It’s part one of a special two-part episode! After a rather hilarious cold open, Dean and Phil immediately get down to the serious (ridiculous?) business of counting down their respective lists of the Top Ten Best Films of 2025. This week, they reveal #10 thru #6 on their lists. As with years past, Dean’s list includes films he has hopefully seen, and Phil’s list stretches the definition of “ten” in “Top Ten”. Because they actually accomplish this week’s task in less than an hour, Phil takes some time at the end to regale Dean with what might be the best sci-fi movies to be coming out in 2026! So, buckle up and prepare to celebrate the (recent) past AND look forward to the (near) future.

Phil is back in Los Angeles. Dean is at home in Birmingham, Michigan, and they are unpacking the mysteries of Dean’s sleep schedule, a California town called “Chowchilla” and the US Government report on UFOs. The subject of paranoia gets get a deep dive analysis. Another of Dean’s favorite episodes of “The X-Files” gets revealed. HBO’s “Mare of Easttown” gets reviewed through comparisons with such other recent HBO procedurals as “True Detective” and “The Undoing”. Movies are back, box office is promising, and Dean and Phil celebrate the success of two new horror movies, before offering up a classic 2016 horror film from South Korea. This leads into remembrances of a major (and controversial) figure in the emergence of Korean cinema of the 21st Century, who died of Covid-19 in December. The rise and fall of a legendary attorney gets discussed in “Celebrity Deaths”, as does the legacy of one the great songwriters of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Finally, your friends in podcasting will play another couple rounds of their new Vintage Movie Ad game, this week featuring action stars of the 80’s and 90’s!