Your friends in podcasting discuss Netflix’s (perhaps misleading) embrace of movie theaters, they celebrate the resurrection of Todd Hayne’s seemingly dead but now forthcoming detective film (with Pedro Pascal replacing Joaquin Phoenix), and an upcoming movie starring Simon Pegg, Sofia Boutella and Quentin Tarantino. Nia DaCosta’s Hedda gets analyzed, as does the Thai comedy A Useful Ghost and the Charlie Chaplin masterpiece Modern Times. More upcoming movies get previewed and the outstanding discodelic soul of Say She She gets celebrated in the return of “Live Event of the Week”.

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.

After a cold open wherein Phil sets the stage, the show gets started in mid-conversation as frequent contributor Jon Lawlor shares some of his thoughts about Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune. The topic then turns to Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2002 film Punch-Drunk Love with particular emphasis paid to the way Anderson used music while shooting the film. This leads to Dean explaining the ways on-set music would be used in the silent film era, and how something called “click tracks” would be used in animation. In 2022 the great actor Stellan Skarsgard suffered a stroke and yet has been able to continue acting. The ways this has been achieved get discussed. The current heist picture The Mastermind from master filmmaker Kelly Reichardt is foremost in Phil’s thoughts, specifically why, despite universal critical praise, the film is being mostly hated by moviegoers, most of whom have seen it in multiplexes. Phil also shares with Dean and Jon the new set of questions he asks himself, and answers in writing, each night before bed.