Bess to take other lovers in order to "keep him alive"...a task which she steadily comes to believe has divine connotations. Shot in 35mm 'scope with the great Robby Muller behind the camera, the film is a visually staggering work broaching difficult subject matter in the realms of faith, sexuality, and patriarchy all rendered in Von Trier's singular tenor, equal parts brutal, earnest, and cheekily playful.We discuss the career of Von Trier, his work as a founding member of the Dogme95 collective, and the later period evolution of his storytelling. Then, we wrestle with the film's themes and execution of its ideas. Does the movie hold up for a longtime devotee and a newcomer alike? Finally, we try to make sense of Von Trier's oeuvre, and what - if anything - could be considered the trademarks of his style.Follow Liam Billingham on Twitter.Listen and subscribe to Die Hard On A Blank Podcast.Read & Subscribe to Peter Raleigh's Newsletter 'Long Library'. ....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Filmmaker, critic, video essayist and author Scout Tafoya joins the show to discuss the work of undersung journeyman Bruce Beresford and his brilliant 1991 film 'Black Robe', a story of faith, the frontier, and the church as a pernicious vestige of the European colonial project. Set amidst the 17th Century French conquests of North America in modern-day Quebec, the film follows the titular Black Robe, Father Laforgue, a Jesuit Missionary tasked with bringing Christianity to the indigenous populations of the region. As he ventures deep into Huron territory with his company of Algonquin guides, the limits of his faith and reason are tested, as it becomes clear that his beliefs and the promises they supposedly carry can find no purchase with a people who have no need for them. Greenlit in the wake of the success of 'Dances With Wolves' and cashing in on an exceptional amount of goodwill Beresford had accrued after directing the Academy Award-winning 'Driving Miss Daisy', the film is a brilliant study of self-deception, and the profoundly human impulses of one's perceptions of the divine. We discuss Beresford as filmmaker, his history as a contemporary of Australian greats Peter Weir and George Miller, and why his work deserves an immediate and vast reappraisal. Then, we discuss 'Black Robe', its exacting observations of faith and imperialism, and its unusually sensitive and well-researched portrayals of indigenous American tribes. Finally, we talk about other films in the canon of great portrayals of faith and the frontier, including Michael Mann's gorgeous 'The Last of the Mohicans' and Martin Scorsese's late-period masterpiece 'Silence'. Follow Scout Tafoya on Twitter. Support Scout's video essay work and criticism on Patreon.Buy Scout's book 'But God Made Him a Poet: Watching John Ford in the 21st Century".Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Filmmaker, producer, writer, and podcast guest extraordinaire Jared Bailey joins to discuss one of the iconic texts of 90s popular cinema, 'Forrest Gump' directed by Robert Zemeckis and winner of the 1994 Academy Award for Best Picture (among many others). For all its swings at grandeur, the film is a deceptively simple one in premise: An ordinary man reflects on his life, regaling passersby with his stories about coming of age in America from the 1950's onward and detailing the instances in which he became a passive observer of - or coincidental participant in - many of the generation's noteworthy events. One of the greatest box office successes of the decade, the movie is also one that perfectly encapsulates the deeply cynical politics (or the posited apoliticism) of The End of History. We discuss the film's curious flattening of the historical record, papering over the thornier details of post-war America for an audience seeking to make sense of the decades of conflict that preceded the 90s and its erasure of the material context for monumental touchstones such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Then, we explore filmmaker Robert Zemeckis and his seemingly pathological need to embed bizarre racial elements into his most popular features, often commenting in ways that become more problematic than the surface-level prejudices of his contemporaries. Finally, we discuss the long-gestating (and ultimately cancelled) sequel to the film, which would have seen Forrest involved in even more historically resonant instances such as the OJ Simpson Bronco chase and the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Follow Jared Bailey on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Mad Max maestro George Miller has a new film in theaters, so writer/producer/co-creator of Fox's 'Sleepy Hollow' & co-host of Podcast Like It's... Phil Iscove joins to discuss the work of the visionary director and his brilliant, underseen sequel to everyone's favorite talking pig movie, 'Babe: Pig in the City'. Following the breakout success of 1995's 'Babe', Miller delivered a darker, more adventurous story that sees the titular pig braving a cold, indifferent Metropolis (featuring a fascinating assembly of familiar landmarks from cityscapes around the world) and winning the hearts of its embittered animal residents through his courage, cunning, and compassion. Gene Siskel's #1 film of 1998 and a favorite of musician and actor Tom Waits, the film has steadily found its faithful audience after an initially disappointing box office run, anticipating some of Miller's careerlong challenges with compelling audiences to gamble on his bold visions.We discuss the film's narrative and thematic swings, how Miller takes the story in fascinating new directions, and why the filmmaker's insistence on never repeating himself becomes both the film's greatest asset and its toughest barrier for entry. Then, we assess the movie's incredible technical achievements, and why making this film feels like it might have been just as challenging as Miller's work on any of the Mad Max films. We also praise the film's willingness to embrace difficult emotions and never shy away from challenging its target audience of young viewers with harrowing and heartrending scenes of animals in extrememly human experiences of distress, opression, and danger.Finally, we turn our eyes to George Miller's latest entry in his long-running action series, 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'. Epic in scope, bold in vision, and featuring some of Miller's most ambitious storytelling, 'Furiosa' has been embraced critically, but is failing to find its audience, with disappointing box office returns and a near-guaruntee of a short theatrical run.On the back half of this episode, we make the case for 'Furiosa', praise its grandeur as well as its nuance, and offer up some readings of the film that challenge many of the common criticisms we've seen so far.Follow Phil Iscove on Twitter.Listen to and support Podcast Like It's... on Patreon and wherever you stream podcasts.....Our theme song is 'Mirror' by Chris Fish.

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Filmmaker, writer, and dude with an insanely high midi-chlorian count Neil Bahadur joins to discuss George Lucas's return to the Star Wars saga with the prequel trilogy kickoff 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'. Met with ambivalence by most, genuine revulsion by others upon its initial release in the summer of 1999, the film (and the prequel trilogy more broadly) have seen a continued reappraisal, especially in the era of so many soulless Disney-era Star Wars productions. The Phantom Menace is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary with a recent limited re-release on IMAX screens. On this episode, we make a case for the film not just as comparatively good, but a genuinely excellent entry in the Star Wars canon.We discuss the film's place within the the decade-spanning saga as well as its position within the film landscape of the era - how it pushed the boundaries of digital effects integration, and signaled (in non-alarmist terms) an evolving style of blockbuster filmmaking. Then, we talk about the film's narrative highs and lows, and share our thoughts on the critical points of 25 years of criticism: Midi-chlorians, Jar Jar Binks, Jake Lloyd, Watto and more. Finally, we praise the film's many incredible formal qualities - its relationship to Lucas's early student films visual experiements, The Phantom Menace's debt to classic cinema greats like Kurosawa and Douglas Sirk, and the brilliance of the film's multi-phase finale, cross-cutting between four different theaters of action seamlessly.Follow Neil Bahadur on Twitter and LetterboxdWatch 'The Beginning: Making Start Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'Watch '1:42:08 To Qualify', George Lucas's 1966 short film....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Writer, critic, and Hit Factory Discord all-star Jason Miller returns to the show to discuss Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan's 'Center Stage', an experimental biopic exploring the life and work of Chinese silent film star Ruan Lingyu who achieved an unprecedented celebrity before tragically taking her own life at only 24. Ruan is played magnificently by Maggie Cheung in one of her first "serious" (and arguably one of her very best) performances. The film brilliantly forgoes a traditional biopic structure, intercutting the filmic recreations with real footage of Ruan's handful of enduring film performances. From there, the film offers an additional layer of complexity by frequently inserting black & white interstitials of director Stanley Kwan and Maggie Cheung (as herself) discussing the life of Ruan Lingyu and the production of the film. As the film goes on, these distinct layers begin to fracture and smear, both emphasizing the unreality of the recreations and eliciting a deeper sense of truth to the real Ruan Lingyu that the film understands it can never fully capture. We discuss the way Kwan navigates his experimental form through the lens of classic melodrama (taking influence from the likes of Douglas Sirk) in order to create something that invites even as it antoginizes and provokes. Then, we consider the real Ruan Lingyu and some of her most well-known works (including 'The Goddess' directed by Wu Yonggang) and how the open construction of 'Center Stage' invites us to pursue further understanding rather than attempt to act as the final word on Ruan. Finally, we look at the state of the modern biopic and the furstrating lack on ingenuity and experiementation when approaching the titanic lives that these films consider. Follow Jason Miller on Twitter and everywhere else. Watch Wu Yonggang's 'The Goddess' starring Ruan Lingyu on YouTube.Watch Cai Chusheng's 'New Women' starring Ruan Lingyu on YouTube.Watch Maggie Cheung on her acting style alongside fellow Hong Kong actor Phillip Chan.Read Jonathan Rosenbaum on 'Center Stage'.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Writer, comedian, and Lydia Tár's former publicist Daniella Mazzio joins to discuss Gus Van Sant's sharp, pitch-black satire of media, true crime, and a patently American brand of late 20th Century celebrity, 'To Die For'. The film is based on the Joyce Maynard novel of the same name, itself inspired by the true life trial of Pamela Smart, who seduced a teenage boy and coerced him and a friend to murder Smart's husband. The film features an excellent ensemble cast, including Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Dillon, Illeana Douglas, and a career-best Nicole Kidman. We discuss 'To Die For' as a nexus of many careers at compelling inflection points: Nicole Kidman breaking into leading woman roles while married to Tom Cruise, Gus Van Sant on the eve of his career skyrocketing to new heights with the success of the following year's 'Good Will Hunting', and the chance casting of Casey Affleck and Joaquin Phoenix who would later become in-laws and artistic collaborators. Then, we examine the brilliant, kaleidoscopic script by 'The Graduate' screenwriter Buck Henry and how the film's patchwork construction foregrounds it thematically rich details. Finally, we discuss the real life inspiration for the film as well as the way the movie's indictment of the American media landscape anticipated elements of the OJ Simpson trial, which was playing out during the film's production and concluded just days before its release. (Editor's Note: This episode was recorded before OJ Simpson's death on April 10th, 2024 at the age of 76).Follow Daniella Mazzio on Twitter. Read Daniella's Substack, 'Room Tone'.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

In honor of its upcoming 25th anniversary (as well as a chance meeting between the director and guest Matt Belenky), we're unlocking our episode on Spike Lee's 'Summer of Sam'. Here's what we had to say about this monumental work back in the summer of 2022: Writer Matt Belenky joins us from New York in the midst of a heat wave to discuss Spike Lee's 'Summer of Sam', an exuberant survey of Outer Boroughs New York in the late 1970s as well as a chilling study of working class anxiety, paranoia, and scapegoating of the Other.We discuss the many controversies surrounding the film's release (a common through line with Lee's films), the impeccable performances of the oft-undersung leads - including career-best work from John Leguizamo and Mira Sorvino, and the textured analysis of a politically tumultuos era that bears more than a few similarities to the Summer of 1999 in which the film was released. Follow Matt Belenky on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Writer and critic Eamon Tracy joins to discuss the brilliant James Gray and his debut feature 'Little Odessa' starring Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, and Vanessa Redgrave. Made when Gray was just 23 years old, it's a semi-autobiographical story that merges a character study of an estranged Russian-Jewish family with elements of the crime genre to arrive at something that pulls from the films of Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet and Luchino Visconti in equal measure.We begin by discussing the career of James Gray, his undersung filmography, and his reputation as a notoriously great interview subject. Then we explore the world of 'Little Odessa', its melodramatic flourishes, stunning camerawork, and deliberate tone and pacing. Finally, we look forward to what might be next for Gray as a filmmaker, having last released the film 'Armageddon Time' which functions as a compelling bookend to the director's three decades in filmmaking.Read Eamon's recent piece on 'The Battle of Algiers' and its relation to Palestinian resistance for The Hampton InstituteFollow Eamon Tracy on Twitter....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Leeds-based film journalist and podcaster Amber T. (@hornbloodfire) joins for a double feature discussion of bad vibes connoisseur Kiyoshi Kurosawa's V-Cinema revenge thrillers 'Serpent's Path' and 'Eyes of the Spider'. Written in collaboration with 'Ringu' screenwriter Hiroshi Takahashi and directed back-to-back within an incredibly short production period of mere weeks, the films sidestep Kurosawa's customary supernatural impulses seen in hits like 'Cure' and 'Pulse' in favor of stripped-down genre thrills that keep the director's oppressive modern landscapes and bleak explorations of societal alienation intact. We begin by discussing the origins of the two films as well as Kurosawa's history with V-Cinema productions, a direct-to-video market in Japan that carries few of the pejorative connotations associated with DTV films produced in western markets. Then, we unpack each of the films' takes on the revenge thriller - 'Serpent's Path' explores the ugly spiral of dehumanization that occurs as conviction gives way to the reality of doling out violence and asks if there is any justice to be found at the end of vindictive pursuit. On the other hand, 'Eyes of the Spider' explores the aftermath of revenge and the hollowness of life once the fleeting satisfaction of vengeance has been achieved. Finally, we look forward to this year, where Kurosawa is preparing a French-language remake of 'Serpent's Path', with a likely debut at the Festival de Cannes.Follow Amber T. on Twitter.  Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Political reporter David Weigel joins to discuss the work of director Hal Hartley and his 1997 feature, 'Henry Fool'. The film, written and directed by one of the great undersung auteurs of American indie cinema during its heyday, blends a sense of sweeping literary scope with the understatedness of an indie comedy to tell a story about creativity, imperfect people, and the commercial forces that antagonize true outsider artistry. Henry Fool would become the first in a trilogy of films by Hartley, continuing with the 2006 riff on espionage thrillers, 'Fay Grim' and concluding in 2014 with the final installment 'Ned Rifle'.We begin with an examination of Hal Hartley, the unique alchemy of his work, and his debt to the films and filmmakers of the French New Wave. Then, we discuss 'Henry Fool' as a singular work of daring, frequently flying in the face of good taste, probing its audience's sense of morality, and asking us to find connection with a host of broken individuals who don't act in accordance with our own judgements. Finally, we look into the future and discuss Hartley's most recent (successful) attempts to get a new film off the ground and how a 2020's audience might receive a filmmaker who has always bucked commercial trends and swings for populist appeal.Follow David Weigel on Twitter.Subscribe to Semafor Newsletters....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Writer and podcaster Jake Tropila returns for a dive into the dusty, hard-nosed pleasures of John Dahl's 1993 neo-noir western 'Red Rock West'. The film has been newly restored and released on blu-ray in a great edition courtesy of Cinématographe, a new sub-label from the folks behind Vinegar Syndrome. We start with a discussion of the career of John Dahl, an underrated director with a sharp style that made him a prime helmer of small, smart thrillers of the era alongside his skilled conteporaries like Bill Duke and Carl Franklin. Then we turn to Red Rock West, its influences, and where it exists downstream from the success of the Coen Brothers' 'Blood Simple', a film that bolstered a neo-noir resurgence in the late 80s and early 90s. Finally, we discuss the relative absence of the neo-noir in the modern cinematic landscape, the migration of these sorts of stories into longform, episodic television, and some hopes for the genre's future, courtesy of some recent releases like the latest Rose Glass film 'Love Lies Bleeding', a film that had yet to be released when this episode was recorded. Follow Jake Tropila on Twitter. Listen to and support Optimism Vaccine. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Writer and Senior Vice President at The Black List Kate Hagen joins to discuss Nancy Savoca's 'Household Saints', a generational tale of Italian women in New York and the shifting influences of faith, divinity, and family in their day to day lives. Long unavailable and thought lost to time, an original print of the film was discovered by the filmmakers and has received a new 4k restoration courtesy of Milestone Films. The restoration is screening theatrically all across the country and a proper blu ray release of the film is headed to Kino Lorber in April.We discuss the work of Nancy Savoca, her recent string of restorations, and the position she occupies in the broader conversation about independent film of the 1990s. Then, we examine the film's brilliantly nuanced take on Catholicism and faith - how it manifests in the lives of its central characters, and how the film maintains a compelling balance of fascination and skepticism for the notion of divinity. Finally, we discuss the movie as a triumphant story of what can happen when film preservation wins out, and why there is even more work to be done on the front of preservation now and in the future. Follow Kate Hagen on Twitter.Read up on the how-to's of film preservation at Missing Movies.Watch Roger Ebert on Household Saints. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.Unofficial Hit Factory Sci-Fi Correspondent Aaron Thorpe is back to discuss the time traveling eccentricities of Terry Gilliam's '12 Monkeys' - a sort of quasi-remake of Chris Marker's 'La Jatée' (1963) featuring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad PittWe unpack the career of Terry Gilliam, why he was seen as a studio liability in the early 90s, and how this film represents the very peak of his critical and commercial successes. Then we discuss the film's take on the messy narrative contrivance of time-travel, how it attends to its bleak vision of a futureless future, and how some modern time travel narratives help reveal a sliver of hope in the film's tragic determinism. Watch "George Carlin on The Environment".Follow Aaron Thorpe on Twitter.Listen & Subscribe to The Trillbilly Workers Party.Listen & Subscribe to Struggle Session. ....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.