Michael and Us

A ragtag gang of Beltway misfits discover how to start a proxy war in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007), a lighthearted look at American intervention from the combined forces of Tom Hanks, Mike Nichols, and Aaron Sorkin. We discuss how this celebration of the Reagan Doctrine from the very heart of "liberal Hollywood" offers a, shall we say, sanitized version of the end of the Cold War. PLUS: We discuss...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/431-83814916 In a post-Thatcherite Scotland, Danny Boyle's thriller SHALLOW GRAVE (1994) shows a world in which the bonds of community have been eroded... and does it in a way that its, y'know, entertaining. PLUS: We take the temperature on the Toronto municipal election, in which a 12-year conservative hegemony might finally face a challen...

For over two decades, a pair of New England-based independent filmmakers have created a cinematic universe out with their friends, family, and as little money as possible. Cohost Will finally brings his well-documented obsession with Matt Farley and Charlie Roxburgh to the Michael & Us podcast with a discussion of their recent MAGIC SPOT (2022), and what it says about the democratic potential of c...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/429-persona-pod-83516730 Movies as good as Corona Zombies don't come along every day, so sometimes we have to make due with Ingmar Bergman's PERSONA (1966). We discuss what Alma and Elisabet tell us about the human condition - together and apart.

As Canadians, we simply couldn't pass up a movie about our greatest national export. Matt Johnson's BLACKBERRY (2023) puts a darkly comic spin on the rise and fall of "the phone you had before your iPhone." We discuss the ways that this very funny film is both similar to and crucially different from such recent boardroom dramas as AIR. PLUS: the return of Pete Buttigieg, and a weekend with the wor...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/83192875 Rushed out within a month of lockdown, CORONA ZOMBIES (2020) was the first feature-length (well, 60-minute) movie about the COVID pandemic. And it shows. We discuss what it tells us about modern-day exploitation movies, and our thoughts inevitably drift to A.I. in entertainment.

We begin with a rundown of recent events, from the Coronation to the CNN Trump town hall to the Liberal Party of Canada's recent convention, before discussing this month's Superdelegate pick: the beloved comedy GALAXY QUEST (1999). We situate the film's satire in the context of 1999-era fan culture, and hash over our own respective histories with the Star Trek franchise. PLUS: a dive into a young...

"A soy-banter Nicolas Cage Dracula movie" was too enticing a pitch to pass up, so we hit up our local multiplex to see RENFIELD (2023). PLUS: Do conservatives need "a populist Dracula"? At least one right-wing outlet thinks so! Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

A Christian boy goes up against his sinister atheist philosophy teacher (played by Kevin Sorbo!) in GOD'S NOT DEAD (2014), one of the biggest Evangelical blockbusters of all time. Luke and guest host Alex Shephard discuss the film's tone-deaf depiction of academia and its particular streak of right-wing sadism. PLUS: What's next for Tucker Carlson? And is there any life at all in the ol' Ron DeSan...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/423-silence-of-82062473 Your hosts agree that Martin Scorsese's SILENCE (2016) is one of his great films, but also find room for discussion on how their differing backgrounds with religion affect their perspectives on the spiritual side of Scorsese. PLUS: Elon Musk's Twitter: is there a plan? (Hint: no)

A young man caught between his socialist father and Thatcherite uncle falls in love with a young National Front street punk while building a laundromat. We watched MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985) and discuss the context that birthed it. PLUS: Fiery hot takes on Bruceploitation and Ron DeSanctimonious. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/421-super-bros-81712064 Look, we're lifelong Mario-heads, so we were curious to see the most popular movie in the world right now. We discuss some of the funnier culture-war takes that have greeted THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023) during its right to the top of the box office, and perhaps even generate a few more of our own.

How did Warren Beatty convince a Hollywood studio to make a movie about American communists in 1981? We discuss REDS (1981), his epic biopic of writers John Reed and Louise Bryant, as well as Reed's landmark book about the Russian Revolution, Ten Days That Shook the World. PLUS: Fiery hot takes on billionaire Hitler collector Harlan Crowe. "The Paid Pundits Defending Clarence Thomas And His Billio...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-deja-q-w-81469561 Luke talks to Will Sommer, author of the new book Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America, about where QAnon came from, why it isn’t going away anytime soon, and how material deprivation helps drive conspiracy theories. Buy Trust the Plan: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/trust-...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/81425372 Underground filmmaker Damon Packard took the behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the Star Wars prequels - and a lot of other stuff, too - and turned it into a hilarious (and very copyright-infringing) film called UNTITLED STAR WARS MOCKUMENTARY (2003). In the process, he reclaimed one of the biggest entertainment franchise...

Ben Affleck's AIR (2023) chronicles the wheeling and dealing that led to Michael Jordan signing with Nike, and this unabashed celebration of the world's most famous shoe brand positions the Air Jordan as a victory for trickle-down economics. We discuss the movie that asks the question: "What if you made The Social Network about people who were frickin epic??"

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/81011839 The great Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin was hired to direct a documentary about the populist Canadian filmmaker Paul Gross as he makes an Afghanistan War epic. The result was BRING ME THE HEAD OF TIM HORTON (2015) - one serious artist's piss-take about a decidedly less serious artist, which also manages to make some serious points....

With Trump's indictment in the news, we thought it might be a good time to watch the movie that has been more influential on QAnon than any other: Ridley Scott's little-loved seafaring adventure WHITE SQUALL (1996). We parse this half-forgotten film to figure out why, exactly, the QAnon people love it so much. "Where we go one, we go all!" Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https...

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/80753271 Guy Maddin's Depression-era cinematic fantasia THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (2003) is not only a great film, but also a great piece of Canadian culture. We grapple with the truths about the True North that only an artist of Maddin's calibre manages to articulate. PLUS: A.O. Scott is leaving his job - but why?

We mark the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War by revisiting some of the classic clips from our cowed and deferential news media circa 2003. PLUS: What is artificial intelligence and what does it mean for the future? Pulitzer-winning columnist Thomas Friedman doesn't know, but that didn't stop him from writing about it.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/80445971 For years, the conservative film critic Armond White has been the scourge of Rotten Tomatoes readers with his contrarian taste and awkward prose. We compare some of his recent writings for the National Review to some of his '90s-era criticism to find out what has happened to his prose. PLUS: We discuss the culture criticism of anot...

For nearly 20 years, one libertarian businessman with a wildly dangerous theme park held the state of New Jersey under his thumb. We discuss the documentary CLASS ACTION PARK (2020) and its uneasy mix of nostalgia and condemnation for Action Park. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

A man spends a night in an isolated woman's desert shack, and loses his identity in the process, in WOMAN IN THE DUNES (1964), Hiroshi Teshigahara and Kōbō Abe's resonant parable about... what, exactly? Your hosts are not entirely sure, but forge ahead anyway with this seminal work of postwar Japanese cinema. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/79902001 First: a passionate Will gives a bewildered Luke a thorough breakdown of the VANDERPUMP RULES scandal that has torn a nation asunder, and what it all means. Then: on the eve of the 95th Academy Awards, the hosts remember some of the great Oscar moments of days past, and fire off fiery hot takes about this years nominees.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/79746684 We begin with Will setting the record straight on perhaps the most important topic the podcast has ever covered before moving on to a discussion about two showbiz movies of wildly differing quality that both deal in excess: BABYLON (2022) and SHOWGIRLS (1995).