Michael and Us

Leni Riefenstahl remains the most famous of all Nazi propagandists, but to what extent can films like Triumph of the Will be rescued from their fascist origins. The revelatory new documentary RIEFENSTAHL (2024) argues persuasively: not at all. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Fascinating Fascism" by Susan Sontag - https://www.nybooks.com/ar...

Kevin Sorbo wants you to know that having a gun and using it is perfectly compatible with Christianity. We discuss THE RELIANT (2019), a right-wing Christian movie in which the Second Amendment survives the fall of civilization. PLUS: Speaking of right-wing movies, it looks like ol' Sheriff Buford Pusser was hiding a secret. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon....

Before they defined Canada's political landscape - and became adversaries on the question of Quebecois independence - Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque were allies on the road to the Quiet Revolution. We discuss Donald Brittain's documentary THE CHAMPIONS, PART 1: UNLIKELY WARRIORS (1978) and the growing pains of Canada in its postwar era. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/6...

The same year that American Pie became a cultural phenomenon, BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER (1999) re-invented the teen comedy from a queer angle. We try to figure out why the mainstream reception was so hostile. PLUS: So, what exactly is going on with the Cracker Barrel?? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

How far is one of America's most famous liberal creators willing to accommodate a critique of institutional power? We return to Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM with Season 2 Episode 7 ("Red Team III"), which brings the "Operation Genoa" story to a startling conclusion. PLUS: Checking in on Gavin Newsom's new Based rebrand. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/650-i-love-lucy-13751...

What if a middle-aged Toronto-based businessman decided to become Robert De Niro? Friends, you don't have to wonder! We discuss the hilarious vanity project REAL GANGSTERS!™ (2013), by Canada's answer to Tommy Wiseau. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Ottawa’s Air Canada strike debacle shows it failed to learn from history" by Barry Eidlin -...

We make one last, final, terminal - we really mean it, this is the last one unless they make a second season! - visit to our favourite British institution, John Cleese's bizarre GB News chat show THE DINOSAUR HOUR. We discuss the show's final episode, "Religion," which doesn't deliver on quite the terms you might expect from the co-author of Life of Brian. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.p...

In 1994, Hong Kongers were counting down to the looming Mainland handover. But some of them were also counting down to the expiry date on a can of pineapples. We discuss Wong Kar-wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994), a quintessentially Hong Kong movie with universal resonance. PLUS: Checking in on Canada's Mark Carney government, and the unconscionable western media response to Israel's targeting of Pal...

Released just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ernst Lubitsch's TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942) combined farce and thrills in Nazi-occupied Poland. A satire that was once considered "too soon" has aged into one of the great anti-fascists landmarks of cinema. PLUS: Remembering the golden age of "Twitter comedians." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/136400200

In WAR OF THE WORLDS (2025), Ice Cube stars as a Homeland Security analyst who uncovers a Deep State surveillance plot AND foils an alien invasion - all without ever leaving his Zoom window. We watched the certified Bad Movie that's sweeping the nation. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Luke's substack - https://www.lukewsavage.com/ Come see...

Donald Trump has said repeatedly that Billy Wilder's SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) is one of his favorite movies. We revisit one of Hollywood's enduring classics and try to figure out if the current president identifies more with Norma Desmond or Joe Gillis. PLUS: Are we entering the worst season for political memoirs of all time? "President Trump isn’t happy about the Oscar for ‘Parasite.’ What movies...

Ari Aster's EDDINGTON (2025) takes us back to the lockdown year of 2020, satirizing the many archetypes and discourses - right, left, and centre - that flourished during the pandemic. We attempt to analyze what, if anything, Aster is saying, and dredge up a lot of unpleasant sense-memories in the process! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/135554313

In the 2000s, there was one form of political iconoclasm that was guaranteed to never get you in any trouble, and it was called libertarianism. At the behest of our Superdelegate patron tier, we return to... (deep, heavy sigh)... PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT!, with special attention to the episodes "College" and "Safety Hysteria," and remember a popular form of "skepticism" that sounds an awful lot lik...

In Werner Herzog's INTO THE INFERNO (2016), a self-described cinematic poet teams with a Cambridge scientist for a documentary about volcanos that marries scientific inquiry with a healthy respect for myth and legend. And we also get to visit North Korea. PLUS: Who is the greatest podcaster of all time? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

The timeline of Aaron Sorkin's THE NEWSROOM is getting further and further into the 2012 presidential election... so it only makes sense that Season 2 Episode 6 ("One Step Too Many") is the horniest episode yet! We catch up on some shocking developments in the "Genoa tip," and find out the true meaning of "discretionary time." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/640-time-part...

A superstar atheist has a near-death experience and becomes a born-again Christian in LET THERE BE LIGHT (2017), the directorial debut of Kevin Sorbo. We take a spiritual journey that leads us to the same destination as any other: to an ad for an app. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

In a tumultuous year of American history, Frederick Wiseman's cinéma vérité classic HIGH SCHOOL (1968) depicts an ordinary Philadelphia school as a system of authority and repression. Some things never change! PLUS: Grok has been saying some unfortunate things lately. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/134229948

Angel Studios, the company that gave you Sound of Freedom, has become a major player in the faith-based movie market... so we wanted to check out one of their movies that's NOT about child trafficking. So we watched Neal McDonough's THE LAST RODEO (2025), and found some interesting new developments in the Christian movie world. PLUS: Catching up on recent events - Zohran Mamdani! Jeffrey Epstein!...

From war crimes overseas to revenge porn at home, it all comes back to social media. In Season 2 episode 5 of THE NEWSROOM ("News Night with Will McAvoy"), a dizzying number of Twitter- and Buzzfeed-related plots swirl around a single broadcast... and there's still a little time for a Trayvon Martin subplot, too. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/636-righteous-of-133446350

In our last (for now) dive into John Cleese's bizarre centrist chat-show THE DINOSAUR HOUR, our host find himself flummoxed by the unabashedly right-wing politics of special guest Caitlyn Jenner. We saved the best for last! Follow long at home - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYS6TxmLmc&t=1642s&ab_channel=GBNews Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michael...

We all know where Bill Maher stands on the issues nowadays... but where was the bleeding edge of the centre-left in the Iraq War era? We dug up his Bush-era special BILL MAHER: VICTORY BEGINS AT HOME (2003) to investigate. PLUS: Remember Bruce Lee? He's back - in A.I. form! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/132304807

As Torontonians, we couldn't pass up the chance to watch Netflix's new documentary about our ex-mayor, the late Rob Ford. But while TRAINWRECK: MAYOR OF MAYHEM (2025) collects most of the classic Ford moments into one slick package, it leaves the real meaning of Ford on the margins. PLUS: Has the consent-manufacturing industry seemed a bit weak these days to you? Join us on Patreon for an extra ep...

In Episode 14 of THE NEWSROOM ("Unintended Consequences"), we get to hear what Will McAvoy REALLY thinks about this whole Occupy Wall Street business, and it doesn't disappoint - unlike the rest of the episode. PLUS: George W. Bush's movie taste revealed! PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131797776

We continue our informal retrospective of dirty-looking New York movies with the Safdie Brothers' GOOD TIME (2017), a rare modern NYC movie that shows what the city really looks like. PLUS: Checking in on the New York mayoral race, and a challenging question about a prominent Canadian celebrity. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus The David Cay...

It's time to unload on one of our favourite guys. It's time for the long-awaited deep-dive into the comedy albums of the King of the K-Hive, Greg Proops. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/131273255