Because your friends in podcasting really wanted to take a much-needed week off, they pre-recorded this week’s show in two parts. One part involves Dean and Phil continuing their ongoing reappraisal of the “Mission: Impossible” films, as they debate the merits of the most successful (and critically acclaimed) installment – Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The other part was recorded with good pal Jon Lawlor during their weekly discussion of “The Art Life”. The themes they explore involve the definitions of “courage”, “decorate” and answering the question, “what’s missing?” Music, bravery, intimacy, cancer, dog sweaters, and the “Star Trek” episode “Spectre of the Gun” are just some of the topics discussed. The show ends in a cliffhanger mystery! The show BEGINS with a question to you (yes, YOU!), our dear listeners, about the future form of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour!

It’s been a while since Phil brought out the ol’ Chillpak soapbox, but on this week’s show, it comes in handy as Dean and Phil delve into the huge show biz news in “The Explanation of the Week” involving late night shows, corporate mergers, bribery, evangelical Christianity, and Stephen Colbert. In “What We’re Reading” the teachings of Taoist philosophy go into the spotlight. The first two episodes of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season 3 get reviewed and Phil defends the series from some recent criticisms about the show “not being about anything”. Then TV mysteries “The Residence” and “Poker Face” get discussed before the 1965 big-screen Agatha Christie-adapted mystery Ten Little Indians and 2024 Cannes winner for Best Director, Grand Tour, get reviewed.

This week, you will hear your friends in podcasting discussing an ill-fated screening of Spaceballs, the 4th of July, patriotism, fireworks and the seminal band, Earth, Wind and Fire. In “Celebrity Deaths”, actor-singer Aki Aleong, journalist Bill Moyers, televangelist Jimmy Swaggert, actor Michael Madsen, and actor Julian McMahon all get remembered. Dean and Phil go back and forth singing the praises of the Netflix comedy-mystery limited series “The Residence” and take a deep dive into the 4th “Mission: Impossible” movie (“Ghost Protocol”). YOUR mission, should you choose to accept it …

Phil is in Montecito, California. Dean is ALMOST back into his house in Birmingham, Michigan. They got together via the magic of podcasting (and zoom) to discuss: The week that was for “Cobra Kai” star Martin Kove, the latest company splits for “Legacy Media” conglomerates, and California’s now official increase in the annual Film & TV Tax Credit funding. Wes Anderson and The Phoenician Scheme, Apple and their F1 and Fountain of Youth, the Indiana Jones films, Bong Joon Ho and Mickey 17, and the “Mission: Impossible” films all get deep dive analyses as well.

Dean is back home in Birmingham, Michigan. Phil is at home in Los Angeles. They connect via Zoom to discuss the fire damage Dean witnessed while he was in L.A. last week, as well as his ongoing and evolving thoughts regarding Captain America: Brave New World which he caught up with on a flight. Phil has thoughts about the recent Mickey 17, and about the current theatrical releases Caught by the Tides and Friendship. The talk then turns to the business of show and the recently announced/ongoing breakups of media conglomerates Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast/NBC Universal. Finally, in “Celebrity Deaths”, a character actor on the brink of big fame, a chart-topping singer of 1960s hits, and a legendary jazz singer and pianist all get remembered, and Phil corrects something Dean said last week in remembering the great Brian Wilson, as well as offering something he recently learned about beloved television star Loretta Swit (who was remembered a couple weeks back).

From a secret location somewhere in America (actually a rooftop high atop the historic village neighborhood where Phil resides): Dean and Phil got together IN PERSON, and Phil’s better half, Lily Holleman, joined them, first to see an experimental film from 1990 (All the Vermeers in New York) at the American Cinematheque, and then to discuss it (over cocktails). You have probably NOT seen the movie, but the discussion is both interesting AND sets up many later conversation strands that prove hilarious! In fact, if this is not the funniest episode of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour, it will do until the funniest episode gets here! Partway through, Steve the Turk (who last joined the festivities at a bar in Helsingør, Denmark, when Year 18 Episode 45 was recorded during Dean’s bachelor party) joins the trio. Steve regales with information about Turkey, Denmark and Hamburg, Germany. Personalized license plates, the “No Kings” protests and who Steve the Turk’s “best friend” might be are just some of the hard-hitting topics the team delve into before opening the Chillpak morgue and getting down to the brass tacks of a VERY competitive round of “Celebrity Deaths”!

Dean and Phil have quite the array of topics to discuss, including a recent Marvel film, a Neil Simon comedy from the 1970s, all the big award-winners at the recent Cannes Film Festival, and a director’s cut of Chris Carter’s The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Both the Australian and the American versions of “Laid” get discussed, and art, architecture, history and more get discussed in the return of “What We Are Reading”. Two beloved television stars and a legendary comedian get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”. Finally, good pal of the show Marc Hershon drops by to offer up two new television show recommendations that both sound awesome!

Dean and Phil commence the proceedings with a cold open wherein they address a fantastic voice message they received from a loyal listener in Germany. Then, after finding out when Dean expects to no longer be living in his one-room art studio above the garage, Phil dedicates the rest of the show to celebrating movies from around the world and from across the decades! The recent blockbuster Sinners, the current blockbuster Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and the current limited release A Vanishing Fog from Columbia (the country, not the studio) all get reviewed. One of the great films of the 21st century, a 2000 masterpiece from Taiwan entitled Yi Yi, and the legendary capper to the “Apu” trilogy – Apur Sansar (aka The World of Apu) – from the great Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray both get celebrated. Finally, Phil shares stories of Alexander Payne, and regales with the history of perhaps the single greatest influence on Payne’s work, Preston Sturges, both in light of re-watching the hilarious and surprisingly rousing 1944 wartime comedy Hail the Conquering Hero. So, butter up that popcorn, epic Year 19 Episode 4 of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour is going to the movies!

It’s Memorial Day in the USA. Dean Haglund in Michigan and Phil Leirness in California are joined by Jon Lawlor in New Jersey to discuss New Jersey Transit, the importance of celebrating everyone, and the challenges involved when someone you meet or care about is experiencing memory loss issues. May is also Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the USA. To celebrate this, Phil sits down for an in-depth personal interview with a giant of the AAPI community, and a legendary actress who made her mark on stage, on screen, and in voice work. Takayo Fischer has worked in huge movies, with legendary stars, has been a fixture on television for decades, has lent her voice to many animated programs, and has worked on iconic stage projects with major talents of the 20th and 21st Century. The story of how she got to the stage is unlike any other.