Michael and Us

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#438 - In Soviet Russia, Game Plays You Jun 27, 2023

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Did Tetris bring down the USSR? That's the implication of TETRIS (2023), a highly fictionalized account of the beloved video game's journey from the Soviet Union to your phone. We examine what anti-Communist kitsch looks like in the year 2023. PLUS: Russian coups, disappearing subs, and further thoughts on the movie on everyone's lips, The Flash. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

PREVIEW - #437 - The Flash Is Dead, Long Live The Flash! Jun 21, 2023

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PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/437-flash-is-84903674 We went to see the cursed blockbuster THE FLASH (2023) and discovered not merely a bad movie, but also a movie that encapsulates nearly everything bad about movies in the year 2023. Strap in, folks.

#436 - Let's See What's On Netflix... Jun 20, 2023

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Our sacred quest to tackle every political comedy inevitably reaches the Will Ferrell/Zack Galifianakis vehicle THE CAMPAIGN (2012). We discuss what a middle-of-the-road comedy from smack dab in the middle of the Obama era captures of its time and ambience. PLUS: Checking in on some of the wackier characters in the Toronto mayoral race.

PREVIEW - #435 - The Ford Doctrine Jun 13, 2023

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PATREON-EXCLUSIVE EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/435-ford-84518277 It's Die Hard on an airplane and the President of the United States is John McClane. In AIR FORCE ONE (1997), Harrison Ford plays a president so great that he can beat the terrorists with his own hands. PLUS: We discuss breadlines and blockbusters.

#434 - If Movies Tire You, What Will Podcasts Do? Jun 12, 2023

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Hell is real, and it's really bad, and it's really important that you repent. That's the thesis of THE BURNING HELL (1974), a crackpot Evangelical oddity from the deep south, brought to you by the dynamic duo of director Ron Ormond and preacher/star Estus W. Pirkle. We discuss what this bizarre handmade movie tells us about American religious conservatism. PLUS: enter Mike Pence and Chris Christie; exit Vanderpump Rules Season 10. From deep in the Michael & Us archives, an episode on an earlier Ormond/Pirkle film, IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO? - https://soundcloud.com/michael-and-us/61-if-footmen-tire-you-what-will-horses-do Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week -https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

PREVIEW - #433 - Golden Turkeys Jun 07, 2023

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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...

#432 - America Would Never Jun 06, 2023

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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

PREVIEW - #431 - Gravespotting May 31, 2023

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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.

#430 - Motern and Us May 29, 2023

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

PREVIEW - #429 - Persona Pod Grata May 29, 2023

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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.

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