Prolific filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay joins us to discuss her newest feature The Serpent's Skin (expanding this week to Los Angeles and San Francisco) alongside the high-gloss, sugary sweet, and characteristically transgressive Gregg Araki film Splendor. Structured as a prototypical romantic comedy, the film subverts the classic love triangle dynamic to explore the unique dynamics and language of intimacy that develops between a romantically committed threesome.

We begin with a discussion of Alice's latest film The Serpent's Path - a lush, bold trans lesbian fantasy that wears its debts to teen classics like The Craft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer proudly on its sleeve. Then, we dive into the 90s work of Gregg Araki, and how Splendor subverts the expectations laid by the director's previous films in the Teen Apocalypse trilogy while losing none of the director's antagonisms toward the stricutres of heteronormative American society. Finally, we interrogate the film's subtle complexities, how Araki navigates the shifting dynamics of the threesome within the language of the romcom, and how the film pushes past the trap of "selling out vs. buying in" customary to so many films of the decade.

See The Serpent's Skin, now playing in NY, SF & LA.

Follow Alice Maio Mackay on Twitter.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Jake Serwin and Ian Rhine of the illustrious Pod Casty for Me join to discuss Alex Cox's 1991 crime drama Highway Patrolman. Made during a period of exile in Mexico after Cox's ostensible blacklisting from Hollywood (and the WGA) following the dramatic failure of his 1987 film Walker, the film tells the story of - you guessed it - a rookie highway patrolman in rural northern Mexico as he navigates the job, The System™, and myraid problems domestic and romantic. 

We survey the signature punk style of Alex Cox as filmmaker, and how he renders Mexico an environment of characteristically seedy texture and aesthetic while preserving nuance, never letting the people or the country become a monolith. Then, we discuss the film's handling of character, specifically protagonist Pedro Rojas (played excellently by Roberto Sosa) and how he relates to two women in the film - his wife (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez) and his sex worker girlfriend (Vanessa Bauche). Finally, we consider the film's reflections on policing, the things distinctive to Mexico and its people's relationship with law enforcement, as well as those things that remain consistent in how young men become attracted to the job and how value systems and ideology are propagated and preserved. 

Watch Highway Patrolman on YouTube via Kino Lorber

Listen and Subscribe to Pod Casty For Me

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

We discuss Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s vision of nature as a dialectical force where harmony and disorder coexist. Then we debate the film’s titular tree, Chrisma. Is it malevolent, toxic, or a neutral force weaponized by humankind? Finally, we trace Kurosawa’s lineage through filmmakers like David Cronenberg and the great journeyman Richard Fleischer, and how their influence, filtered through his austere style, produces a deeper sense of distance and unease.

Follow Robert Rubsam on Twitter.

Read Rob on spiritual cinema (The Testament of Ann Lee, Sirāt, & Revelations of Divine Love) at The Baffler.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

We first begin with some thoughts on recent events at the Berlin Film Festival and offer our definitive answer to the question on everyone's lips, "Is cinema political?" Then, we venture into Schumacher's film, a not-very-good grisly crime thriller with some resonant considerations about the brutalization of young women within the machinery of capital. Finally, we share some personal thoughts on the most recent releases from the Epstein Files, what they tell us about the nature of power in the world, and offer up an alternative movie title for those thinking more deeply about the case's reverberations.
 
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Sam Raimi's new film Send Help is in theaters, so we decided to look back at the director's undersung maximalist Western pastiche The Quick and the Dead. A Raimi Movie™ through and through, the film pays loving homage to revisionist entries in the western canon like Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West and Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter, but also sacrifices some of the thematic potential of the genre's Golden Era in favor of shoot-em-up schlock and a thoroughly fun time with a knockout cast of established and up-and-coming greats including Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and a fresh-faced Leonardo DiCaprio.

We begin with a discussion of the Western, its persistence and malleability as genre, and where Raimi's vision falls in the lineage of America's mythmaking. Then, we examine the political limitations of The Quick and the Dead, its topicality as a piece of pop filmmaking, and its reduction of symbolism to mere signifier. Finally, we discuss Sharon Stone as actor and producer, and how the film offers her an oppotunity to explore a character that runs counter to the archetypal femme fatale roles she had made her career playing thus far.

Elsewhere, we briefly discuss another great 00s thriller in our ongoing watch project - David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway and share some thoughts on the new Isaac Chotiner interview with The Quick and the Dead and Melania DP Dante Spinotti.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Something new for our faithful Patrons - A conversation about all the movies, new and old, that we've been enjoying this month not covered elsewhere on the show. We hope you enjoy!
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Our Theme Song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Aaron sat down with WTO/99 director/co-editor Ian Bell and producer/co-editor Alex Megaro to discuss the film's bracing depiction of the WTO protests, their prevailing ramifications in the 2020s, and whether the event's radicalizing groundswell is replicable in today's polarized political reality.

WTO/99 has its Bay Area debut at The Roxie next Wednesday 1/28/26. Find tickets HERE.

WTO/99 returns to the Bay Area Tuesday 2/24/28 at The New Parkway. Find tickets HERE.

Find more upcoming screenings of WTO/99.

Watch the trailer for WTO/99.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We begin with a discussion of Senegal's cinema, its anti-colonial dimensions, and how the rhythms of Mambéty's film antagonize western modes of narrative and filmmaking. Then, we examine the film's exploration of the corrupting nature of capital, and how forces like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank acted as coercive mechanisms for privatization and neoliberal policy in Africa and throughout the developing world. Finally, we discuss the film's sexual politics, where we feel its metaphors break down in its exploration of the character of Ramatou, and where fidelity to source material occasionally muddles the film's incisive colonial critique.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

It's the Hit Factory 2025 Digestif: A rundown of some of our favorite un-discussed films of the past year as well as some brilliant new-to-us discoveries...A low-stakes sporting event becomes a metaphor for the cinematic experience. A high school becomes a microcosm of our technofascist panopticon. A mother at the end of her rope. An artist at the end of his prime. These and more are explored within. So pull up a stool, grab yourself a glass, and kick back one more before we call it a night.
 
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We begin by dissecting the films amorphous, byzantine, and *totally fabricated* understanding of Middle Eastern geopolitics, and how its obfuscations function as a tool of propaganda, making the threat of Muslim extremism feel omnipresent and unknowable. Then, we consider how the film contends with imperial blowback, individuating it as mistakes by discrete actors rather than the guiding policy of America's geopolitical meddling across the globe. Finally, we reckon with the film's countless contradictions, its liberal posturing toward the "right" kind of wariness toward extremism, and its unconscious buttressing of the same ideologies that lead to fascist persecution of The Other.

Follow Séamus Malekafzali on Twitter.

Listen and Subscribe to Turbulence Podcast.

Subscribe to Séamus' Substack.

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Our Denzember Theme Song is "Funk" by Oppo.

Roger Ebert Associate Editor Robert Daniels returns to the show to once again discuss the work of Denzel Washington and Spike Lee, this time unpacking his brilliant 1998 sports drama He Got Game. The film stars Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, an Attica inmate who is tasked with getting his high school basketball prodigy son, Jesus (Ray Allen), to commit to playing for the governor's alma mater in exchange for a reduced prison sentence. A film as concerned with the capitalist mechanisms undergirding basketball culture as it is with acknowledging the intoxicating allure of the game's myth, Spike crafts a uniquel rewarding sports movie in a melodrama's skin. 

We begin with a discussion about Spike's formal ingenuity, and how he positions basketball as inextricable from broader Americana; a definitive part of American culture. Then, we praise the dual leading performances of Denzel Washington and NBA star Ray Allen. Finally, we disscuss the film's showstopper final act, showcasing Denzel and Allen's skills on the court in a brilliantly pitched one-on-one game that approaches the sublime, even supernatural.

Follow Robert Daniels on Twitter.

Read Robert on the musical direction of Spike Lee films at Letterboxd.

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Our Denzember theme song is "Funk" by Oppo.

Follow Bobbi Miller on Twitter.

Watch and Subscribe to Culture Kitsch on YouTube.

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Our Denzember Theme Song is "Funk" by Oppo

Denzember 2 continues with the return of Vulture Film Critic Bilge Ebiri and a spirited discussion of Russel Mulcahy's 1991 thriller Ricochet, a film of lean premise that takes its story to absolutely batshit places at every turn. With the ever-capable journeyman director Mulcahy at the helm, a sturdy script from Die Hard writer Steven E. de Souza, and committed performances from Denzel Washington and John Lithgow, the film finds a way to make every one of its scenes memorable by maintaining its ludicrous energy from start to finish and finding lurid thrills behind every corner.

We begin with an appraisal of our experiences with Ricochet, and the delight of finding a film marketed as a boilerplate thriller doing everything it can to shock and disarm you. Then, we examine the deceptively intelligent plotting of the film, pitting Denzel's Assistant DA Nick Styles - an ambitious Black lawyer seeking opportunity in the justice system- against not just Lithgow's psycopathic murderer on a quest for revenge but also the collective biases of the media and elite centers of institutional power that readily see Styles as an interloper in their predominantly white spaces. Finally, we discuss the rare position of Denzel as a movie star, how he stands singularly as both an actor of profound versatility and one that inhabits an intoxicating Movie Star persona.

Follow Bilge Ebiri on Twitter

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Our Denzember theme some is "Funk" by Oppo.

We discuss the film's tepid reception upon release, and how a (predominantly white) critical audience failed to understand the political dimensions of a film about Black music and its commercial and social appropriation. Then, we reflect on Spike Lee's career and his brilliant cohort of collaborators, including composer Terence Blanchard (making his first appearance on a Spike Lee soundtrack), cinematographer Ernest R. Dickerson, and the electric stylings of costume designer Ruth E. Carter. Finally, we reflect on the movie's complicated ending, and what we're to make of its reflections on artistry, family, and whether exceptional talents can hold the two in balance.

Follow Minnie Zondi on Twitter.

Follow Minnie on Substack.

Read Minnie's Twitter thread on Ruth E. Carter's costume work for Ryan Coogler's Sinners.

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Our Denzember Theme Song is "Funk" by Oppo

Better late than never, we're back with a conversation about Paul Thomas Anderson's recent critical and box office sensation One Battle After Another. PTA loosely adapts (and updates) Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland, setting the story against the backdrop of an indeterminate moment in the 21st century to tell a story of washed-up revolutionary Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is dragged back into the fray when an old enemy (Sean Penn) resurfaces and threatens his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti). The film represents the first time in over 20 years that Anderson has set a story in contemporary times, and he uses the opportunity to examine the current landscape of America, its political fissures, and to lay out his personal vision of a hopeful future staked out by the next generation...

But Anderson also readily betrays the limits of his political vision, and his myopic understanding of the circumstances that have produced and perpetuated this country's bigotries and oppressive hierarchies. While One Battle After Another offers countless pleasures as an obeject of undeniable cinematic energy and craftsmanship, it fails to elucidate a coherent sociopolitical ideology, even as it readily co-opts and aestheticizes the langauge and iconography of radical leftwing militancy.

We unpack the film's many contradictions, and key in to what makes OBAA a simultaneously riveting and frustrating watch. Then, we discuss the film's treatment of race and the cadre of brilliant Black actresses who mine depth and nuance out of Anderson's elliptical storytelling. Finally, we call for a deeper discourse about the film that makes room for its many contradictions and shortcomings, arguing that these jagged edges make the film a more urgent and enduring work than insistences on its perfection.

Read Angelica Jade Bastién, on One Battle After Another at Vulture

Read Lyvie Scott on One Battle After Another at Inverse
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Our Theme Song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Writer and critic David Hering joins us from Liverpool to discuss the final film from the ingenious Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut. Originally conceived in the 1970s as a follow-up to Kubrick's landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey as a more straightforward sex comedy, the film adapts and updates Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle (Dream Story) into a visually stunning, phantasmagorical, and startlingly prescient dark night of the soul featuring one of Hollywood's then most famous couples that explores the psychosexual anxieties of masculinity and patriarchal power dynamics - upheld by loci of elite influence - that oppress, sublimate, and throttle our desires.

We begin by examining the metatextual maelstrom surrounding the film, and how a series of distinct discourses (Kubrick's first film in over a decade, his sudden death shortly after the film's completion, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's tabloid-ready romance) united to produce a landmark film event that was met by a befuddled critical and commercial audience alike. Then, we discuss the film's milieu, its controlled artificiality, and Kubrick's masterful use of repetition to create a uniquely dreamlike essence that beguiles even as it suggests a disquieting world of influence operating just outside of our periphery. Finally, we unpack the film's mysteries and unresolved tensions; how the film's conclusion (and iconic final line) suggest a subtle defiance toward the systems of control that minimize and abstract our libidinal, desirous agency. 

Follow David Hering on Twitter.

Check out David's work at his website.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We begin with a conversation about The Best of Me, its creation, and how we should understand the case of the deeply disturbed López. Then we discuss Michael Haneke, his perspectives on violence and the media, and we take on some of the common criticisms of his work as overly didactic or sanctimonious. Finally, we look at Benny's Video, it's considerations of mediated existence in the late 20th century, and it prescience with regard to the digital unreality we all inhabit online every day in the 2020s.

More info on The Best of Me can be found here.

Watch the trailer for The Best of Me.

Follow Heather Landsman on Twitter.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Podcaster, author, and emissary from the City of Brotherly Love Trevor Strunk joins to discuss Robert Rodriguez's 1998 Breakfast-Club-Meets-Body-Snatchers riff The Faculty. Boasting a memorable cast of young up-and-comers and a script written by Scream-scribe Kevin Williamson, the film is both playfully self-aware and slyly subversive in its explorations of social hierarchies and the omnipresent 90s fixation with conformity to the monoculture.

We begin by exploring how the film updates the Body Snatcher narrative, borrowing (and explicitly citing) the literary works of Robert A. Heinlen and Jack Finney, as well as both previous Body Snatchers film adaptations by Don Siegel and Philip Kaufman. Then, we contend with some of the movie's most intriguing premises - its assertions about capitalist hierarchies and how they maintain the oppression of marginalized out-groups as well as how American society impedes gratifying sexual expression (especially for women). Finally, we examine the deceptively cynical ending and what it suggests about the stickiness of the neoliberal order, its structural hold on the horizons of our sociopolitical imagination.

Follow Trevor Strunk on Twitter

Listen & Subscribe to No Cartridge

Buy Trevor's book Story Mode: Video Games and the Interplay between Consoles and Culture

Join us on Thursday November 6th, 2025 6pm PT/9pm ET for a virtual screening of FAILED STATE + Q&A w/ Dir. Christopher Jason Bell.

Purchase tickets HERE.

Hit Factory Patrons can RSVP at Patreon from our pinned post.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We begin with a discussion of Kore-eda's formalism, and how the director embraces both the erudite affect of slow cinema and the melodramatic dramaturgy of classical narrative to mixed effect. Then, we engage the film's high concept premise, how its emboldened by its ambiguities and where the film still feels grafted to terrestrial quotidian experience. Finally, we ponder the wide array of films that deal with the afterlife as a bureaucratic machine, and whether applying systemic order to something like death is a comforting fantasy or a cloistering nightmare.

Read Hirokazu Kore-eda's director statement on After Life.

Listen & Subscribe to Pod Casty for Me.

Follow Pod Casty for Me on Twitter.

Join us on Thursday November 6th, 2025 6pm PT/9pm ET for a virtual screening of FAILED STATE + Q&A w/ Dir. Christopher Jason Bell.

Purchase tickets HERE.

Hit Factory Patrons can RSVP at Patreon from our pinned post.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Film writer and author of the upcoming book De Palma Does Hollywood Travis Woods joins us to discuss the exemplary filmmaker and his 1993 crime masterpiece Carlito's Way, starring Al Pacino as the titular Carlito Brigante, an ex-hustler freed from prison after serving five years of a thirty-year sentence on a legal technicality who seeks to outrun the shadow of his past, resulting in tragedy. Reteaming with Pacino and producer Martin Bregman a decade after the success of Scarface, De Palma imbues his characteristically nimble, brilliant formal mastery with sweeping romance and stirring fatalism that remains one of the director's richest, most personal films. 

We begin with a long discussion about De Palma as filmmaker and unpack the inherent politicization of his form. Then, we talk about Carlito's Way and its place within De Palma's greater filmmography; how it splits the difference between his "one for them, one for me" routine, and how the film subverts our knowledge of De Palma's implicative form to embrace a gentler mode of his signature style. Finally, we consider the film's reflection of the political ideology of the 90s, warring between the filmmaker's materialist persuasion and the mytholigizing force of the End of History. 

Follow Travis Woods on Twitter.

Join us on Thursday November 6th, 2025 6pm PT/9pm ET for a virtual screening of FAILED STATE + Q&A w/ Dir. Christopher Jason Bell.

Purchase tickets HERE.

Hit Factory Patrons can RSVP at Patreon from our pinned post.

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Our theme music is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

On the occasion of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film One Battle After Anotherin theaters, we look back at the director's ambitious, unwieldy, and under-loved 1999 feature Magnolia starring a massive ensemble that includes returning PTA collaborators Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy and Philip Baker Hall alongside a career-best Tom Cruise in a showstopper supporting turn that would net him his third (and, to date, last) Academy Award nomination for a performance. Still his longest, most sprawling effort, Magnolia is a definitively Paul Thomas Anderson picture in both milieu and concern setting its sights on flawed, idiosyncratic characters living in and around the San Fernando Valley. But Magnolia also represents a distinctive pivot in Andersons career, as he begins to operate in a decidedly more minor key that would come to define the second act of his career in the 21st century.

We begin with a thorough examination of Paul Thomas Anderson as filmmaker, his strengths and his shortcomings. Then, we ask an obvious, but slyly difficult question - What exactly is Magnolia about? Finally, we discuss the film as it relates to Anderson's oeuvre, how it informs and supplements his later work and how its flaws become more apparent as his filmography evolves.

Read Nick Pinkerton's piece The Master? at The Point

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We begin by discussing Sōmai as director, his style, and what we think might have drawn him to stories about the occasionally painful experiences of youth. Then, we explore how the film elicits nuance within the childhood experience of familial separation, acknowledging both the grief intrinsic to such experiences and the role children play as emotional anchors for their parents. Finally, we examine Sōmai's considerations about modern Japanese life and how he rallies against conservative social positions on divorce through the film's delicate character work.

The Roxie kicks off The Dream Will Never End, a career retrospective of the films of Satoshi Kon THIS FRIDAY, beginning with the new 4K restoration of PERFECT BLUE on Friday 10/3 introduced by Hit Factory Podcast! You can purchase tickets to the screening or the entire retrospective here.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We begin by reflecting on Saving Private Ryan's legacy and cultural context, its place as a cultural behemoth and its application as a load-bearing hagiography for American militarism that found new purchase in a post-9/11 context just a few years after its release. Then, we examine Spielberg's formalism, how images contradict text within the film, and what to make of the movie's propositions on its own terms. Finally, we address the movie's evocation of difficult realities of warfare, and ask if the film meets the mandate and responsibility of such images; how history and contemporary context color our interpretations, and what value there is in continuing to return to such questions in our current moment.

Follow Brendan Hodges on Twitter

Read Peter Labuza's Radical Democracy: Mythos and Politics in Saving Private Ryan

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Film Critic Lex Briscuso joins us to discuss Satoshi Kon's masterful animated psychological thriller Perfect Blue. The film follows Mima, a former J-Pop idol who has recently left the music group Cham! that made her famous and beloved in order to pursue a career as an actress. As Mima struggles to adapt to the demands of her new profession, she becomes the victim of an obsessive stalker and steadily begins to lose her grip on reality. Visceral, confounding, and richly layered with considerations about celebrity, artifice, and the toll of creating a public persona, Perfect Blue represents the very best animated cinema has to offer and showcases what the medium is capable of in the hands of a brilliant artist.

We begin by unpacking the film's contemplations of public image and the fledgling internet; how Kon anticipates the production of digital avatars and how these versions of ourselves skew people's perceptions of our interiority. Then, we discuss Perfect Blue's perspective on patriarchal, predatory systems within entertainment and art, as well as how the film conveys the top-down proprietary relationships that we build around celebrity. Finally, we examine the film's core tragedy - the loss of agency and sense of self that necessary follows any participation within a larger system of public visibility and the subsequent collapse of solidarity these losses breed.

Follow Lex Briscuso on Twitter.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

Finally, we spend some time discussing Chris's latest brilliant and beautiful film Failed State, how its component parts all came together, and what it means to be a filmmaker in our moment of constant crises and social alienation.

Follow Christopher Jason Bell on Twitter

Watch Chris's films on Means.tv

Watch the trailer for Failed State

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Associate Editor at Roger Ebert Robert Daniels joins to discuss the latest Spike Lee joint Highest 2 Lowest, a loose reimagining of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 procedural masterpiece High & Low that marks the fifth collaborationg between Lee and the inimitable Denzel Washington. Thematically rich, unabashedly confrontational and occasionally baffling, Highest 2 Lowest is everything you would hope for from a late period Spike Lee picture, as Lee grapples with personal concerns about masculinity, the contradictions of Black capitalism, and the generational divide around the nature of authenticity in art when success has finally come your way.

We begin with a discussion of the bold formal choices of Highest 2 Lowest, including the stylistic gambit of dividing the film firmly into two aesthetic halves; the first half marked by an austere, antiseptic, and artificial atmosphere that finally gives way to a more daring, brash and musical rhythm when the film descends on the streets of Spike's native New York, escaping the Dumbo high rise apartment of the film's early chapters. Then, we explore the film as autocritique, with Lee and Washington examining their positions as elder statesmen of Black artistry, and the push-pull of working within systems of capital built upon racialized heirarchies. Finally, we tackle the film's thorny political propositions, its conservative tendencies, and the thrill of trying to parse where exactly an artist like Spike Lee stands on the issues and questions he presents within the text.

Read Robert Daniels on Highest 2 Lowest at Roger Ebert

Read Alphonse Pierre on Highest 2 Lowest at Pitchfork

Follow Robert Daniels on Twitter.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We begin with an explication of Sembène's politics and how his Marxism informs the social milieu of his works. Then, we praise the film's feminism, its many nuanced women characters, and the director's progressive standpoint on sex work . Finally, we relate Sembène's invocation of aid as a tool of imperial oppression to current situations ongoing in Gaza.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We discuss the film's take on the punk in the 80s and how it finds common throughlines with 90s slacker culture through a flattening of the political contours of the anarcho-punk movement. Then, we explore how the film fluctuates between flattery and fetishization for its disaffected protagonists' lifestyle and critique of its shallowness, as well as the harsh realities of conforming to the capitalist systems we all seek to rebel against.

Finally, we discuss Julian's new film Boys Go to Jupiter, and how it updates many of the concerns of the 90s slacker era, finding rich satirical terrain in the gig economy, hustle culture, and a system that asks us to choose between integrity and comfort.

Go see Boys Go to Jupiter, now playing at a theater new you.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

More new movie talk as we take on the most divisive film of the summer, Ari Aster's COVID-era neo-western Eddington. The film follows Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Cross, the sheriff of Eddington, NM who - frustrated by the state's mask mandates in early 2020 - decides to run for mayor to depose the incumbent Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), a boilerplate liberal looking to move the town into the future by granting subsidies to a tech company attempting to build a data center at the edge of town. The film also traces the various conflicts that erupts as the era's wave of Black Lives Matter protests (following the murder of George Floyd) run up against the sheriff's department and the competing ideologies of the townsfolk, all emboldened by the hypermediated, isolated existences that defined the pandemic.

We beging by addressing the film's politics, rejecting criticisms of the film as "centrist" or evincing a "both sides are bad" mentality, instead revealing the fundamental retreat of material politics as the defining order of the 2020s. Then, we discuss the film as western, how it embraces the lineage of John Ford, and how its world of localized, independent vacuums of internet-fed ideology suggest a collapse of the dialectic. Finally, we look at what the movie has to say about Big Tech, the victims of capitalism, and its (quite cynical) read on where America all headed.

Read Alex on Eddington at More Like Shit Stack

Read Ed Berger on Eddington at Reciprocal Contradicton 2.0

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Writer, academic, and prestigious poster Peter Raleigh earns his hat trick, returning to the Factory Floor to discuss Abel Ferrara's philosophical vampire film The Addiction. Shot in stark, vivid black & white cinematography and featuring a breathtaking lead performance by the great Lili Taylor, the film explores vampirism as a natural extension of the maladies of the world, a physical expression of the spiritual sickness of existing in modernity as a subject of the American Empire.

We begin with a discussion of Abel Ferrara as director, his unsparing eye for difficult subject matter, and the unexpected tenderness and humanism that emanates from such an exacting body of work. Then, we explore the film's multifaceted take on vampirism, simultaneously allegorizing addiction, spiritual retribution, and a subjective manifestation of imperial blowback. Finally, we discuss the potency of a film that locates a cutlural zeitgeist and comment on its afflictions through formalism rather than mimeography, conjuring the essence of a historical-material milieu rather than seeking shallow pattern recognition.

Follow Peter Raleigh on Twitter.

Read and Subscribe to Peter's Substack Long Library.

Read Peter on Abel Ferrara's The Addiction.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We begin with a discussion of Blaxploitation cinema, Pam Grier's status within the genre, and how Tarantino navigates the fine line between homage and aesthetic fetishism. Then, we unpack the film's taught, thoughtfully structured script that manages to pack the customary twists and reversals of a Leonard adaptation without skimping on the romance and hangout vibes that underly Tarantino's most accomplished work. Finally, we pull back to discuss Tarantino today and whether we can successfully decouple the director's artistry from his support for Israel.

Follow Jourdain Searles on Twitter.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We discuss the career of Bertolucci and his "Eastern Trilogy" beginning with 1987's Best Picture winner The Last Emperor, in which Bertolucci's fascination with the spiritual and cultural practices of the Asian continent became a personal endeavor into a deeper understanding of his own artistic ethos. Then we unpack the splendid uncannines of Little Buddha and how Bertolucci's directorial mastery allows for a film of constant settling and de-escalation to feel thrilling and proulsive through it's evocation of a preternatural emotionality. Finally, we discuss the west's fascination with the Tibetan independence movement in the 1990s and the American films it inspired during the decade.   

Follow Bilge Ebiri on Twitter

Order Little Buddha on 4K or Blu-ray from Kino Lorber

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We're back with more Danny Boyle coverage, this time discussing his latest film 28 Years Later, the long-awaited sequel to Boyle's own 28 Days Later (as well as its sequel 28 Weeks Later) that bracingly rejects the template set by both its predecessors and the broader scope of modern blockbusters to deliver a visceral, formally daring, and narratively audacious film that feels both mythic and keenly of-the-moment.

We begin by discussing the reunion of Boyle's 28 Days Later collaborators, secreenwriter Alex Garland and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, and the film's narrative and technical accomplishments achieved by shooting on the iPhone 15 and employing a breakneck editing style that ventures occasionally into the realm of the avant-garde. Then, we contemplate the film's episodic structure, producing tonally distinct chapters that feel indebted both to Homeric and Alighierian epics as well as fantasy storytelling. Finally, we engage with the film's perspectives on death and mass crisis in the 21st century, how it speaks to our moment post-COVID and amidst Israel's ongoing genocide, and asks us to honor and value life in ways unfamiliar and reverent.

Watch the trailer for 28 Years Later

Listen to Taylor Holmes' reading of Rudyard Kipling's "Boots"

Listen to Young Fathers' soundtrack for 28 Years Later

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We discuss Boyle's aesthetic inclinations, his history in the theater, and how the cinematic medium can liberate a particular type of artist from the confines of the stage. Then, we unpack the film's stellar trio of performances, its economy of character, and especially McGregor's star-making turn that suggests the greatness he would achieve with Boyle in their next several collaborations. Finally, we explore the film's ire for post-Thatcherite individualism, its attacks on the moral vacuum of the upwardly mobile, the dramatic irony of a film about the corruptability of money even for those who don't need it.

In addition, we spend a brief moment looking forward to Boyle's latest film 28 Years Later (a full Bonus episode on the film coming later this week) and what it supposes for Boyle's late period.

Follow Brandon Streussnig on Twitter.

Read Brandon's recent interview with Palestinian-American filmmaker Reem Jubran about her new film Don't Be Long, Little Bird at his Substack.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We went exceptionally long on the late John Singleton’s undersung period western Rosewood, a film (and filmmaker) whose fingerprints are all over Ryan Coogler’s recent box office sensation, Sinners. Rosewood tells the story of an independent Black township in Florida and the barbaric racial violence it faced in 1923, incited by a white woman’s false accusation of assault and the Klan-assisted mob that followed. It’s believed that over 100 Black citizens were murdered during the attacks, though the true number has never been properly counted.

Despite the brutality, the legacy of Rosewood was forgotten—suppressed for nearly 60 years by both those who endured it and those who carried out the violence—until investigators uncovered the truth. That reckoning ultimately led to a 1994 vote in the Florida State Legislature to pay reparations to the survivors and their descendants.

In Singleton's hands, the story of Rosewood becomes a rich, downtempo historical epic of properly grave tone; a film that never shies away from the violent realities of Black life in America's south in the early 20th century, the racial animus stoked by class anxieties and lingering slavery era resentments, and the complicity of white audiences and their ancestors in carrying out the violence that shaped our country's past and present.

We discuss Singleton's inimitable capacity to juggle the rhythms of mainstream studio moviemaking with the formal radicalism of a Black story told with limited equivocation and compromise, as well as how blockbuster moviemaking primes us for absolution rather than honest reckoning. Then, we explore the rich character work within the film, how Singleton utlizies the embellishments of genre and archetype to root Blackness in a cinematic history linked conspicuously to white supremacy, and the refreshing stroke of having "no good white guys" in the movie. Finally, we relate the film to Coogler's latest, where it achieves a similar filmic mastery as well as where we feel it falls short of Singleton's vision.

Read The Rosewood Massacre at Esquire Magazine

Watch The 1983 Rosewood Massacre segment from 60 Minutes

Read Robert Daniels on Sinners at Roger Ebert

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We begin with a discussion of commodity fetishism (in the Marxian sense) and how the film explores the mystification of value surrounding the titular hardbody truck and what it means within the lives of all the contestants. Then, we dig into the film's many "characters", how they fulfill or transcend archetype, and how they beguile us with the profundity of their small-town wisdom. Finally, we discuss the feat of Bindler and Co's filmmaking as well as its limits, and how the strain the competition's longevity begins to bleed into the acuity and perceptiveness of the movie itself.

Watch Hands on a Hardbody on YouTube.

Rent or Purchase Hands on a Hardbody

Read Ethan Warren on Hands on a Hardbody at Bright Wall/Dark Room.

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!

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

We discuss the film's dizzying construction, effectively evoking the glitz and glam of the Vegas strip through extended montages and voiceover (an effect masterfully rendered by Scorsese's deft hands as a director, a firecracker script with co-writer Nicholas Pileggi, and the brilliant editing of longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker). Then, we examine the brilliant, career-defining performance of Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna. It's a role that deserves every possible accolade, and strikes a note that no one but Stone could conceivably achieve. Finally, we discuss the film as capitalist allegory, and how Scorsese thoughtfully weaves commentary on the corporate centralization of the American economy and its steady collapsing of the middle class.

We also offer some thoughts on Scorsese's latest, 'Killers of the Flower Moon', and the evolution of the director's views on capitalism, corruption, and consequence.

Follow Séamus on Twitter.

Read Séamus's Substack on Middle East politics.

Read & Listen to Burnt Nitrate, Séamus's explorations of lesser-known and lesser-discussed films.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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!
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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 YouTube

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!

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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!
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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 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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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+1

Read 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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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 Twitter

Pre-Order Revolutionary Desires: The Political Power of the Sex Scene from 404 Ink

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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. 

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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 Twitter

Listen & 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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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'. 
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is 'Mirror' by Chris Fish.

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 Letterboxd

Watch 'The Beginning: Making Start Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'

Watch '1:42:08 To Qualify', George Lucas's 1966 short film

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish 

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 Institute

Follow Eamon Tracy on Twitter

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

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 Pitt

We 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. 

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.

We begin with a discussion about the legacy of director Mike Leigh, his unusual method for drawing brilliant performances from his ensemble of some of the very best British actors, and his trademark style and narrative construction. Then, we unpack the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, exploring Topsy-Turvy's commitment to authenticity in its recreation of 19th century English theater culture, and the wise decision to focus the film on a particularly unstable moment in the long collaboration between the wordsmith and composer. Finally, we discuss the film's evocation of art and its production process, emphasizing the granular repetition of the work as well as the undergirding capitalist mechanics that necessitated performers assume a strong identity as a collective labor force.

Follow Julia Sirmons on Twitter.

Read Julia's recent piece on Sally Potter's 'The Tango Lesson' at Wig-Wag.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Jake Serwin & Ian Rhine, hosts of the preeminent Clint Eastwood podcast Pod Casty For Me return to discuss one of the finest studio comedies of the 90s, "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" starring Mike Myers. 

We discuss the film as both a product of broader ambient 60s nostalgia in the decade and an extension of Mike Myers deep personal affinity for the cultural output of the era. Then, we talk about the film itself as cultural juggernaut, and why Austin Powers and the Mike Myers brand felt inescapable. Finally, we talk about the film's lasting legacy and the way it in no small part shaped the trajectory of the James Bond franchise (and maybe a few others). 

Listen and Subcribe to Pod Casty For Me.

Follow Pod Casty for Me on Twitter. 

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish 

We discuss Tim Burton as filmmaker, the increasingly diminishing returns of his artistry, and why Ed Wood stands as perhaps his finest achievement. Then, we talk about Martin Landau's Oscar-winning turn as the horror legend Bela Lugosi, lovingly depicted in the film flaws and all. Finally, we ponder the current state of American filmmaking, and ask, 'Is there still a route by which an Ed Wood could make these movie on the outskirts today, and if so, would anybody be able to see them?'

Follow Chadd Harbold on Twitter.

Stream Chadd's film Private Property on Hulu.

Stream Colin West's Linoleum, produced by Chadd, on Hulu.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Matt Bors & Ben Clarkson, creators of the excellent sci-fi/action satire graphic novel 'Justice Warriors' join to talk about one of our main guys - Paul Verhoeven (aka Pauly V) and his landmark sci-fi/action satire 'Total Recall' starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and based on the Philip K. Dick story "We Can Remember it for You Wholesale". 

We discuss the film's long gestation period under several different producers and directors, most notably as a project for Hit Factory fave David Cronenberg. Then we go long on the film's startling prescience, it's themes of revolution against the extractive brutalist of an imperialist force, and Verhoeven's metatextual commentary on filmic reality as psycholgical mirror and wish fulfillment fantasy. Elsewhere, we discuss the dire 2012 Len Wiseman remake starring Colin Farrell and how it betrays and insults its audience by stripping away any and all subtext. 

Check out Matt & Ben's graphin novel, Justice Warriors.

Follow Matt Bors on Twitter.

Follow Ben Clarkson on Twitter. 

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Our theme song is Mirror by Chris Fish. 

We discuss the film's narrative gambit, and how it layers each entry in the triptych atop one another in brilliantly considered ways to achieve thematic continuity even as each element interrupts the work's stylistic coherence. Then, we discuss the controversy surrounding the film and how it became a culture war issue amongst right-wing figures and politicians seeking to undermine the National Endowment for the Arts. Finally, we talk about the most recent controversies and discourse surrounding Hayne's most recent work 'May December', and why many well-intentioned viewers aren't as far removed from the reactionary critics of the filmmaker's work from years past.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Aaron is joined by Jordan Fish and Ray Tintori of the preeminent Coen Bros. podcast, To The White Sea, to discuss the chilly, snow-capped neo-noir 'A Simple Plan', directed with uncharacteristic restraint by master stylist and Coen Brothers collaborator Sam Raimi.

We discuss the career of Sam Raimi and the techniques he employs here to generate the unsettling, stern tone of the film. Then, we talk about the long gestation period of the project, and its many iterations attached to various directors (including Mike Nichols, John Dahl, and Ben Stiller!). Finally, we unpack the similarities and differences between Raimi's vision of the snowbound, Midwestern morality tale and that of his pals Joel & Ethan Coen in their 1996 landmark 'Fargo'.

Listen & Subscribe to To The White Sea 

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Follow To The White Sea on Twitter

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish

Lots of links to share from this episode:

Check out The Carlee Canon (Carlee's Top 20 Films of the 1990s)

Check out The Aaron Canon (Aaron's Top 20 Films of the 1990s)

Read Carlee's piece, 'The Puritanical Eye: Hyper-Mediation, Sex on Film, and the Disavowal of Desire' at Lo Specchio Scuro

Read benzostraydogs' Letterboxd Review of Sam Esmail's 'Leave the World Behind'

Listen to Our Junk Filter Episode on Jim McBride's 1983 Remake of 'Breathless'

Check Out Aaron's List of His Top 75 Non-2023 Watches of Last Year.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Universally beloved Vulture critic and Hit Factory all-star Roxana Hadadi returns to close out Denzember with a hefty chat about Mira Nair's 1991 romantic drama 'Mississippi Masala', a story of identity, the generational pursuit of belonging, and the possibility of new futures through the radical expression of love without boundaries. 

We discuss the career of the undersung Nair, from her start as a documentarian through her more recent narrative features like 'The Namesake' and 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'. Then we discuss the film's wholly singular voice and level of representation; how it refuses simple binaries about a diverse set of cultures, and why extricating a white perspective allows the story to detail difficult realities of non-white experiences. Finally, we discuss the film's impossibly alluring romantic thread between Denzel Washington and first-time performer Sarita Choudhury and the honesty that can be revealed through the pairing of a veteran actor's craft and a non-actor's authenticity. 

Roxana's Top 5 Denzel Washington Performances:

Honorable Mentions: The Pelican Brief, Much Ado About Nothing

1. Mississippi Masala

2. Malcolm X

3. Man on Fire

4. The Manchurian Candidate

5. Inside Man

Aaron's Top 5 Denzel Washington Performances:

Honorable Mentions: Philadelphia, Crimson Tide

1. Malcolm X

2. Training Day

3. Deja Vu

4. Flight

5. The Tragedy of Macbeth

Carlee's Top 5 Denzel Washington Performances:

Honorable Mentions: Malcolm X, The Hurricane

1. Ricochet

2. Crimson Tide

3. Training Day

4. Flight

5. Mississippi Masala

Follow Roxana Hadadi on Twitter

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Our Denzember theme song is "FUNK" by OPPO.

We discuss the film as a metatextual exploration of Denzel Washington's celebrity image as well as part of Whitney's second leg as an international superstar and actress. We also discuss the film's monumental soundtrack, sung by Whitney herself, an album that remains the best selling gospel record of all time. Finally we discuss the flattening effect of family films of the era (especially those produced by Touchstone/Disney) and how they tend to flirt with societal issues while reaffirming the system that causes them.

Follow Ashley Reese on Twitter

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Our Denzember theme song is "FUNK" by OPPO.

Denzember continues with GQ Senior Editor Frazier Tharpe II joining us to discuss Jonathan Demme's 'Philadelphia', one of the first major Hollywood films to take on the AIDS crisis. Far from a simple "issues picture", the movie overcomes many of its retrograde positions and dubious narrative decisions through the combination of Demme's masterful skill behind the camera and two powerhouse lead perfromances from Denzel and Tom Hanks (in a role that would net him his first Oscar win). 

We track the career of Jonathan Demme, from his time in the Roger Corman stable through his massive hit 'The Silence of the Lambs', and the bold decision to tackle 'Philadelphia' as a project. Then, we discuss the two seismic performances from Hanks and Washington, and how each bring their star-power and career arcs to the roles in vital ways. Finally, we discuss some of the many controversial creative decisions that went into the making of the film, how some might be handled today, and why the film still resonates in spite of these components.

Frazier's Top 5 Denzel Washington Performances:

1. Malcolm X

2. Man on Fire

3. Training Day

4. Flight

5. Out of Time

Follow Frazier Tharpe on Twitter.

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Our Denzember theme song is "FUNK" by OPPO.

We discuss the career of Carl Franklin, as well as this film's thematic links to his 1992 neo-noir masterpiece One False Move. Then, we discuss the movie's thoughtful subversions of classic film noir, exploring the conditionality of freedom and access to the American Dream for Black Americans in postwar era South Central Los Angeles. Elsewhere, we continue our discussion on Denzel as actor and offer praise to his performance in addition to the movie's supporting performances from a scene-stealing Don Cheadle and the stunning, underrated Jennifer Beals.

Will's Top 5 Denzel Reaction GIFS:
1. Fallen
2. Flight
3. Denzel Door Slam
4. Training Day
5. Denzel Awards Face

Will's Top 5 Denzel Washington Performances (Spike & Tony-Inclusive)
1. Man of Fire
2. Malcolm X
3. Unstoppable
4. He Got Game
5. Glory

Will's Top 5 Non-Spike & Tony Denzel Washington Performances (Unranked):
1. Glory
2. Devil in a Blue Dress
3. Ricochet
4. Philadelphia
5. The Tragedy of Macbeth

Follow Will Menaker on Twitter.

Listen to & support Chapo Trap House on Patreon.

Get access to all forthcoming Denzember episodes as well as our entire back catalog and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our Denzember theme song is "FUNK" by OPPO.

We discuss the film's troubled gestation period, taking nearly 30 years to get to the big screen then courting controversy throughout its production. We also discuss the film's portrait of Malcolm X and offer our readings of Spike's ultimate intention - presenting a fractured portrait that embraces the many sides of the man and the many ideologies and sects that claim him. Finally, we talk about the film's noteworthy detractors, including social critic and theorist bell hooks, who makes a compelling case that the film ultimately fails to bring a meaningful portrait of Malcolm to the big screen.

Read bell hooks's review of Spike Lee's 'Malcolm X' at Artforum.

Edward's Top 5 Denzel Performances:
1. Malcolm X (1992)
2. Fences (2016)
3. Training Day (2001)
4. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
5. Philadelphia (1993)/The Hurricane (1999)

Follow Edward Ongweso Jr. on Twitter.

Listen & Subscribe to This Machine Kills.

Read Edward's Substack The Tech Bubble.

Get access to all forthcoming Denzember episodes as well as our entire back catalog and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our Denzember theme song is "FUNK" by OPPO.

Get access to all forthcoming Denzember episodes as well as our entire back catalog and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our Denzember theme song is "FUNK" by OPPO.

Creator of the "eventually, forever" newsletter and film twitter heavy Adam Sullivan joins us to discuss the brilliant Hayao Miyazaki and his 1992 film 'Porco Rosso'. Initially conceived as a short film exclusively for in-flight guests of Japan Airlines, the film eventually grew in ambition and scope and now stands as one of Miyazaki's most underrated, visually transcendent masterpieces. 

We discuss the film's many classic Hollywood touchpoints, including the films of Howard Hawks, Victor Fleming, and John Ford and how these influences create a sense of fantasy more grounded that other Miyazaki works. Then, we discuss the film's setting amidst the rising tide of fascism in the Adriatic and its connection to the moving character portrait at its core. Finally, we discuss how 'Porco Rosso' (perhaps more than any other film) suggests some of the director's late period affinities in works like 'The Wind Rises'.

Plus: We talk Miyazaki's latest work 'The Boy & The Heron', which we have all had the chance to see ahead of its wide release in the US Friday, 12/8/23. 

Follow Adam Sullivan on Twitter.

Read and subscribe to Adam's newsletter "eventually, forever".

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish 

We contracted the services of Jake Serwin, co-host of America's premier Clint Eastwood podcast Pod Casty For Me, to take on a pair of films about a professional assassin having a crisis of conscience after botching his most recent job.

First up, we talk The Replacement Killers, Antoine Fuqua's first feature and Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-fat's Hollywood debut, pairing him with recent Oscar winner Mira Sorvino for an extremely American riff on Hong Kong's Heroic Bloodshed genre, popularized by Chow and The Replacement Killers' executive producer John Woo. 

Then we wade in to David Fincher's latest film for Netflix, 'The Killer'. It's a sharp, potent thriller hybrid that spits copious venom at our hyperconnected modern existence, hustle culture, and the gig economy while also functioning as a kaleidoscopic reflection on Fincher's entire career and ethos as a filmmaker. 

Listen and subscribe to Pod Casty For Me.

Follow Pod Casty For Me on Twitter.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish 

We discuss the film's dizzying construction, effectively evoking the glitz and glam of the Vegas strip through extended montages and voiceover (an effect masterfully rendered by Scorsese's deft hands as a director, a firecracker script with co-writer Nicholas Pileggi, and the brilliant editing of longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker). Then, we examine the brilliant, career-defining performance of Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna. It's a role that deserves every possible accolade, and strikes a note that no one but Stone could conceivably achieve. Finally, we discuss the film as capitalist allegory, and how Scorsese thoughtfully weaves commentary on the corporate centralization of the American economy and its steady collapsing of the middle class.

We also offer some thoughts on Scorsese's latest, 'Killers of the Flower Moon', and the evolution of the director's views on capitalism, corruption, and consequence. 

Follow Séamus on Twitter.

Read Séamus's Substack on Middle East politics.

Read & Listen to Burnt Nitrate, Séamus's explorations of lesser-known and lesser-discussed films.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

We discuss the film's impressive balancing act, managing to glide over a host ludicrous genre tropes and plot holes with ease while maintining a keen pacing and immersion. Then, we praise the excellent directorial work of Hyams, who serves here as his own cinematographer and generates a mesmerizing, impressionistic array of horror imagery in stark, dimly lit spaces galore. Finally, we discuss the delights of the monster movie, its flattening of distinctions among people that make for compelling survival thrills, and why the sensibilities of the decade were uniquely attuned to the subgenre.

Watch the 35mm trailer for The Relic.

Follow Peter Raleigh on Twitter

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Loose film critic and host of Marvelous! Or, the Death of Cinema podcast Nicole Veneto joins from Boston to discuss Alex Winter and Tom Stern's irreverent, gag-filled 1993 monster comedy 'Freaked'. The film is a genuine cult classic that was greelit, following the success of the Bill & Ted films and Winter and Stern's short-lived MTV program 'Idiot Box', with an impressive $12 million budget and then quickly killed by 20th Century Fox after a change in management. 

We discuss the film's unique cacophony of styles, taking inspiration from a number of cultural objects including Zucker Brothers comedies, punk rock legends Butthole Surfers, classic beach party films, and The Evil Dead movies. Then we praise the legendary team of practical special effects and makeup artists (including veterans of John Carpenter films like 'Big Trouble in Little China' and Chuck Russell's classic 1988 remake of 'The Blob') who brought the hilarious cast of freaks to life. Finally, we detail the executive decisions that very nearly railroaded 'Freaked' out of existence, and eulogize the brief moment in time when big studio money was willing to gamble on spectacular, impractical filmmaking and craft. 

Watch & Download 'Freaked' at the Internet Archive.

Follow Nicole Veneto on Letterboxd

Listen to & Support Marvelous! Or, the Death of Cinema.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish 

We discuss the film as an example of what Devan calls "The Anti-Masterpiece": A film that through no fault of its author becomes an astonishing work, either in spite or because of a distinct lack of conventional competence. Then, we discuss the pleasure of watching a film featuring a massive ensemble cast, none of whom can seem to agree on what kind of movie is being made - from Jean-Claude Van Damme's incidentially self-referential Colonel Guile to Raul Julia's genuinely great, Shakespearean take on despotic warlord General M. Bison. Finally, we discuss the film's inadvertantly prescient take on the American imperial project of the 21st century, and how its caroonishness and brazen stupidity feel right at home in a post-Trump America. 

Follow Devan Scott on Twitter.

Read Brandon Streussnig's "Wrapped In Plastic: JCVD's Street Fighter" for Secret Handshake.

Read Chris Plante's "Street Fighter: The Movie - What Went Wrong" for Polygon.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Artist and podcaster Kayte Terry joins from Philadelphia to discuss David Lynch's 1990 Palme d'Or winner 'Wild at Heart' starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as starcrossed lovers on the run in an oddball road movie that showcases the director at his most earnest and emotionally frank.

We discuss what people get wrong about Lynch, his style and tone, and why pervasiveness of the the term "Lynchian" robs it of meaning. Next, we talk about the incredible ensemble that brings Lynch's romance to life, praising especially the brilliance of its leads Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern as well as supporting performers like Diane Ladd (Laura Dern's real life mother, who netted an Oscar nod for her work in the film) and Willem Dafoe as one of Lynch's most memorable villains. Finally, we key into the political textures of Lynch's career-long preoccupations, and how he interrogates the parameters of society, forcing us to conceive of existences liberated from the confines of the quotidian.

Follow Kayte Terry on Twitter.

Listen and Subscribe to Kayte's podcasts, Fangs For The Memories and Tender Subject.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish