Welcome to Year 20 (“the year we get it right!”). On this, their overall 988th installment, Dean and Phil really put the “Hollywood” into “Chillpak Hollywood Hour” with showbiz news, analysis, previews and reviews. It starts with a discussion of the long-running series “Supernatural”. Then in the “Lawsuit of the Week” the supposed end of the It Ends With Us lawsuits gets discussed. The surprising details of the SAG-AFTRA deal with the AMPTP get analyzed and the fact that it (most likely) means no labor stoppage for the next four years gets celebrated. Some fascinating rules changes for next year’s Oscars get dissected, and some seemingly terrific, but certainly intriguing, news regarding Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” movie for Netflix gets hailed. The Cannes film festival gets previewed. As does the American Cinematheque’s Bleak Week festival. Finally, two current theatrical releases get hailed as modern masterworks and the plans for a new episode of “Deep Dive” get finalized.

Dean Haglund is back in Los Angeles and he and Phil Leirness went up to the rooftop studio high atop the historic neighborhood of Los Feliz to get their drink on and to record this episode all about travel, commuter trains and movies. Dean sings the praises of Waymo, tells tales of getting “upgraded” during his flights, and says the word “bathhouse” way too many times for Phil’s liking or comfort. Phil discusses a potato chip brand he really enjoys and shares the cocktail recipe for a “Manhattan Noir”. In between, the film noir classic Odds Against Tomorrow, the current Japanese movie Exit 8, and the Japanese classics Spirited Away and Shall We Dance? all receive deep-dive discussion. The great Harry Belafonte and the brilliant Koji Yakusho are both celebrated, and Dean explains a bit about Noetic Science as depicted in Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets.

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.

For what it’s worth, awards season in Hollywood is firmly upon us and on this week’s show, your friends in podcasting examine the top ten 2024 releases at the U.S. box office, the top ten films according to critics, and the ten films selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Best Picture Oscar nominations. They analyze the surprises, the snubs and the meaning behind the Oscar nominations, before taking a deep dive into Gladiator II, Wicked: Part One and A Complete Unknown. And speaking of the Academy, Phil had a terrible experience at an Academy Museum screening – so terrible, he might never return. He fills Dean in on the details and they share memories of a colleague about whose death in 2020 they just learned.

Dean is in the process of re-examining the cinematic legacy of Roman Polanski, separate from his personal legacy. The timing is fortuitous as Phil re-watched Polanski’s 1976 cult favorite The Tenant, which also inspired thoughts about The Shining. Phil also re-watched two masterpieces by John Cassavetes in the wake of the great Gena Rowlands’ death: A Woman Under the Influence and Love Streams. Finally, Dean and Phil celebrate Paris, Texas at 40, discussing the role of the American Southwest in indie cinema of the early to mid 80s, and the way Paris, Texas points the way towards Wim Wenders’ next masterpiece, Wings of Desire. Dean had to leave for London, so he drops out a few minutes early, but not before the return of “Lawsuit in the Week”, and how Netflix might be in financial hot water over its “Baby Reindeer”. At that point, Phil welcomes Marc Hershon back to the show to discuss last month’s Emmy Awards and the possible forms the venerable awards show might take in the future. Such acclaimed current TV as “Shogun”, “Slow Horses”, “The Bear”, “Hacks”, “Reservation Dogs”, “Only Murders in the Building”, and the aforementioned “Baby Reindeer” get deep dive discussions.

This week’s episode finds Phil in the “DMV” (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area and Dean safely ensconced back in Michgan. Phil quizzes Dean about Renaissance man Martin Mull, iconic Winnipeg musician and broadcaster Ray St. Germain, two Oscar-winning composers, and an Oscar-nominated documentarian. Dean and Phil also sing the praises of perhaps the greatest actor to NEVER get nominated for an Oscar! Such streaming fare as “Tulsa King”, Season 4 of “The Boys”, “Ripley”, Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice”, and Richard Linklater’s Hit Man all get reviewed as well.

Awards season is finally behind us and Phil is finally back in Los Angeles, and normalcy is restored on this week’s episode, or at least as much as “normal” is ever on our audio menu! Dean and Phil will reveal any thoughts they have about last week’s Oscars as well as if or how they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this weekend. In a “Live Event of the Week”, Phil will regale with stories about seeing the great indie rocker Hamilton Leithauser at the legendary Cafe Carlyle. Five movies get discussed: the current smash hit Dune 2, a possible future cult favorite Argylle, the recent Marvel flop The Marvels, the interesting Nicolas Cage vehicle Dream Scenario, and the brand new, utterly brilliant performance documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus. All that, plus a groundbreaking stunt performer and a British actor of stage and screen get remembered in “Celebrity Deaths”.

Because Phil is traveling, he and Dean pre-recorded this week’s show on Sunday morning BEFORE the Oscars, so there will be scant little Academy Awards conversation on the episode. Instead, Dean and Phil re-visit some of the more troubling aspects of the legacy of “The X-Files” and examine two other television series: The acclaimed “The Bear” and the divisive season 4 of “Star Trek: Discovery” (including friend of show Luke Y. Thompson’s hilarious review of season 4). Last week’s “Live Event of the Week” gets re-visited thanks to an email from the subject of that segment! We will learn more about the great dancer and teacher Fujima Kansuma and Dean and Phil will ponder the possibility of someday taking a “deep dive” into the art of Kabuki on the show! Two fascinating films get discussed: Wim Wenders’ 1993 Wings of Desire sequel, Faraway, So Close! and the 7th greatest film of all time according to the Sight and Sound Poll, Claire Denis’ 1999 masterpiece Beau Travail (which is having a 25th anniversary re-release). “Celebrity Deaths” includes a bit of a quiz for Dean about a legendary Japanese artist and Canada’s First Lady of Jazz, before a great Italian filmmaker, an influential and controversial British playwright, and a beloved “entertainer” all get their turn in the spotlight.

Welcome to part one of a two-part installment of YOUR Chillpak Hollywood Hour wherein Dean and Phil will discuss the best in cinema of the year 2023. This is no ordinary “Top Ten” show. Ultimately, dozens of films and just as many topics will get explored. This week’s show actually begins with discussion of atmospheric rivers, of spreading a loved one’s ashes, of comparisons between the original Cape Fear and the Martin Scorsese remake, and the beloved athlete-turned-actor Carl Weathers gets remembered. Then, before setting their sights on the cinematic year that was, your friends in podcasting (and broadcasting) examine something last week’s guest (Luke Y. Thompson) said about what an all-time great year for movies 1999 was. It turns out he could not have been more right, and so Dean and Phil wonder, when looking back at 2023 many years hence, will it be as impressive as 1999 is now in the rearview mirror? That serves at the springboard into discussions of Wim Wenders, editing, Imax, and such films as Anselm, Perfect Days, Napoleon, Cocaine Bear, A Haunting in Venice, Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. And, of course, the best thing about this week’s show is that it is “to be continued …”! 

Welcome to a truly great episode and it all starts with an alternately touching and hilarious cold open! In “Celebrity Deaths”, Dean and Phil remember a jazz music pioneer, an actor who was an important influence on Dean, and a versatile, prolific, Oscar-winning filmmaker. Last week’s Oscar nominations get analyzed, as does the ensuing anger surrounding supposed “snubs”. After the break, the great film critic Luke Y. Thompson joins the fun, discussing how critics, like performers, can get “pigeon-holed”. He offers up thoughts on the Oscar-nominated The Zone of Interest and the underrated Beau is Afraid, and hips you to a black and white sci-fi comedy that is well worth your 68 minutes! He even talks about toy reviews and toy photography! And trust us, this episode offers a lot of laughs! Find links to all of Luke’s articles and reviews at https://linktr.ee/lytrules. And learn about his work as a toy collector, photographer and reviewer at https://www.eql.com/media/adult-toy-collecting