Michael and Us

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/60156412 For our annual holiday episode, we return to our obsession with '90s fatherhood-in-crisis movies by watching the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic JINGLE ALL THE WAY (1996). Folks, you know it, you love it. "I am not a pervert! I am just looking for Turbo Man doll!" PLUS: we have a fun time roasting one of Canada's most annoying writers.

For months we've been immersing ourselves in such Intellectual Property soups as Ready Player One, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and The Simpsons in Plusaversary, so we felt it was time to examine the animated hit that helped birth this new phenomenon: THE LEGO MOVIE (2014). PLUS: the return of COVID, a bad week for the Democrats, and the actual, honest-to-goodness phenomenon of official Rifkin's Festival NFTs. "What’s behind global covid inequalities? Corporate greed" by Luke Savage - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/13/covid-vaccine-corporatism-inequality/ "Beyond NFT: DAMOVE company is building the future of movies & entertainment" - https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/beyond-nft-damove-company-is-building-the-future-of-movies-entertainment#ixzz7FW3eISjz Learn more about Rifkin's Festival NFTs - https://twitter.com/RifkinsfestNft

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/59880390 In 1999, The Matrix became a zeitgeist-catching, generation-defining phenomenon. A year earlier, DARK CITY (1998) traversed similar thematic terrain but failed to meet the same success. In this Superdelegate-selected episode, we discuss the similarities and key differences between the two films, and situation Dark City in its cultural moment.

For 78 days in 1990, a group of Mohawk protestors withstood a siege from the Canadian armed forces. The root of the conflict? A town in Quebec sought to take over their land to expand a golf course. The Oka Crisis is the subject of Alanis Obomsawin's acclaimed documentary KANEHSATAKE: 270 YEARS OF RESISTANCE (1993), which offers us an opportunity to consider how Canada treats its First Nations. Watch the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yP3srFvhKs

= PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/59599572 Everyone has their price. Anything that has ever meant anything to you will be corrupted. No artwork you love really belongs to you. This is the dark message of the new Disney+ short film THE SIMPSONS IN PLUSAVERSARY (2021). PLUS: we talk about a range of TV and film, including Parks & Recreation, 2012, and the cinema of Fred Halstead.

With the Beatles once again in the zeitgeist, we decided to revisit the jukebox musical ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007), which positioned the lads' music as a backdrop to the social upheavals of the 1960s. Does it completely misunderstand both the music and the milieu? (Spoiler: yes)

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/289-for-petes-w-59307399 In a jumbo-sized crossover with The West Wing Thing podcast, Luke discusses Amazon's new Pete Buttigieg documentary MAYOR PETE (2021) with Josh Olson and Dave Anthony. Relive the magic and fun of those early primaries with Pete, Chasten, Lis Smith, and the whole gang! And fall in love with the sitting United States secretary of transportation all over again! (NOTE: cohost Will is off this episode because, sadly, he has fallen down a well. Rescue teams are at the scene, and we all pray for his speedy recovery) Check out The West Wing Thing- https://westwingthing.libsyn.com/

Before there was Elon Musk, there was Tony Stark. We travelled back to 2008 to look at IRON MAN, the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and were excited to find that it serves its ideology on a big platter and with minimal ornamentation. A video on the filming of Iron Man 2 at Edwards Air Force Base - https://vimeo.com/191818335?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=4293012

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/287-malcolm-do-59024249 Sometimes it's fun to reach for the low-hanging fruit. On this episode, we tackle the right-wing anti-Bernie Sanders comedy FREE LUNCH EXPRESS (2021) - co-starring Kevin Sorbo, Eric Roberts, and (*deep, heavy sigh*) Malcolm McDowell - and actually learn a few things about how the right views the left.

With its story of an idealistic political outsider who arrives in Washington to shake things up, Frank Capra's MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) helped codify what is perhaps the quintessential archetype of American politics. But... what does the movie actually say? To find out, we sat down and actually watched it. This one has been a long time coming, folks!

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58734680 In this very special episode, the boys have a riff session about a range of movies of wildly varying quality, from the McDonald's biopic THE FOUNDER (2016) to Edgar Wright's quasi-quasi-feminist horror film LAST NIGHT IN SOHO (2021) to BERGMAN ISLAND (2021) to the hilarious Christian oddity BILL WALLACE OF CHINA (1967)

THE QUEEN (2006) brings together a mismatched-buddy duo — one a symbol of stiff-upper-lipped British tradition (Liz Windsor), the other a radical left-wing politician (uh... Tony Blair?) — who both slowly realize that they might be able to learn from each other. We discuss why this is the ultimate film of the New Labour era.

PATREON EXCLUSIVE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58634648 Multilevel marketing is a scam. But thanks to protection by political elites and well-funded industry propaganda, it keeps growing. Cracking down on it would be as simple as enforcing the laws against fraud — if only the political will could be found. Luke talks to MLM expert Robert FitzPatrick for a wide-ranging conversation about the history, scale, and structure of MLMs, and why there’s no such thing as a legitimate MLM.

A month or so on, we're releasing this one from behind its Patreon paywall. If you want to hear more interviews like this, and get an extra episode each week, sign up at Patreon.com/MichaelandUs. In this interview, recorded in September, Luke talks to Guardian columnist and activist George Monbiot about the extreme right’s appropriation of countercultural idioms and revolutionary language in the age of QAnon and COVID; the corrosion of community in the neoliberal era; and the desperate need for a new narrative of solidarity and common good in an age of resurgent fascism and ecological collapse. "It’s shocking to see so many leftwingers lured to the far right by conspiracy theories" by George Monbiot - www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2…i-vaxxers-power

FALLING DOWN (1993) features Michael Douglas as an ordinary man who's mad as hell, turning into a Travis Bickle for the Rush Limbaugh era. It's Hollywood's attempt to make a serious statement about a post-Cold War malaise, and folks, it's a very, very bad movie. PLUS: we share memories of Canada''s greatest bad filmmaker.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58314876 In this very special episode, Luke talks to Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and many others) and investigate journalist David Sirota to discuss their new podcast series Meltdown. The series looks back on the 2008 financial crisis and mounts the case that the institutional response from Democrats still haunt politics today, and represents a skeleton key to understanding the current moment. NOTE: this conversation was recorded before this week's US elections, but has much to say about the results.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58157534 To tweak a phrase from Jeff Goldblum, so much time was spent asking IF the Superdelegate Patreon tier can vote for us to discuss Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK (1993) and not whether they SHOULD. Just kidding, folks - we had a fun time revisiting this certified Popcorn Classic and discussing the ideological evolution from Spielberg's original to the 2015 reboot Jurassic World. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the new films The French Dispatch and Halloween Kills.

We travel to postwar Vienna to visit THE THIRD MAN (1949) and discuss how this classic film's style perfectly articulates a bleak and despairing state of being. PLUS: thoughts on the dark 'n' gritty new Buzz Lightyear origin movie, AND we finally answer whether politics is upstream or downstream from culture.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57836336 We're joined by our old pal Branko Marcetic to discuss the viral sensation that is the New York Times' "B*d *rt Fr*end" article. Why is it popular right now? Is either "friend" in the right or wrong? And is capitalism really the worst friend of them all? PLUS: we discuss the "debate" around the watered-down reconciliation bill.

EASY RIDER (1969) has been encrusted in so many layers of Boomer nostalgia that we were wondering: is there anything still there? So we sat down and watched one of the most iconic films of the 1960s, and... the answer may surprise you! PLUS: more memories of student journalism.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57533296 In some ways, no movie franchise is as responsive to trends and fads as the James Bond series. And in other ways, no franchise is more stubbornly resistant to change. We discuss how the latest entry, NO TIME TO DIE (2021), positions itself in the zeitgeist. PLUS: the Dave Chappelle discourse.

At long last, we are finally tackling something related to The Sopranos. We discuss the many things wrong (and some things right) with the big-screen prequel THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK (2021); the spirit of American decline that The Sopranos captures at its best; and what the recent surge in prequels and reboots tells us about this world we live in.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57270569 The great thing about bad articles is: they don't stop makin' 'em. In this chill and jolly episode, we toss around some of our most beloved bad pieces of bad writing, including articles by such living legends as Jeffrey Wells, Jonathan Chait, and Jerry Seinfeld. PLUS: we discuss Toronto's most eccentric film exhibitor.

We have discussed many bad films on this podcast, but now we finally turn our attention to The Worst Movie Ever Made™. We analyze how Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1957) turns the movie industry's flotsam and detritus into a Hollywood dreamscape. PLUS: The Sopranos, Necromania, and Justin Trudeau's recent vacation.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-political-57123129 For many, the phrase "ruling class" symbolizes jet-setting metropolitans. Historian Patrick Wyman argues that an entirely different and more banal group wield a level of power and cultural influence that is out of proportion with their identity. "American Gentry" by Patrick Wyman - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/trump-american-gentry-wyman-elites/620151/

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56985194 The Superdelegate patron tier has selected BEYOND THE MAT (1999), a warts-and-all documentary about the lives of professional wrestlers like Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Mick "Mankind" Foley. We discuss what "the movie that Vince McMahon doesn't want you to see" has to say about the art and business of pro wrestling, and what pro wrestling can teach us about politics. PLUS: the Anti-Woke Film Festival and Keir Starmer.

Nine years after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, cinema's most enduring symbol of the perils of nuclear proliferation first crawled out of Tokyo Bay. We discuss how the original GODZILLA (1954) channeled the mood of its time. PLUS: how the media talks about the congressional wrangling over the reconciliation bill.

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-problem-is-56805720?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copy_to_clipboard&utm_campaign=postshare With the scale of our current social and political crises, it’s unsurprising to see a proliferation of conspiracy theories across unusually broad swathes of society. Luke talks to Guardian columnist and activist George Monbiot about the extreme right’s appropriation of countercultural idioms and revolutionary language in the age of QAnon and COVID; the corrosion of community in the neoliberal era; and the desperate need for a new narrative of solidarity and common good in an age of resurgent fascism and ecological collapse. "It’s shocking to see so many leftwingers lured to the far right by conspiracy theories" by George Monbiot - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/22/leftwingers-far-right-conspiracy-theories-anti-vaxxers-power

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56663705 When we were teenagers, George Carlin offered a gateway to more radical ways of thinking about politics and the world around us. But does his sledgehammer brand of satire hold up for us now? We re-immersed ourselves in Carlin to find out. PLUS: we discuss Andrew Yang's new political party, and dredge up our old disagreement about Andy Warhol.

The mockumentary DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (2006) imagined what would happen if then-president George W. Bush was assassinated. Though briefly very controversial, this justly-forgotten film is a perfect encapsulation of just how conservative a liberal movie could be in the years following 9/11. PLUS: we analyze the recent Canadian federal election.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56380720 In 1980, the legendary journalist Gay Talese first learned of a peeping-tom who bought a motel to spy on his guests. In 2016, he finally got this man to speak on the record in a New Yorker cover story... but further reportage revealed that the peeping-tom was a less-than-reliable narrator. This scandal is the subject of the Netflix documentary VOYEUR (2017), which had us asking: even if the story is true, is it actually interesting? PLUS: final thoughts on the Canadian election, and looking back at George Carlin.

Tucker Carlson reigns as the most-watched personality on cable news. How did he get that way? How important is he really? And what does he actually believe? To answer these questions, he enlist the help of Tucker scholar and returning guest Alex Shephard, who guides us through Carlson's trajectory from a Tom Wolfe-ish magazine scribe to a Jon Stewart punching-bag to the living embodiment of the GOP's hard-right turn. "How Tucker Carlson Lost It" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/163567/tucker-carlson-profile-lost-mind

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/56092187 The fastest fists of the east enter a junior partnership with the biggest mouth of the west in RUSH HOUR (1998), a film that represents the United States' view of its relationship with China during a moment of unquestioned U.S. hegemony. We discuss this Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker semi-classic, which every millennial has seen at least several times. PLUS: one of the hosts revisited Gran Torino (2008) and has some thoughts on it.

In Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (2010), the boundaries between life and death, past and present, ghost and human, and human and animal fade away. We discuss some possible philosophical and political readings of this cryptic masterpiece. PLUS: the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the media is covering the Canadian election. "Why Justin Trudeau’s snap election is backfiring" by Luke Savage - https://www.newstatesman.com/world/north-america/2021/09/why-justin-trudeau-s-snap-election-backfiring

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/duffygate-w-luke-55808939 With Will on a temporary hiatus, Michael and Us is pleased to welcome Luke LeBrun, editor of my journalistic alma mater PressProgress, for a chill discussion of media coverage in Canada's ongoing federal election. With that behind us, Luke and I turn to a decidedly low-stakes political scandal from the already forgotten Harper era (colloquially known as DuffyGate), recount some old war stories from our days covering Canada's many right wing think tanks, and talk about one our country's most ignoble institutions: the Senate. Watch CBC's The Rise and Fall of Mike Duffy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK2CD7P6yrM Follow Luke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_llebrun https://pressprogress.ca/

PATREON BONUS - https://www.patreon.com/posts/55643199 Just as the American media has turned on Joe Biden following the announcement of withdrawal from Afghanistan, the British media has given a rapturous reception to Tony Blair as he's waded back into the discourse. Luke talks to writer and author Richard Seymour about the British establishment’s crack-up over Afghanistan, its inability to quit Blair, the storied history of liberal justifications for war and empire, and other issues raised in his recent essay “Disaster Liberalism.”

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/55508789 Our Superdelegate patrons have selected Paul Thomas Anderson's much-loved parable about American capitalism, THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007), and we drank it up. PLUS: the state of the Canadian election, and memories of eccentric characters from our university days.

Andrei Tarkovsky's debut film IVAN'S CHILDHOOD (1962) sends us into a discussion about poetic cinema, memory, Russia, and what it means to be a national filmmaker. PLUS: Spike Lee's flirtation with 9/11 truth, and check-ins with two reactionary celebrities.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/55227370 Al Gore changed the way millions of people think about the climate crisis, but a full 15 years after the intended wake-up call of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006), the crisis is worse than ever. We look back at the documentary and analyze why Gore's brand of neoliberal environmentalism hasn't worked. PLUS: the Canadian election, The Sopranos, and tales of small-town political corruption.

In 1987, Oliver Stone introduced the world to a man who was not your daddy's capitalist: Gordon Gekko. We revisit WALL STREET to consider the strengths and limitations of its distinctly New Deal Liberal perspective on American capitalism; to marinate in the particular left-liberal Boomer perspective of Stone; and determine once and for all if greed is, in fact, good.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54951772 You've probably seen the show. But you probably haven't seen the movie. We put ourselves through Jerry Springer's one and only feature film vehicle, RINGMASTER (1998), and have emerged with a clearer sense of what the king of trash TV thought he was doing. PLUS: we've both been watching reality TV lately, and are more than eager to share our findings!

In 1994, the most vilified member of the Reagan administration tried to stage a political comeback, and it almost worked. The documentary A PERFECT CANDIDATE (1996) follows Oliver North's attempt to unseat Democrat Chuck Robb as a Virginia senator, and captures the political currents in both Virginia and the United States as a whole. Pod Damn America and Redacted Tonight's Anders Lee fills in for Luke to discuss. Follow Anders Lee on Twitter - https://twitter.com/andersleehere Follow Pod Damn America - https://twitter.com/andersleehere

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54650386 It was Homer Simpson who said, "What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind." This aphorism is much more useful than anything in WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!? (2004), the pseudo-science docu-fiction movie that blew a lot of minds during the Bush era. We analyze the film's brand of hokum, which exists somewhere between The Secret and Scientology. The Superdelegate patron class forced us to watch this one, gang!

With an election looming in Canada, we decided to look back on a time when Justin Trudeau's father received his punishment at the hands of the Canadian media. The National Film Board of Canada documentary HISTORY ON THE RUN: THE MEDIA AND THE '79 ELECTION (1979) chronicles the unusual media landscape that led to a nine-month interruption in Pierre Trudeau's long tenure as Prime Minister. We discuss how media shapes and responds to election narratives, how things have changed since 1979, and the unusual Trudeau/Joe Clark/Ed Broadbent election. PLUS: rank punditry about Justin Trudeau's chances.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/256-remembering-54272869 Bill Pullman, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake... what if we told you that these three men are all the same? That's the situation in David Lynch's LOST HIGHWAY (1997), if not real life. Perennial guest Alex Ross helps us deconstruct a prickly film, and provides a political reading that will have your galaxy brain expanding. PLUS: Luke tells about his most famous reply-guy yet!

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/54116739 Revisiting the Coen Brothers' masterpiece INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013) gives us ample opportunity to discuss the history, meaning, and politics of New York's brief but legendary folk music scene, and to try to articulate the Brothers' dark philosophy. PLUS: thoughts on the two greatest songwriters of our time: Bob Dylan and Matt Farley.

You may love Bugs Bunny, but you will never own him. That's the thesis of SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY (2021), which sends Bugs and LeBron James through a tour of WarnerMedia's intellectual property while never letting you forget that its WarnerMedia's intellectual property. "Th- th- th- th- that's bad, folks!" PLUS: Vanity Fair in the '20s, Jeff Bezos in space, and some alarming new trends in movie marketing. "Space Jam: A New Legacy Is a Peek Into the Bleak, Cynical Future of Film" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/163008/space-jam-new-legacy-peek-bleak-cynical-future-film

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/53847856 The former Governor of Alaska can see Nick Broomfield from her house in SARAH PALIN: YOU BETCHA! (2011), the British muckraker's irreverent documentary about Sarah Palin. Broomfield reconstructs the life and turbulent political times of the onetime Tea Party standard-bearer, and your hosts find themselves with a split verdict on his success. PLUS: we discuss two of the most important artworks mankind has ever produced: Space Jam 2 and Moby Dick.

At last, we have decided to stop worrying and love the bomb. We discuss Stanley Kubrick's immortal DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) and how its depiction of small, pitiable men against a vast backdrop brought the Kubrick project into sharp focus. PLUS: why the billionaire space race encapsulates what's wrong with this damnable world of ours.

PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/53583912 Gadfly documentarian Nick Broomfield claims he wanted to make a movie about the "real" Margaret Thatcher, but TRACKING DOWN MAGGIE (1994) - which documents his failed quest to land an interview with the former Prime Minister - ended up being about the limits of the strange, cloistered world of the global elite, and the limits of "access journalism." PLUS: We discuss the media reception to Richard Branson's journey into space.