Michael and Us

The very same year as Parasite, one of Hollywood's most accomplished filmmakers tried to take on the corrupt financial system, with less-than-spectacular results. We discuss Steven Soderbergh's answer to the Panama Papers scandal, THE LAUNDROMAT (2019). Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://patreon.com/michaelandus Check out the Michael & Us website and database - https://mi...

One of the most popular movies on the streaming channels this week is a low-budget, far-right action movie starring a disgraced actor and directed by one of worst filmmakers of all time. We ask the question: does anyone actually like Uwe Boll's CITIZEN VIGILANTE (2026)? PLUS: Is a left-wing Tea Party finally here? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/727-uwe-16285...

If you want to know if we're alone in the universe, who ya gonna call? We welcome back longtime friend of the show Chris Berube to discuss DAN AYKROYD UNPLUGGED ON UFOS (2005), a documentary that is, incredibly, not a bit. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://patreon.com/michaelandus Check out the official Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/...

We catch up on the news - including the long-awaited ouster of Keir Starmer in the U.K., the slow death of the CBC in Canada, and the DSA victories in New York. Then, Will offers a report on the Cinema Shift Festival, an event ominously described as "Canada's First Curated AI Narrative Film Festival." So just how good (or bad) are AI-generated short films nowadays? Do real filmmakers have anything...

At the long-awaited behest of our Superdelegate patron tier, we look back one of the landmarks of 2000s-era Indie Twee, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)... and find a film that embodies that Second-Term Bush Era like few others. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://patreon.com/michaelandus Check out the new Michael & Us website and episode guide - https://michael-and-us.com/ Che...

It's the late 1990s, and your kids are being terrorized by the greatest menace to ever hit the schoolyard... steroids. We welcome Adam Johnson (of the Citations Needed podcast) to walk us through THE SUBSTITUTE 3: WINNER TAKES ALL (1999), the third entry in the beloved direct-to-video action franchise about murdering teenagers. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts...

Across this podcast's long existence, we have attempted to give you a magisterial study of the art and politics of the 2000s. And no comprehensive study of that time would be complete without Jerry Seinfeld's BEE MOVIE (2007). So here, friends, is what happens when the worker bees of the world unite. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - http://patreon.com/michaelandus Check out the...

After 25 years of conservative political dominance, the indie black comedy THE LAST SUPPER (1996) asked: should liberals just try killing their political opponents? We drive our DeLorean back to the '90s and analyze a very particular moment in Gen-X political comedy. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/posts/721-tedious-slog-160912726

In the year 2000, Al Gore conceded a presidential election he won to George W. Bush in attempt to save the legitimacy of American institutions. Safe to say he succeeded in that goal. We discuss Jay Roach's RECOUNT (2008), a star-studded dramatization of the stolen election that kicked off the New American Century. Introducing the Michael & Us website/database - https://michael-and-us.com/ Full epi...

In about 10 short years, Star Wars has gone from Hollywood's top franchise to a summer box office also-ran. We checked out STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU (2026) to try to understand the decline. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/160203437

Like all empires, the Hollywood studio system had its decadent stage. We discuss Joel and Ethan Coen's HAIL, CAESAR! (2016), which pits an idealogue for the Hollywood studio system against a cabal of communist writers. PLUS: We discuss The Fall of the House of Colbert, and a hot new Washington Post podcast that gets "biz-zay." Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreo...

As a Toronto-based podcast, we are duty-bound to cover Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol's NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2025). We travel back to 2008 the discuss one of the most requested movies in our show's history. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/717-nirvanna-pod-159525773

We keep bringing up the beloved American film critic Roger Ebert over and over again, and we've decided it's time to finally exorcise this demon. Before we put Roger in the penalty box for a while, we're going to put our accumulated knowledge to good use and play a long-threatened game: The Roger Ebert Mystery Box Challenge, in which we attempt to predict his reviews for movies we've covered on th...

One of the pillars of the cursed "Everything is Connected" trend of the 2000s, Alejandro González Iñárritu's BABEL (2006) offers a de-politicized look at our global village. Josh Lewis (of Sleazoids podcast fame) fills in for Luke to discuss one very heavy exampe of White Elephant Art. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Check out Sleazoids - h...

After too long a drought, we return to the writing of Armond White, the legendarily contrarian conservative film critic (currently with the National Review) whose writing has texture like no one else's. We focus on his recent defense of Pete Hegseth via Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. PLUS: Is Remains of the Day a #grindset classic? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/714-p...

A year into the Great Recession, one film was brave enough to ask, "But what about the corporate consultants?" We discuss Jason Reitman's onetime critical darling UP IN THE AIR (2009), a film that invites us to have sympathy for the downsizers. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

In a special collaboration with Bob Mackey and Henry Gilbert of the Talking Simpsons and What A Cartoon! podcasts, we discuss Satoshi Kon's PERFECT BLUE (1997), the anime classic that imagined a world in which obsessive fan culture stoked by the internet leads to the dissolution of one J-pop star's reality. Would you believe that people have called it prescient? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https:/...

He's the first YouTube billionaire, and he did it by being more algorithm than man. We discuss Mr. Beast, and the new flesh. PLUS: There's a hot new content creator on the block, and his name is... Bob Dylan? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Bob Dylan’s Mysterious AI Experiment: Something Is Happening Here, But We Don’t Know What It Is" by...

Spring has sprung, which means we're talkin' softball. After briefly ruminating on the beauty of the game, and checking the pulse of our beloved Jays, we discuss one of the best baseball movies of recent (or any) years: EEPHUS (2024), a very funny meditation on friendship, tradition, and the passage of time. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/157037597

We once again travel back to the dark heart of the Bush era by discussing one of the biggest cultural events of the 2000s. Ron Howard's THE DA VINCI CODE (2006) adapted Dan Brown's turgid bestseller into an even more turgid blockbuster. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

We recap a contentious week between the Trump Administration and the Vatican before moving on to discuss our own true lord and savior, Snake Plissken. At the request of our Superdelegate patron tier, we discuss John Carpenter's immortal tribute to da greatest city in da world, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981). PLUS: It's just like old times... Michael Moore has angered the right. Join us on Patreon for...

Alright what are we talking about today? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/707-chinese-155905797

No era hits like the late-late-late-Clinton Era. We discuss the shameless Oscar bait that didn't catch anything, PAY IT FORWARD (2000), in which a precocious boy creates a pyramid scheme for kindness. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus TORONTO - See Luke interview Jacobin Magazine founder Bhaskar Sunkara at the 2025 Ellen Meiskins Wood Lecture...

In the tumultuous election cycle of 2019-2020, Alexandra Pelosi once again travelled the country to take Uncle Sam's temperature. So far, so typical. But the movie she emerged with, AMERICAN SELFIE: ONE NATION SHOOTS HERSELF (2020), ended up being her darkest, bleakest vision yet. PLUS: Luke sings the praises of James Joyce's Ulysses! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/705-f...

At the height of the Reagan Era, a simple man from abroad came to the heart of liberal America and reminded New Yorkers of traditional values. He also had trouble figuring out how a bidet worked. Folks, it's the CROCODILE DUNDEE (1986) episode. PLUS: Stephen Marche on AI, and Avi Lewis wins the NDP leadership race. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michae...