Michael Lovito
editor@thepostrider.com
Watching Mates: Jimmy Carter – Rocky / Star Wars
Lars and Michael discuss their film picks for the Carter era — a blend of optimism, underdogs, and perhaps naivety over the coming backlash Jimmy Carter would face through the lens of Rocky and Star Wars.
Chatroom: Tenet
After a grueling worldwide pandemic, many were left scratching their heads about the future of the film industry. When would people feel comfortable sitting in a movie theater again? Would movie theaters ever bounce back? One of the trial balloons ...
Watching Mates: Gerald Ford – Jaws / Chinatown
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Ford administration, exploring government incompetence and corruption (or maybe it’s just about a shark) through the lens of Jaws and Chinatown. But in true Gerald Ford fashion, they spend most of the ...
Looking Back at Blue Valentine, a Great Movie That Will Absolutely Ruin Your Day
“I still haven’t seen Blue Valentine yet, because although everyone who’s seen it tells me it’s good, the trailer gave me really bad ukulele flashbacks. (Seriously, for the next month I’d break out in a cold sweat if I so ...
Watching Mates: Richard Nixon – Easy Rider / Blazing Saddles
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Nixon administration, reflecting on hippie culture, racism, a developing “us versus them” mentality within the United States — and a whole bunch of dirty tricks — through the lens of the films ...
Watching Mates: Lyndon B. Johnson – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner / Dr. Strangelove
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Johnson administration, reflecting on dramatic domestic progress and a distrust of foreign policy apparatus through the lens of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Dr. Strangelove.
Chatroom: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The final episode of Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier aired on Disney+ this past Friday. It tells the story of, well: the Falcon, Sam Wilson – and the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes – in the wake up the ...
Watching Mates: John F. Kennedy – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance / Lolita
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Kennedy era, discussing themes of heroism and elitism in American society through the lens of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Lolita.
Watching Mates: Dwight Eisenhower – The Blob / Shane
Lars and Michael discuss the films of the Eisenhower era, comparing the infamous The Blob and the more-critically-acclaimed Shane. The narratives on being driven from one’s home, McCarthyism, and generational strife give context to Eisenhower’s above-the-fray approach in his presidency.
Chatroom: Which States Should Democrats and Republicans “Concede”?
The 2020 election opened several new electoral pathways for Democrats and expanded on Republican wins in 2016 and 2018. It also reinforced existing trends for formerly perennial swing states. How should the parties prioritize those states in the next few ...
Watching Mates: Harry Truman – The Third Man / The Hitch-Hiker
In the first episode of Watching Mates, Lars and Michael team up to discuss the films of the Truman era, comparing film noirs The Third Man and The Hitch-Hiker. The international intrigue and sense of being lost in a new ...
When They Go Low, We Shift into High Gear: Why Nicole Cooper Founded the Dirty Liberals Jeep Club of America
After years of driving what she describes as “the mom mobile,” Nicole Cooper finally fulfilled a lifelong dream in June when she ordered a Jeep Wrangler. Not only was Cooper excited to own a vehicle that was a better fit ...
2021 Grammys Preview: Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Worse…
What’s the weirdest movie you can think of being nominated for Best Picture? I don’t mean weird as in David Lynch weird, I mean weird as in “why on Earth would the Academy nominate this movie” for Best Picture ...
Chatroom: WandaVision and the Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
This past Friday marked the series finale of WandaVision, the first television entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to debut on Disney+, and the first in a number of TV shows on that platform that will feature characters from the ...
Introducing Watching Mates
Your favorite podcasting 20-something-year-old former DC boys are back on the air with their upcoming project, Watching Mates. Coming out later this March, each episode they’ll delve into postwar presidents, starting with Harry Truman, through the lens of the films of ...
Overrated, Underrated, and Properly Rated: The Hold Steady
On February 19th, The Hold Steady released their eighth studio album, Open Door Policy. This may not be a big deal to you. But I can assure you that there are some people for whom this is a VERY big ...
Chatroom: Which State Should Go First in the Primary?
After the disastrous Iowa Caucuses in 2020, there has been increased scrutiny of the first-in-the-nation competitions in the party primaries. Iowa (with the first caucus) and New Hampshire (with the first primary) are both disproportionately (90%) white, rural and not ...
If Trump Runs in 2024, Who Will Be His Running Mate?
In 2019, we ran a piece about President Trump’s upcoming reelection and his relationship with Vice President Mike Pence — who we dubbed “the one man in the administration that President Trump cannot fire.” The article centered on whether or ...
The Postrider’s Top 30 Songs of 2020
2020… I mean, what do you say? Between the coronavirus pandemic, nationwide protests, and a long, drawn out presidential election, the country practically lived through an entire verse of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in only twelve months. And while ...
John Kasich Spoke at the DNC. Will it Matter?
The 2020 presidential election has found former Ohio Governor John Kasich at a crossroads. No, literally; on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, the lifelong Republican delivered a speech while standing at a physical fork in the ...
Raw and Haunting, Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher Lives Up To Its Name
Phoebe Bridgers released her new album, Punisher, earlier than expected on Thursday, June 18th. “I’m not pushing the record until things go back to ‘normal,’ because I don’t think they should,” Bridgers said in a tweet that also included a ...
How Fetch the Bolt Cutters Became the Album of Quarantine
“I Want You to Love Me,” the opening track of Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple’s fifth studio album, begins with a digital fake out. A chintzy drum machine and minimalist keyboard line take up the first twenty or so ...