Hit Factory

Toronto-based writer, filmmaker, and host of Junk Filter podcast Jesse Hawken joins us to discuss Curtis Hanson's thrilling 1997 crime epic "L.A. Confidential". We go long on the near-flawless narrative and aesthetic choices of the film's creators, its complex indictment of modern policing, and the complicated politics of the story's original architect, novelist James Ellroy. We also make the case for the film as a seminal "Dudes Rock" text. Consider supporting the podcast by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content. Listen and subscribe to Junk Filter.Follow Jesse Hawken on Twitter.....Our theme song is "Mirror" Chris Fish

Subscribe today for access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content. www.patreon.com/hitfactorypod

Pop culture critic Roxana Hadadi returns to discuss the landmark 1990 Iranian masterpiece 'Close-Up', directed by Abbas Kiarostami. We explore the film's multiple layers of artifice, the fundamental truths those layers reveal, and reflect on finding joy in Kiarostami's cinema of absence. Read Roxana's piece on 'Through the Olive Trees' at Bright Wall/Dark Room.....Our theme song is 'Mirror' by Chris Fish.

Della Duncan, renegade economist and host of Upstream Podcast, joins to discuss 'The Matrix'. Topics include: anti-capitalist critique, undertheorized collectivist leanings, reclaiming the Red Pill, influence of 'Blade', Lesson of Morpheus, US as a settler colony, exploring themes from 'The Matrix', Cypher's right-wing mentality, and self-acceptance.

Industry insider and returning guest Rich Pierceall joins us to discuss the pulpy Hollywood send-up 'Get Shorty'. We talk the resurgent success of Elmore Leonard adaptations in the 90s, Hollywood's enduring ties to the mob, and briefly touch upon the shape of cinema in the not-so-distant future.....Our theme song is 'Mirror' by Chris Fish

Subscribe today for access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content. www.patreon.com/hitfactorypod

Film writer and co-founder of Certified Forgotten Matthew Monagle enters the Hit Factory to discuss the cannibal horror 'Ravenous'. We discuss the film's onerous origins, its breathtakingly subversive score, and the wonders of an outsider's perspective on American colonialism. ....Our theme song is 'Mirror; by Chris Fish

We assembled an emergency panel of friends Chris Clayman, Brianna Zigler, and Chris Woodward to discuss one of our favorite films starring the late Charles Grodin (RIP), 'Clifford', also starring Martin Short as a miscreant 10-year-old boy who may or may not also be a terrorist. We offer some novel readings of the film's subtext, share our favorite Grodin moments, and make the case for bringing back little kid hatred in entertainment. Listen Chris Woodward's podcast, Parents Just Don't Understand and be sure to check out Blood Knife. Subscribe to Brianna's newsletter, That's Weird. Listen to the Catch Prichard album, I Still Miss Theresa Benoit.....Our theme song is 'Mirror' by Chris Fish

Subscribe today for access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content. www.patreon.com/hitfactorypod

Freelance film writer Brianna Zigler joins us to discuss David Cronenberg's 1999 VR body-horror extravaganza 'eXistenZ'. We talk the film's position in the cinematic landscape of the late nineties, its prescient sexual, social and technological anxieties, and briefly make the case for Comrade Cronenberg. Read and subscribe to Brianna's newsletter That's Weird.....Our theme song is 'Mirror' by Chris Fish