Michael and Us

The story goes that the flower-power generation abruptly ended when the Rolling Stones held a free concert at the Altamont Speedway that went disastrously wrong. We revisited GIMME SHELTER (1970) to interrogate the myth. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/117294338

The Canadian documentary FINAL OFFER (1985) captures the contentious negotiations between General Motors and the Canadian wing of the United Auto Workers Union. We consider the conditions that allowed a the union triumph against the backdrop of Reagan/Mulroney-era austerity. PLUS: Taking the temperature on Canada's economic "vibe-cession," and what does Trump's tariff threat to Canada actually mea...

While Nicaragua was being ravaged by Reagan, Alex Cox used Hollywood money to make a sharp satire of American imperialism. The result, WALKER (1987), may have killed his career... but what a way to go! PLUS: Roger Ebert as the ür-liberal critic. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/116728650

With America suddenly lurching to the right on immigration, we checked to see where one prominent Democrat documentarian stood circa 2011. In CITIZEN USA: A 50 STATE ROAD TRIP (2011), our old friend Alexandra Pelosi travels to all 50 states, flattening all of them into the same paste. PLUS: Andy Warhol, Paul/Tyson, and the real legacy of Obama's 2008 campaign. If you absolutely must watch Citizen...

A rural village braces itself for development from the big city in Ryusuke Hamaguchi's EVIL DOES NOT EXIST (2024), a beautiful movie that rhymed with certain things we've been feeling lately about democracy, capitalism, freedom, and community. PLUS: We parse Toronto Life's list of the 50 most influential Torontonians of 2024, and explore the exciting world of Eric Roberts. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISOD...

A month before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, CNN aired a hagiographic documentary about one of the masterminds of the last 30 years of American politics. In the aftermath of a disastrous election for Democrats, we watch CARVILLE: WINNING IS EVERYTHING, STUPID! (2024) to learn how the Beltway was thinking about itself before everything came crashing down. PLUS: Get ready for the most rivetin...

For over 50 years, documentary filmmaker Tony Buba has chronicled the decline - but also the people, places, and everyday poetry - of his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania. Recently we watched his best-known film, LIGHTNING OVER BRADDOCK: A RUSTBOWL FANTASY (1988), and fell in love with it. Today, we're pleased to welcome Buba on the show to discuss the full scope of his career, including such fi...

Oh lord almighty, when will we be rid of this man? Apparently not for another four years at least. We ring in the latest chapter of this neverending "Trump Era" with the new biopic/origin story THE APPRENTICE (2024). Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "This Time We Have to Hold the Democratic Party Elite Responsible for This Catastrophe" by Je...

On the day of the United States presidential election, let's look back at The Most Important Election Of Our Lifetimes. That's right, we're talking about 2004. We were happy to join the boys at Remember Shuffle to discuss all things Bush v. Kerry and the only presidential election since 1988 in which a Republican candidate won the popular vote. Now watch this drive! PATREON BONUS - https://www.pat...

With a dreary United States presidential election covering every surface, we search for some solace in politics from the past. Early in the Thatcher era in 1981, the beloved left-wing Labour MP Tony Benn launched a populist campaign to become his party's deputy leader, and almost won. We watch a documentary from the period, BENN'S BANDWAGON (1981), and ask: Was the conservative wave of the 1980s r...

We return to one of our perennial favourite topics, THE SIMPSONS, to consider two episodes from very different eras of its run: the legendary Season 4 banger "Kamp Krusty," and the hot-off-the-presses Season 36 ep "The Yellow Lotus." Which one earns our coveted Krusty Brand Seal of Approval? PLUS: We mark the passing of a Canadian broadcasting "pioneer." PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.pat...

Is Andrei Tarkovsky's STALKER (1979) about the Soviet Russia in which it was made? And if not, then where exactly is "The Zone"? We wade into one of the most forbidding cinematic objects of all time, but realize that the answer is only ever found within. PLUS: Justin Trudeau is historically unpopular - so why hasn't he stepped down? Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www....

We were told my our Superdelegate patron tier that the direct-to-video sequel BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING (2006) was a potent 2006 time capsule. Friends... they were right. PLUS: Al Pacino's finances, the fall of the Soviet Empire, and the sad tale of Victor J. Kemper. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/568-not-another-114599903

Five years after Joker because an era-defining cultural phenomenon, its sequel, JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX (2024), is the biggest flop of the year. We sifted through the wreckage to find a purposely abrasive object, and are split on its effectiveness. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/c/michaelandus TORONTO - See Luke speak at Progressive Publics: A Symposium Co...

Is crime a disease? And have we possibly found the cure? We're always up for a right-wing action movie on this podcast, so it was about time we got to the irresistible Sylvester Stallone vehicle COBRA (1986).

First, Will reports on visiting that most American of landmarks, Graceland. Then, we take the temperature of the U.S. presidential election in its waning days, and learn some interesting facts about the "Canadian Victims of Communism" memorial. Finally, we discuss I'M FROM HOLLYWOOD (1989), a documentary about one of the greatest pieces of performance art of all time: the Andy Kaufman/Jerry Lawler...

The new Netflix documentary WHAT'S NEXT: THE FUTURE WITH BILL GATES (2024) positions the Microsoft founder as "one of the good billionaires." But what are the limits to his brand of philanthropy? And how neutral and objective are these documentaries on the big streaming platforms? Luke welcomes Tim Schwab (author of The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire) to discus...

In the exciting conclusion of our discussion of David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001), Betty becomes Diane and fantasy merges with reality... or perhaps "reality" and "fantasy" are never whole extricable? PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/563-mulholland-2-113260819

Movies can transport us to strange and wonderful dreamworld, including a world where a UK Prime Minister faces real risk of arrest from the International Court of Justice. From director Roman Polanski comes the greatest movie ever made about pesky extradition treaties: THE GHOST WRITER (2010). Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus Guy Maddin retro...

Hollywood produces dreams on an industrial scale, but it also feeds our own dreams back to us. And no movie has ever understood Hollywood better than David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE (2001). In the first of a two-part discussion, we dissect David Lynch's masterpiece. PLUS: The hallmarks of bad conservative, left-wing, and liberal writing, as seen through the lens of one Mr. Jordan Peterson. PATREON-...

First we saw him bring whimsy to the medical sector in Patch Adams... then we saw him make the army wacky in Good Morning Vietnam... now, we reach the conclusion of our "Robin Williams Trilogy" by going back to his mightiest-ever battle against the forces of fuddy-duddiness: DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989). PLUS: A spectre is haunting Europe... the spectre of centre-left capitulation to the far-right. J...

What if we appified death? What if we commodified grieving? In David Cronenberg's new film THE SHROUDS (2024), entrepreneurialism comes for the hereafter. PLUS: Reflections on the Trump-Harris debate. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/559-dead-and-it-112172037

Is it ethical for a journalist to also act as a spy for a foreign government? We consider the far-fetched claims of one of Canada's worst journalists, Adam Zivo. PLUS: In this very special episode, we catch up on some news items of Canadian interest, including the declining polling for Justin Trudeau's liberals, and the rising number of far-right Canadian influencers. Follow us on Patreon for an e...

Our Superdelegate patron tier voted for us to discuss GARDEN STATE (2004), a millennial touchstone that may or may not have "aged well." We discuss Manic Pixie Dream Girls, whether or not the Shins are "cringe," and our own lost youths. PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/111698763

What if a movie about a corporate merger became the most popular movie of the year? Friends, you don't have to imagine it. We discuss DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE (2024) and ponder the question that Vulture asked: "Is Shawn Levy the Future of Populist Filmmaking?" Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus