Maximum Film!

This week we've got expert musical improvisors Jessica McKenna and Zach Reino with us to discuss a movie about a middle school musical gone way off course, at the hands of a drama teacher pushed to the edge. Part comedy, part film noir, it's the feature debut of director Giselle Bonilla, and it was a Sundance premiere. THE MUSICAL! Then we talk about other films that use film noir tropes to comedi...

The stars of the original Practical Magic stars are back (at least, most of them) and just as cursed as ever. We have Hollywood Reporter TV Critic Angie Han with us to weigh in on whether this film left us feeling charmed, or like we'd been hit by a truck. Then, in honor of a family that has two sisters in every generation, we have a movie quiz about two-sister films!  What’s Good? Alonso - M...

Casper Kelly might be most famous for his this-shouldn't-be-so-creepy comedy short "Too Many Cooks." Now he's got his feature directorial debut on his hands (but don't sleep on Yule Log 2 , according to Alonso), and It's Buddy,  a comedy horror that owes a debt of gratitude to the insistent cheerfulness of Barney the Dinosaur. We'll get into all that, and then talk about some of our favorite...

Hey, you! Be a buddy and take our listener survey! It'll help us keep the show great and maybe even...make it better?!  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! - Producer Marissa and the MaxFilm Gang *** Shelved after completion in 2023, COYOTE VS. ACME has finally detonated onto big screens everywhere. We have director David Kittredge (whose doc BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL is finally making it to theaters as well!)...

Hey, you! Be a buddy and take our listener survey! It'll help us keep the show great and maybe even...make it better?!  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! - Producer Marissa and the MaxFilm Gang *** The main character of TONY is Anthony Bourdain, but Matt Johnson’s latest film is not exactly a biopic. We have film critic Katie Walsh with us to discuss Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, and the rest of the k...

Hey, you! Be a buddy and take our listener survey! It'll help us keep the show great and maybe even...make it better?!  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! - Producer Marissa and the MaxFilm Gang *** Comedian Hay Beacon joins us to discuss THE WRONG GIRLS, Dylan Meyer’s feature debut as a writer/director, starring Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat. Meyer has said that the movie is not for everyone, but it’s...

Hey, you! Be a buddy and take our listener survey! It'll help us keep the show great and maybe even...make it better?!  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! - Producer Marissa and the MaxFilm Gang *** Director Jane Schoenbrun's latest film has had a certain kind of movie fan salivating for months now, and it's finally in theaters. So, are we still...salivating? Is this getting gross? Editor of RUE MORGUE Magazin...

Hey, you! Be a buddy and take our listener survey! It'll help us keep the show great and maybe even...make it better?!  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! - Producer Marissa and the MaxFilm Gang *** Ken Plume -- author, filmmaker, and longtime host of A Bit of a Chat with Ken Plume -- joins us to talk about the movie that everyone seems to be talking about. Is it a great Spider-Man movie, or the greatest Spide...

Hey, you! Be a buddy and take our listener survey! It'll help us keep the show great and maybe even...make it better?!  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! - Producer Marissa and the MaxFilm Gang *** Is it possible for a sports comedy to fit the formula, but still break the mold? Josh Greenbaum, director of Barb and Starr Go to Vista Del Mar, takes a whack at it with THE DINK , starring Jake Johnson and Mary St...

Everybody's talking about Christopher Nolan's latest film...and so are we! We've got Eurovangelists co-host Dimitry Pompée with us to discuss the first movie ever shot in 70mm IMAX film, adapted from one of history's oldest and most famous works of literature...it's THE ODYSSEY! Then we'll talk about some of the books we read in high-school that have been (or should be) adapted for the big screen....

As a MaxFunDrive milestone goal, we set the challenge that if we got enough new/upgrading/joining supporters of Maximum Film!, one of those folks would get to pick a movie for us to do an episode on. Well, thanks to supporters like Molly, we hit that goal, and this episode is the result: PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (one of Molly's faves) is a 1974 rock musical fantasmagoria from early in writer/direct...

Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Amber Sealey joins us to discuss the new marriage dramedy from Olivia Wilde, which premiered at Sundance and is now opening across the country. Costarring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penelope Cruz, it provokes laughs, anger, rug envy, and that perennial question: are the straights okay? Then we discuss our favorite films that are set in a single location!...

It’s neither a bird, nor a plane, nor Superman. It’s Supergirl , the newest film from James Gunn’s DC that has some folks talking, but probably not as many as Warner Bros. would like. We’ve got LA Times film critic, Unspooled co-host, and friend of the show Amy Nicholson along to talk about the stellar highs and dank cave lows, plus we name some of our favorite superhero movie acting performances....

LEVITICUS is the new Australian horror movie that turns (already quite frightening) gay conversion rituals into something even more haunting. And with us to unpack it is our friend Justin Kirkland, who just happens to have a new podcast exploring (with good humor!) how the Bible has been yielded as a weapon. Then we imagine some classic romances with a devilish twist. What's Good? Alonso - UDM14.c...

Steven Spielberg's new film may be about conspiracies, coverups, and car chases, but it all hinges around the concept of journalism you can trust...so who better to join us than our favorite trusted journalist (and movie podcaster, with UNCLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER ), NYT columnist Jamelle Bouie ! We put DISCLOSURE DAY under the microscope, then talk about some directors whose filmographies reveal h...

A dreamy two-piece love story about two men, one a soldier and the other a country boy. Or is three men? Or four? Also there's a tiger. We watch 2004's Tropical Malady from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, director of the 2010 Palme d'Or winner, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives . He goes by Joe in the Western world which is too bad. What’s Good Drea - The exact day to plant tomatoes so perfec...

Just a well-intentioned bounty hunter and his magic green baby, zooming through the galaxy: you guessed it, we're talking THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU. We've got Danielle Radford (of MaxFun's TIGHTS & FIGHTS, Dropout, and more) along with us this episode to talk about the newest thing from the Star Wars universe, and whether being deeply invested in the lore is a benefit or a drawback to enjoying the f...

It’s been 8 long years since Boots Riley’s directorial debut ( Sorry to Bother You ) surprised and delighted moviegoers. Does his follow-up deliver on color, comedy, and chaos? We’ve got Black People Love Paramore’ s Ryann Graham with us to discuss I Love Boosters . Then, we talk about how some of the sci-fi tech from this film might be deployed in other movies! What’s Good Alonso - Getting things...

Part revenge thriller, part Greek tragedy, and fully its own thing, Aleshea Harris’s directorial debut is an adaptation of her own award-winning Off-Broadway show. We have Geek Girl Riot’s Sherin Nicole with us to talk about all the twists, turns, and treacheries. Then we have a fun quiz about “twin” movies. What’s Good? Alonso - Farmers markets (even for non-chefs) Drea - Richard Osman’s House of...

If you didn’t have “Hugh Jackman/CGI Talking sheep murder mystery” down as a lock to be both a critical hit and a box office success, you’d be forgiven. Does it help or hurt to know that it’s director did all the MINIONS movies and it’s screenwriter did both THE HANGOVER and HBO’s CHERNOBYL? We get into all of that, plus our favorite moments in talking animal moviedom! What’s Good Alonso - Tacolat...

What’s RUNWAY like in 2026? THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 takes that question pretty seriously. We’ve got film critic (and former 2000s-era abused NYC assistant) Katie Walsh with us to talk about the fashion, the journalism, the nostalgia, and the cerulean of it all. What’s Good Alonso - Family Movie Night Menus by Leonard and Jessie Maltin  Drea - mom volunteering with for movie causes  Katie - Hudson...

MaxFunDrive is almost over! Don’t wait – ensure the future of this show at MaximumFun.org/joinmaxfilm Jaafar Jackson (son of Jermaine) dances his slouch-socked feet off in Antoine Fuqua’s new Michael Jackson biopic. And we have no less a personage than Tre’vell Anderson here to help us figure out how to feel about what was left in and what was left out. Then we’ll talk about some biopics that real...

Support great shows like this one! Er, these TWO! Head to maximumfun.org/join right now to pledge your allegiance. And THANK YOU! Drea made a guest appearance on John Moe's SLEEPING WITH CELEBRITIES and we're dropping it for you in this feed as a special #MaxFunDrive treat. Drea Clark, one of the hosts of the popular and important Maximum Film! podcast has a theory: all middle-aged Guys think abou...

Head to MaximumFun.org/join by May 1, 2026! Just interested in supporting Maximum Film! ? Do not pass Go: Go directly to MaximumFun.org/joinmaxfilm Here's a teaser of our first MAXIMUM SIDEBAR! episode! Drea, Alonso, and Kevin each brought something to discuss in the areas of food, self care, technology. Members get to hear it all, plus so much more BoCo (that's short for bonus content, folks). He...

It’s MaxFunDrive! We need your support, and want you in our club! Head to MaximumFun.org/join to become a member or increase your pledge. And THANK YOU! David Lowery’s is back in his ethereal bag (or is it a dress? defo there's a ghost though...right?) with MOTHER MARY, a look at art, soul, collaboration, and self, through the relationship of a mega popstar and her once-and-future fashion queen. T...