Hit Factory

Returning guests Kurt Schiller and Chris Woodward join us to discuss James Bond's first foray into a post-Cold War world, 'GoldenEye' featuring two notable "firsts": Pierce Brosnan's debut as the international super spy and the first Bond film helmed by director Martin Campbell (who would return to update Bond again for a post-9/11 audience with 'Casino Royale').We discuss the troubled history of the series' 17th entry that saw the exit of previous two-time Bond Timothy Dalton, how Pierce Brosnan's take on the iconic character appeals to the 90s fetishization of the business class, and why the film's embrace of a post-Soviet setting- refreshingly- doesn't feel quite like a victory lap.Follow Kurt Schiller on Twitter. Follow Chris Woodward on Twitter.Listen to Podside Picnic.Read and support Blood Knife Magazine.Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

We venture into the near future of 1999 to take a look at the VR cyberpunk action spectacular 'Virtuosity' starring Denzel Washington and a then-unknown Russell Crowe in what Carlee argues is his best performance (with a few asterisks).We discuss the film's early arrival at the forefront of virtual reality stories that would become a lynchpin of late 90s science-fiction cinema, its impressive mixture of practical and digital special effects, and why the decade's middleweight movies often reveal the most about the culture of the era.  Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

Actor Ethan Embry joins us to discuss 'Boyz N The Hood', John Singleton's sharply observed coming-of-age story that explores Black life in South Central Los Angeles with all its rich contours intact.We have a wide-ranging conversation in which we discuss the film as one of the earliest mainstream successes of Black stories in Hollywood, the media controversies surrounding its theatrical release, and Singleton's masterful diessection of the many faces of capitalism's systemic oppression of people along racial and class lines. Follow Ethan Embry on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

Chicago-based critic and author of the new book "Talk 90s with Me: 23 Unpredictable Conversations with Stars of an Unforgettable Decade" Matt Pais joins us to discuss the kids cult classic 'Heavyweights'.After a conversation about Matt's new book, we talk through the film's empathetic and nuanced portrayal of fatness (notably featuring an ensemble of actors of size), its place within the canon of 90s anti-conformity comedies, and why this might be Ben Stiller's most pitch-perfect performance. Follow Matt Pais on Twitter. Check out Matt's new book "Talk 90s with Me: 23 Unpredictable Conversations with Stars of an Unforgettable Decade".Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.

Journalist at KQED San Francisco Carly Severn joins us to discuss the 1997 thriller THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE. It's a film that is equal parts Faustian parable and John Grisham legal kitsch and features a scene-chewing Al Pacino as the titular prince of darkness.We praise the film's singular cast (including the aforementioned Pacino, Keanu Reeves in 90s accent mode, and an extremely commited Charlize Theron), relate the film's fixations on good and evil to some other stalwart film properties of the decade, and unpack why the late 90s was a period uniquely positioned from a prime reappraisal of America's spiritual condition. Follow Carly Severn on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Film critic Bilge Ebiri (Vulture, New York Magazine) joins us to discuss David Fincher's oft-diminished 1997 thriller, 'The Game'. It's a fascinating, intricate follow-up to the hit 'Se7en' that showcases Fincher at his most technically adept and stepping outside of his thematic comfort zone for the first time. We discuss the star power of Michael Douglas and why he is the perfect match for the movie's stark vision of trial and catharsis, uncover the film's prophetic vision of the inescapable and constantly-surveiling eye of big tech, and tease out the myriad pleasures of its controversial "happy" ending - a rarity in Fincher's ouevre. Follow Bilge Ebiri on Twitter. Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.....Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Get access to this entire episode as well as all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.