Michael and Us

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/395-all-films-77414105

According to official White House documents, Bill Clinton watched over 150 movies in the White House Screening Room during his presidency. In this very special episode, we discuss the films the 42nd president watched.

Upon its release, Steven Soderbergh's TRAFFIC (2000) offered something novel: a cinematic tapestry that criticized America's War on Drugs. More than 20 years later, we consider its strengths, as well as the impact that time has diminished. PLUS: Let's read a little from Prince Harry autobiography, shall we?

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PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/393-gabbo-is-77029119

What if they made a blockbuster but the block doesn't bust? We sift through the wreckage of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's ill-fated bid for a hostile takeover of the DC cinematic universe, BLACK ADAM (2022).

Filmed in the aftermath of the 1970 "October Crisis" that brought martial law to Canada, Gilles Groulx's radical documentary 24 HOURS OR MORE (1973) takes a disapproving look at life in Quebec under capitalism during a moment when the postwar economic boom was receding. It's the kind of movie that isn't made anymore: a movie that questions the very premises on which society is built.

Watch the movie for free: https://www.nfb.ca/film/24_hours_or_more/

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

As we enter 2023, it's time for our annual look back on the movies that defined our podcast over the past 12 months. In our third Year-in-Review Extravaganza, we're handing out awards for Best Movie, Worst Movie, Best End-of-History Movie, Thing We Liked Growing Up That Holds Up Relatively Well, Best Tubi Movie, and more. Will Alexandra Pelosi win an award? Will Dinesh D'Souza go home empty-handed? What about Trump vs. the Illuminati? Tune in to find out!

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

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/76653894

If you'll indulge us, we'd like to keep the holiday spirit going a little longer by doing a deep ideological reading of one of the most important films ever made. Several years ago on this podcast, Cohost Luke was startled and delighted to discover that 1994's The Santa Clause was loaded with deep ideology . Today, we look at its long-delayed sequel, THE SANTA CLAUSE 2 (2002), to find what it tells us about our world in the Bush era.

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/76177655

With the yuletide season upon us, our Superdelegate patron tier has voted for us to discuss the Bill Murray holiday semi-classic SCROOGED (1988). So we boiled up some hot chocolate and did our best to apply an ideological reading to this story of an '80s TV executive's path to Christmastime redemption. PLUS: Fiery hot takes on Avatar: The Way of Water, and an answer to the question on everyone's lips: what, exactly, is Elon Musk's "plan"?

The 20-year filmmaking career of Alexandra Pelosi has been building up to this moment: a hagiographic documentary portrait of her mother, the outgoing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We watched PELOSI IN THE HOUSE (2022).

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

"Nancy Pelosi’s Daughter Makes Awful Documentaries Fawning Over the Establishment" by Will Sloan - https://jacobin.com/2022/12/nancy-alexandra-pelosi-documentary-filmmaking-establishment

"Nancy Pelosi Delivered Little for the Left, but We Might Miss Her Anyway" by Branko Marcetic - https://jacobin.com/2022/11/nancy-pelosi-house-speaker-democratic-party-center

"The Obamanauts" by Corey Robin - https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-obamanauts

PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/75918320

In this episode, we discuss a variety of decaying institutions and lost futures. We hash over some thoughts on what the HARRY & MEGHAN Netflix show says about the decline of the monarchy, and then dissect the Christmas episode of the 1980s RAMBO: THE FORCE OF FREEDOM cartoon show reimagines Santa Claus as a reformed Josef Mengele type. PLUS: thoughts on a new Blockbuster Video pop-up, and the upcoming movie that will unite a divided America.

In 1991, actor/martial artist/philosopher/current Russian special envoy to the U.S. Steven Seagal hosted Saturday Night Live for the first and only time. The result has gone down in history as one of the worst episodes of all time. We look back on this infamous show and find a nearly indecipherable time-capsule of the comedy and culture of the early 1990s. PLUS: Luke explores the relationship between celebrities and the NFT industry.