Michael and Us

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/84221377

With ED WOOD (1994), one of the most commercially successful American filmmakers paid tribute to one of the least. We discuss how the film establishes an aesthetic and spiritual common-ground between Tim Burton and Edward D. Wood, Jr. PLUS: Who will be the standard-bearer of American conservatism until he dies? I think we all know the answer...

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 matters Pablo-matic and not.

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

Preorder "Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Fight for Equality," the new Ed Broadbent memoir coauthored by our own Luke Savage - https://ecwpress.com/products/seeking-social-democracy-ed-broadbent

"Fake News" by our own Luke Savage - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crSeqJafFt8&ab_channel=JusticeDemocrats

"With Hannah Gadsby’s ‘It’s Pablo-matic,’ the Joke’s on the Brooklyn Museum" by Jason Farago - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/01/arts/design/hannah-gadsby-brooklyn-museum-picasso.html

"The True Mystery in James Comey’s Crime Novel" by Jacob Bacharach - https://newrepublic.com/article/172553/true-mystery-james-comeys-crime-novel-central-park-west-review

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 challenge.

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 cinema. PLUS: What is it with British celebrities and politics? We discuss three well-known U.K. citizens.

Watch MAGIC SPOT - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/magicspot

Watch LOCAL LEGENDS - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/locallegends

"Motern on Motern: Conversations with Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh" by Will Sloan and Justin Decloux - https://www.amazon.com/Motern-Conversations-Farley-Charles-Roxburgh/dp/B08KHRR4WR/

"The liberal complacency of Martin Amis" by Terry Eagleton - https://unherd.com/2023/05/the-liberal-complacency-of-martin-amis/

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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 world's most prolific songwriter.

If you watch only one movie on Will's recommendation in your life, make it LOCAL LEGENDS - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/locallegends

"BlackBerryIs a Movie That Portrays Tech Dreams Honestly—Finally" by John Semley - https://www.wired.com/story/blackberry-movie-review/

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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 Tucker Carlson's journalism.

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"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 DeSantis?

Watch the whole damn movie for free on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ek2LEoSut0&ab_channel=Se%C3%B1iorFroggy

"Tucker Carlson Has Already Lost His War With Fox News" by Alex Shephard - https://newrepublic.com/article/172274/tucker-carlson-twitter-video-lost-war-fox-news

Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus