Hit Factory

Director/Programmer of Drunken Film Fest Oakland and co-host of Wiseman Podcast Arlin Golden joins Aaron to discuss Chris Smith's 1999 documentary 'American Movie', a story of artistic determination, male friendship, and one man's struggle to achieve The American Dream amidst the industrial decay of the Rust Belt Midwest. We discuss the fascinating once-in-a-lifetime dynamicism of Smith's subject...

Film writer, YouTuber, and quality poster Comrade Yui joins Aaron to discuss 'The Bridges of Madison County', Clint Eastwood's astonishing romantic drama that showcases the actor/director at his most sensuous, contemplative, and graceful. We discuss the film's delicate moral ambiguity, our single issue with Meryl Streep as an actress, and Clint's place in the pantheon of Hollywood's great filmmake...

Writer, actor, and fellow vampire hunter Jamell Moses joins us to discuss 1998's 'Blade', a Marvel adaptation that succeeds where others have failed due to its vision, ingenuity, and an immaculate lead performance by Wesley Snipes. We discuss the film's legacy as the first (and arguably best) of Marvel's ventures on the silver screen, the subversive political backbone that drives the film's interi...

Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi returns to Hit Factory for her hat trick to discuss Robert Rodriguez's 'From Dusk Till Dawn', a rambunctious genre hybrid that blends elements of crime pictures, westerns, and gory exploitation horror to uproarious effect. We discuss the ascendancy of Rodriguez and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino during the mid-90s, the undeniable magnetism of a tribal-tattooed George C...

We're back after a brief hiatus with a very special Spooky Season™ pick: Guillermo del Toro's debut feature 'Cronos', a magnificent modern vampire fable as indebted to Universal monster stories as it is to Cronenbergian body horror. We discuss the film's various interpretations of vampirism (both literal and figurative), the unapologetic earnestness of del Toro's work, and what the director's mons...

Film Twitter personality and fellow Mel Gibson stalwart Hard Mike joins Aaron to discuss Mel's 1995 Best Picture winner 'Braveheart' a sweeping epic about the legendary Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace. The fellas discuss the film's extremely loose adherence to historical accuracy, its celebration of 90s neoliberal orthodoxy & the myth of meritocratic ascendancy, and the rewards of exp...

David Parsons from Nostalgia Trap Podcast joins us for a deep dive int Oliver Stone's maximalist 1994 thriller 'Natural Born Killers' starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis. We discuss the movie's complicated and controversial legacy, how it (sometimes) trancsends its cartoonish pastiche to paint a portrait of American violence and media sensationalism, and how it fits into a broader conversa...

Molly Lambert, creator of HeidiWorld: The Heidi Fleiss Story, joins us to talk the 1990 romantic comedy 'Pretty Woman'. We discuss the film's origins as a gritty tale of sex and drugs on the streets of Hollywood Boulevard, how the story both confronts and conforms to the sexual politics of the era, and the blinding star power of lead Julia Roberts. Later, we discuss Heidi Fleiss, her relationship...

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Film writer Veronica Phillips joins Aaron to discuss 'Trainspotting' Danny Boyle's restless adaptation of Irvine Welsh's tale of heroin addiction, reluctant camaraderie, and a generation's failure to reject the principles of a post-Thatcher UK. We discuss the film's breakout performance from then-relative newcomer Ewan McCregor, explore the distinctly 90s evocation of addiction and its roots, and...

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It's our 100th episode of Hit Factory! To celebrate, we recruit New York-based filmmaker Donald Borenstein to discuss one of the undersung greatest films of the 1990s, Martin Scorsese's 'Bringing Out The Dead' written by the brilliant Paul Schrader. It's a frenzied, vividly-lensed story of death & salvation which also serves as a spotlight on the people pushed to soceity's margins by liberalis...

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There's a new Predator movie getting dumped straight to Hulu this weekend. In anticipation of the franchise's dimishing returns, we revisit the overlooked sequel to the 1987 action classic, 'Predator 2' - a film that brilliantly turns the imperialist anxieties of its predecessor inward to explore early-90s reactionary crime wave narratives and the Bush-era fixation with gang violence & embolde...

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UNLOCKED: Podcaster, writer, and Twitter's Most Wanted Man™ Aaron Thorpe joined us back in April to discuss Robert Zemeckis's 1997 science fiction masterpiece 'Contact' starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. It's a thrilling, expansive film that explores Big Questions about science and faith while maintaining a profoundly moving sense of wonder throughout. We discuss Contact's origins as b...

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Prestigious podcaster and poster Grimm joins us to discuss two documentaries chronicling the 1992 presidential election cycle from very different perspectives. First, we discuss Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker's lionizing character study 'The War Room', chronicling the efforts of Bill Clinton's campaign advisors, George Stephanopoulos and "Ragin' Cajun" James Carville. It's a hagiographic text o...

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Writer Brandon Streussnig joins us to discuss Olivier Assayas's 1996 postmodern masterpiece 'Irma Vep'. It's a revelatory metatextual exploration of creation, capitalism, and cinema - past, present & future. We discuss the indelible magnetism of star Maggie Cheung (playing a version of herself), the film's considerations of the shifting proclivities of audiences on the global stage in the mid-...

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We discuss the 1993 box office sensation 'The Fugitive' a meticulously detailed and expertly crafted thriller without an ounce of fat on it. Topics include the film's unusual and effective narrative structure, the bravura performances by the film's two leads, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, and the anxieties at the heart of man-on-the-run thrillers. Get access to all of our premium episodes and...

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We're joined by one of the hosts of Chapo Trap House, Matt Christman to discuss Michael Ritchie's highly entertaining con-man/sports movie mashup 'Diggstown'. We explore the film's distinct 70s throwback appeal, set aside personal politics to make the case for James Woods as one of the finest actors of his generation, and yearn for a time when studio movies still permitted excessive perspiration....

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