Michael and Us

Latest Episodes:

PREVIEW - #320 - Luigi's Playboy Mansion Apr 04, 2022

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PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/64687009 Being a geriatric man who has joyless, bureaucratized sex with an army of women who hate you: is this the American dream? For Hugh Hefner, it apparently was. We discuss the new documentary series SECRETS OF PLAYBOY, the Playboy phenomenon more generally, and the ugliness behind Hefner's tackiness. PLUS: Nintendo 64 memories, and an inevitable discussion of the Will Smith thing.

#319 - The Void Stares Back Mar 29, 2022

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Jack Lemmon and James Garner star as two one-term presidents - one Democratic, one Republican - who go on a wacky adventure in the Grumpy Old Men rip-off MY FELLOW AMERICANS (1996). We stare into the deep void of this thuddingly unfunny political comedy and once again extract ideology. PLUS: alarming developments in the world of Russian Ultranationalism.

PREVIEW - #318 - Toronto Rocks Mar 27, 2022

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PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/64335664 On this very special episode, we focus on the cultural hotspots of our home city of Toronto. We discuss beloved music venue the El Mocambo, eccentric alternative-film exhibitor R*g H*rtt, and gone-but-not-forgotten novelty restaurant Garfield Eats.

#317 - Hunters in the Snow Mar 22, 2022

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The great Homer Simpson once said, "What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind." In that spirit, we watched Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece SOLARIS (1972), which imagines outer space as a manifestation of our inner life. PLUS: checking in on that most important issue of our time, the Oscars.

PREVIEW - #316 - Disney's Xanadu Mar 19, 2022

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PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/64007681 In the final months of his life, Walt Disney devoted much of his energy to designing a new kind of American city that he hoped would be a model for the future. Though E.P.C.O.T. ("Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow") would never be fully realized, Disney's plan for a monopolistic controlled community remains a stunning vision of a world where capitalism outlasts democracy. We watched Disney's 1966 pitch film for his insane project. PLUS: how Martin Scorsese nearly cost Disney a relationship with China.

PREVIEW - #315 - Ninja Domination 4 Mar 15, 2022

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PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/63812658 Not unlike a Godfrey Ho ninja movie, this episode is a smorgasbord of disparate topics, including ✓ The 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election ✓ Snowpiercer (2013) ✓ Steven Seagal ✓ More thoughts on Speechless (1994) ✓ Harvey Weinstein ✓ Yes... Godfrey Ho ninja movies

#314 - Contract With America Mar 14, 2022

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She's a Democrat. He's a Republican. They're speechwriters on warring campaigns... but can they fall in love??? That's the premise of the Michael Keaton/Geena Davis romcom SPEECHLESS (1994), which drew inspiration from the real-life romance between Clinton strategist James Carville and Bush advisor Mary Matalin. We discuss a movie that could only have been made in the '90s. "John Cleese Had Thoughts on Slavery at SXSW and It Was Super Cringey" by James Hibberd - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/john-cleese-sxsw-panel-1235109668/ "Bedfellows Make Strange Politics" by Gore Vidal - https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/18/books/bedfellows-make-strange-politics.html

PREVIEW - #313 - The Future Is No Longer What It Was Mar 08, 2022

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PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/63521141 The Superdelegate Patreon tier has selected HIGH FIDELITY (2000), and this beloved film gives us ample opportunity to discuss such loaded topics as memory, physical media, niche culture, ageing, and hauntology. PLUS: we check in on Ukraine, and Luke reveals a movie-star pen-pal.

#312 - Sympathy for the Riddler Mar 07, 2022

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Some Batman movies have been called fascist, but THE BATMAN (2022) breaks new ground for the franchise by being lib. We wouldn't be a left-wing culture podcast if we didn't occasionally pick a new Batman movie from the lowest branch on the tree, so come join us as we chart the latest developments in the Caped Crusader's political evolution.

PREVIEW - #311 - A Conspicuous Dearth of Beauty Feb 27, 2022

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PATREON EPISODE - https://www.patreon.com/posts/63136108 We perform another deep-dive into our most beloved subject, the Wetmovie1 YouTube Universe, before transitioning to a matter of even greater importance: the crisis in Ukraine. PLUS: Joan Didion - yea or nay?

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