Dean and Phil share seasonal decoration news, holiday plans, and Christmas travel tales. Then, Phil tells a hilarious story about an awards screening he attended. Wake Up Dead Man (“A Knives Out Mystery”) gets a deep dive analysis which leads into a new way of discussing the issues surrounding Netflix’s pending purchase of Warner Bros. Media. After that, the Netflix films Jay Kelly and Carry-On get reviewed before a soon-to-be-theatrically-released awards hopeful gets reviewed. Finally, a classic 1949 film noir and an underrated 1961 comedic gem from Billy Wilder get celebrated.

Phil Leirness is joined by music journalist (and friend of the show) Yoshi Kato, who briefly fills in for a tardy Dean Haglund, to discuss the lives and legacies of six notables from the world of music in “Celebrity Deaths”, as well as to set the table concerning a later discussion of Asian Pacific American Heritage month and the 1961 film Flower Drum Song. Dean then arrives just in time to remember a prolific character actor, the decorated police officer who played Eddie Haskell on TV’s “Leave it to Beaver”, and the great Fred Willard. Dean and Phil then answer an email from a loyal listener about an upcoming Michael Bay film set in the world of Covid-19. This leads to a fascinating discussion and argument before attention is turned to the ramping up of film and TV production and the announcement that the Venice Film Festival will go ahead as planned this September. Dean then sings the praises of two different television series, Phil sings the praises of two classic movies about gambling. Then the conversation turns to the careers of Sessue Hayakawa, one of the first heartthrobs of the silver screen, the hilarious and brilliant Jack Soo, and the tragically overlooked Reiko Sato.

On his way to Detroit, Dean stopped by a certain historic building in Los Angeles to record this week’s episode, He and Phil preview Dean’s trip this week to Motor City as well as talk about Dean’s permanent move there taking place later this year. They also re-visit an idea Dean floated back during their days making The Truth Is Out There, that in this day and age, the conspiracy theory IS the conspiracy … They celebrate the lives of a legendary choreographer, an all-time great documentary filmmaker and a matinee idol in “Celebrity Deaths” before discussing a wide range of recent cinematic releases including “Thor: Ragnarok“, “Ant-Man and the Wasp“, “Blade Runner 2049“, “Three Identical Strangers“, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom“, and a Bollywood comedy about … defecating in the woods?! YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour. Wherever good podcasts can be found.

 

On this week’s brand new, action-packed episode #544, Dean and Phil are discussing great movies again, as they count down their lists of the Top Ten Action Movies of All Time!