In his final show from his current trip to the East Coast, Phil regales with thoughts of Easter and tales of cherry blossoms. Dean explains why he did not see Project Hail Mary. An email from a friend of the show leads to further discussion of the 1978 sci-fi cheese-fest Starcrash and to the entire concept of “guilty pleasures” getting analyzed. An email from another good friend of the show causes Phil and Dean to go deep into dead actors taking roles away from living ones and into the exact role Doja Cat played in denying Timothee Chalamet a Best Actor Oscar. Then, Dean and Phil turn their attention to the big show biz news of the weekend: the Writers Guild of America striking an unexpected deal with the AMPTP, and the latest headlines to come out of the Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively lawsuit. Finally, the proceedings wrap up with your friends in podcasting sharing personal recollections of the 31st greatest movie theatre in the world right now according to Time Out.

This week’s episode starts off with a follow-up to a fascinating bit of silent film history discussed on this weekend’s “Celebrity Deaths” show. That leads into discussion of the landmark 107 year-old Santa Monica Airport and what is to become of that land now that the airport is (finally) shutting down. AI is creating a “new” Val Kilmer performance for an upcoming feature film. Dean and Phil have thoughts. Likewise they have thoughts about three movies: the 2016 classic zombie thriller Train to Busan, the most recent film from indie film legend Jim Jarmusch, and an all-time masterpiece from The Archers. Then, your friends in podcasting wrap up the festivities by discussing several more of the theaters that made Time Out’s list of the 100 Greatest Movie Theatres in the World RIGHT NOW!

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 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.

Our final installment of 2025 finds your friends in podcasting discussing Dean’s holiday travels, the health of Phil’s wife, the latest on the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery and the use of AI (and self-learning programs) in a wide array of fields. Then, Dean and Phil get down to the serious business of discussing such award-hopeful movies as The Secret Agent and Jay Kelly, the comfort food that is “Spinal Tap II” and such holiday comfort viewing as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and holiday specials A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Very Murray Christmas.

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 …

Welcome to a very freewheeling episode! It begins with Dean Haglund revealing what he’s watching these days. The action then shifts to a rooftop roundtable discussion with two special guests all about television. “Baby Reindeer”, “The White Lotus”, “Severance”, “Hacks”, “Slow Horses”, “Poker Face”, “The Residence”, the Marvel Studios shows, the “Star Wars” shows and two special recommendations all get discussed. Then, it’s back to Dean as he and Phil reveal what they are reading! Art, essays, liberty, Edgar Allan Poe, AI and Philadelphia all get discussed!

What do the movies The Brutalist, The Substance, Red Rooms and Anora have in common? They all made BOTH Dean AND Phil’s lists of the Top Ten Films of 2024! The Critics have all had their say, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have announced their nominations for the Best in Cinema 2024, and on this week’s show, your friends in podcasting finally have their say. Learn what other films made their lists as they count down their Top Ten from the cinematic year just past!

Following what many people seem to feel was the longest January on record, your friends in podcasting return to get February off to a good start, freewheeling their way through a variety of topics, including the closing of the most odd airport in the world, the reasoning behind Quentin Tarantino’s move into live stage work, a listener’s response to Dean and Phil’s dismissal of Oscar Best Picture nominee A Complete Unknown, and the influence David Lynch had on great Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. Dean and Phil take a deep dive into two films that figure prominently on many year-end Top Ten lists (Hundreds of Beavers and The People’s Joker) and they discuss two films that are NOT eligible for inclusion on their own lists (La Chimera and Midway). Finally, good friend of show Marc Hershon drops by to share a disturbing story about a screenwriting AI and to suggest two recent television shows.

Dean and Phil got together in Los Angeles this week to watch David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows, to see if it’s as good as they remember OR if, as Quentin Tarantino claims, the film does not “play by its own rules”. You will hear the discussion in real time as your friends in podcasting watch the film and analyze it. First though, because a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) asked, Dean & Phil will tackle the controversy surrounding the use of AI-generated art in the recent Late Night with the Devil (a film Dean loved and which Phil pointed out definitely discards its own rules 75 minutes in). Finally, actress-singer-writer-improviser Lily Holleman drops in to discuss Juneteenth, her birthday, the latest “refurbishments” at Disneyland, the demise of Siren Radio and the music of comedian Sinbad!