Tag: One Battle After Another

Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 38

Posted on by PHIL19

Phil is playing hurt with a nasty head cold. Dean is braving the sub-zero temperatures. And somehow, they manage to bring you one of the most epic installments yet of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! They start the show by discussing some of the upcoming 2026 cinematic releases that the Criterion Collection has on their list of the films they are most anticipating. Then, they analyze the Academy Award nominations, the surprises, the snubs, and the historic trends they see unfolding. From the best in cinema 2025 to the worst in cinema, an email from a loyal listener inspires Dean and Phil to discuss the Razzie Awards. Finally, your friends in podcasting wrap things up by revealing each of their lists of the five films that angered them, frustrated them, or downright confused them in 2025.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 37

Posted on by PHIL19

Phil gets things started by singing the praises of “The Lowdown” (and its emotional intelligence), and of Marc Hershon, who had this Sterlin Harjo-created Ethan Hawke-starring series on his list of the best television of 2025. Some casting news (regarding season 4 of “The White Lotus”) has Phil greatly enthusiastic. Then, for the first time in ages, but as they used to do on the regular back in the day, Dean and Phil analyze the long four-day weekend’s domestic box office, paying particular attention to the lack of performance by (the supposedly excellent) 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple and the milestone achieved by bona fide movie star Timothée Chalamet. Then, the conversation about IMDB’s list of the 20 most anticipated movies of 2006 picks up where it left off last week. The incredible achievement Sentimental Value pulled off at the European Film Awards gets placed in a historic perspective. Two movies get reviewed: Dean wags his finger at the Edgar Wright remake The Running Man and Phil doffs his cap to Bi Gan’s masterful Resurrection. This week’s show is EXCELLENT, but don’t take our word for it – just hit “play”!

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 31

Posted on by PHIL19

On this week’s show, Dean Haglund is finally using a microphone once again. It makes his audio better, to be certain, but somehow it also manages to create several cameo opportunities for his dogs! Don’t let those moments dissuade you, however, as this week’s show is an utterly fascinating conversation between Dean and his longtime co-host Phil Leirness. They go deep, discussing the potential sale of Warner Bros. to Netflix, the life and legacy of perhaps the greatest American architect of all time, Frank Gehry, and the truly spine-chilling lessons we can learn from the Nazis’ film policy.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 24

Posted on by PHIL19

Big changes are on the horizon for YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour! This week’s show begins with Dean and Phil discussing them. Then, they shift gears into a wide array of topics including: Unexpected events at local screenings of One Battle After Another, the variable frame rates of the silent era, a movie that had wildly different endings depending on in what country you saw it, a documentary about the making of The Night of the Hunter, the fragility of darkness in the Atacama Desert, the lack of planning or funding for the forthcoming Cultural Olympiad (the arts programming that is supposed to be part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles), the death of R&B great D’Angelo, and the story of the fictional band Eddie and the Cruisers.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 23

Posted on by PHIL19

This week’s episode picks up where last week’s show left off with a deep dive into Charles Laughton’s 1955 masterpiece The Night of the Hunter the ending to which Dean greatly misunderstood. In fact, a special guest stops by to help explain the ending and to discuss the film through the prisms of expressionism, surrealism and absurdism. Then, Dean, Phil, and (frequent collaborator) Jon Lawlor discuss several filmmaking and film distribution and film marketing topics pertaining to Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. In 1964, the United Nations produced four movies for television. One of them featured an all-star cast and a script by Rod Serling. Carol for Another Christmas gets discussed. Finally, the recent conversation the gents had about Carl Theodore Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc inspired a thoughtful email from a loyal listener.

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Chillpak Hollywood Hour – Year 19 Episode 19

Posted on by PHIL19

In another episode featuring now regular contributor Jon Lawlor (longtime purveyor of excellent Chillpak Hollywood Hour theme songs), Dean tells stories of his ongoing trip back to his hometown of Winnipeg and the workshopping of a theatrical play that was the reason for his trip. He also reveals details of what may, or may not, be a Winnipeg-themed art collection he will be (or might not be) showing at a forthcoming Hamilton, Ontario, art show! Jon and Phil compare notes on the live stage show (“Viva Los Feliz”) in which they both performed last week. Then, the focus turns to Spike Lee’s latest “joint”, a remake of an Akira Kurosawa classic itself based on a novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter). Particular attention is paid to the cinematography and the music. Finally, it’s time for more Superman discussion, as a longtime, brilliant listener takes Dean and Jon to task for what they “missed” in their scathing reviews of one of this year’s most beloved, and most talked about movies. Oh, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes quite a few strays in the process!

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