In a cold open, this week’s show begins where last week’s show left off, with Phil delighting Dean with some surprising facts about the late comedic genius Tommy Smothers. After that, Dean and Phil dive into “Awards Season” news, offering up thoughts on the recent Emmy Awards, the forthcoming Oscar nominations, and on how viewing of awards shows might change in the years to come. Suffice it to say, your friends in podcasting and broadcasting have both bones to pick and things they hope to see. Speaking of “see”, Phil saw The Zone of Interest in the recently remodeled and re-opened movie theater where he was married. Dean saw the highly acclaimed romantic comedy from Finland, Fallen Leaves, and explains why he did not enjoy it. He also takes the time to explain why Phil does not enjoy the all-time classic screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby! Dean and Phil also weigh in on their thoughts regarding Alec Baldwin (once again) getting charged with involuntary manslaughter for the on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. All that, plus Phil turns “Celebrity Deaths” into a game, quizzing Dean on his cultural literacy, and there is a crackerjack production meeting on the air!

Your friends in podcasting and broadcasting start the show with a “cold open” about some greats of Italian cinema and the genius of Jennifer Coolidge and the cinematographer of “The White Lotus”. Then, after Phil regales with tales of a one-day, 650 mile road trip to Turlock and back, Dean and Phil spend the bulk of the show doing a deep dive into analyzing the year in movies 2022. They take the 10 nominees for the Best Picture Oscar and compare/contrast that list with both the critics’ choices for the top dozen or so films of the year and the top ten box office releases of the year. What emerges is an analysis of the present, and perhaps the near future of moviemaking and movie-going.

It’s the midst of the holiday season. Travel plans are ramping up and the awards season is starting to heat up! The American Film Institute has revealed its honorees as the top (ten) films of 2021 and a consensus has begun to form through critics Top Ten lists about the best movies of the year as well. Dean and Phil discuss it all. They analyze (and “contextualize”) three new award-hopeful releases from major directors: Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. They also celebrate foreign films, the Oscars, country rock, The Monkees, the Bronski Beat, New Orleans, The Beasts of the Southern Wild, Interview with the Vampire, telenovelas and more in “Celebrity Deaths”.

With the Oscars coming up this weekend, the book will finally close on the year in cinema 2019 … The Best Picture nominees are 1917, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite. The top performing films at the US Box office released in 2019 (ranked from 1 thru 10) were Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker, The Lion King, Frozen II, Toy Story 4, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Aladdin, Joker and Jumanji: The Next Level … Would any of these films make Dean and Phil’s lists of the best films of 2019? Find out this week as your friends in podcasting count down their Top Ten Films of 2019!

Your friends in podcasting discuss one of the most sad Christmas celebrations in history, before discussing the deaths of a pop music star, a Native American character actor, a documentary filmmaker and the mayor of SF. Then, Phil turns his attention to one of the most surprising facts to come out of the Disney purchase of 21st Century Fox and Dean tries to calm him down. Then, they delve into the trouble engulfing Matt Damon, before weighing in on three brand new Oscar hopefuls: Downsizing (starring Mr. Damon), Phantom Thread (starring Daniel Day Lewis in his final role), and the rather miraculous All The Money In The World. All that, plus Kyle Machlachlan weighs in on whether “Twin Peaks: The Return” was a terrific season of a television series or whether it was one of the best feature films of the year, and a fantastic note from a loyal listener like you (yes, YOU!) is shared.

As you know, each year, your friends in podcasting celebrate what they think were the best films of the previous year. Well, this year, Dean Haglund and Phil Leirness welcome special guest, film critic and Los Angeles Film Critics Association member Luke Y. Thompson to help them as they discuss the best films AND the worst films of 2015! 

Best and worst in one show?! 

Why, that sounds like two shows! And it almost is. At almost 1 hour and 50 minutes, this is our longest show ever (if you don’t count the 28 hour live “podcastathon” Dean and Phil did to ring in the end of the Mayan Calendar). So, get those Netflix queues handy, power up with the caffeinated beverage of your choice and let’s begin