Maximum Film!

Yorgos Lanthimos can be counted on for a weird, wild time, and this time around he’s back with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, plus newcomer Aidan Delbis, comedian Stavros Halkias, and even a bit of Alicia Silverstone. Former producer Casey O’Brien (co-host of Dear Movies, I Love You ) joins us to take an up-close look at movie loaded with close-ups. Then we name some of our favorite actor-director...

Just us chickens here this week to talk about the wild party we just witnessed...in Nia DaCosta's HEDDA, a modernized (but not modern-day) adaptation of the classic Ibsen play, HEDDA GABLER. Then we get into what works and doesn't work for us in stage-to-screen adaptations. What’s Good Alonso - Christmas creep! Drea - “...There she is.” Kevin - A weekend of artistic experiences ITIDIC A Memo Revea...

Josh O’Connor stars in a heist movie to end all heist movies – or at least end our illusions that the person pulling the heist is pretty cool and awesome. Comedian and friend Myq Kaplan is along to watch things unfold, and unravel, in THE MASTERMIND. Then we take a Hotline question about what film school courses we’d like to teach. What’s Good Alonso - Programme 4     Drea - First women to cross t...

A little gritty political drama, a little technicolor musical, a little revolutionary politics, a little ahead-of-its-time queer representation… Kiss of the Spider Woman has been a novel, a play, an Oscar-winning movie, a Tony-winning Broadway musical, and now a Bill Condon movie musical starring Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, and relative newcomer Tonatiuh. LA-based film critic Carlos Aguilar joins...

If you’ve got Amazon Prime, you can put PLAY DIRTY (starring Mark Wahlberg, Rosa Salazar, LaKeith Stanfield, Tony Shaloub, and many more) right now. But should you? That’s where we come in, careening into your remote-wielding hand like a car chase onto a horse racing track in the first few minutes of PLAY DIRTY. Speaking of which, we’re also nominating Hall of Excellence candidates in the category...

Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film has car chases, explosions, secret societies, and and confused ex-revolutionaries...but did it make Drea cry? Find out the answer, plus our favorite underground cabals from film history, on this episode with special guest, noted critic Michael Phillips . What’s Good Alonso - Brian Earl’s Of Christmases Long, Long Ago Drea - COVID booster/Worm Charming Championshi...

An impossible, dystopian "sporting event" is the subject of this week's film, leading to a seemingly impossible feat of storytelling, production, and adaptation. It's THE LONG WALK, with YA Novelist and podcasting impresario Lauren Shippen as our special guest. Then, we talk about films that don't pass the Bechdel Test , but still pass muster. What’s Good Alonso - Hallmark Holiday movie lineup unv...

Director/star James Sweeney’s sophomore follow-up to Straight Up made a spalsh at Sundance this January, winning the Audience Award and a lot of buzz about Dylan O’Brien’s dual roles as twins Roman and Rocky. Director and writer Bryan Fuller, whose feature debut DUST BUNNY recently premiered at TIFF, joins us to see what all the fuss is about. Then we share some of our favorite dark comedies. What...

W. Kamau Bell is a noted comedian, author, filmmaker, and activist. He’s also the former co-host of the podcast DENZEL WASHINGTON IS THE GREATEST ACTOR OF ALL TIME PERIOD, along with our very own Kevin Avery. Now, we've gotten the former co-hosts (and former roommates!) back together. It’s a big deal, but does Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s big reunion rise to the occasion? Find out as we discu...

This week we’re talking WEAPONS, Zach Cregger’s follow up to BARBARIAN, with freelance writer and host of Chasing Amy Adams , Louis Peitzman . Plus, in honor of a spooky movie with a lot of kids at the center of its plot, we honor some of our favorite creepy kids from cinema. What’s Good? Drea - llama costumes at the MN State Fair Louis - giant beaver/fall scented candles Kevin -  AMC A-List binge...

Writer Meghan Fitzmartin joins us to debate: does a movie have to be "good," or is it enough to just be fun ? Then, we'll discuss our favorite Hollywood power couples, both on and off the screen. What’s Good? Alonso - The Dean Martin Association YouTube channel Drea - State Fairs, MN State Fair, Cropseed Art ( Crop Art & Scarecrow ) Meghan - Clay pipes (mudlarking on the foreshore) Kevin - Studio...

Director Kate Beecroft made her debut feature after meeting and living with a singular family, and then building a script and feature film around their lives – with them as the stars. The resulting film, EAST OF WALL won the Audience Award at the (ahem) Sundance Film Festival. Collider’s Taylor Gates joins us to discuss the movie, and to daydream about what kind of movie we’d set at some of our pe...

**We have new PHYSICAL MEDIA merch! Check it out at maxfunstore.com ** Everything old is freaky again, and vice verse, with this late-breaking sequel to the 2003 version of Freaky Friday . Prolific actor/comedian Mary Lynn Rajskub is our prestigious guest to take a look at Lindsay, Jamie Lee, and a whole cast of new and returning folks game to get Freakier. Then we have fun talking about best and...

THE FLOP HOUSE' s Dan McCoy joins us to consider the power of taking stupidity very seriously. Then, a dishy movie quiz about on-set meetings that led to off-set romances. What’s Good Alonso- Mark Rappaport, Book of Dreams Drea - Midwest trip, “Schumers,” and great chip flavors Dan - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Collected Screenplays 1 Kevin - Trip to Lake Arrowhead ITIDIC MARRIAGE STORY Fight Scene...

Is the fourth time the charm when it comes to Fantastic Four movies? We’ve assembled our own fearsome foursome – including graphic novelist and comics writer/artist Sina Grace – to debate all the charms of the modem MCU’s First Steps into Earth 828. Then we’ll celebrate some of our favorite character actors and promote them to center stage What's Good Alonso - Voluspa candles (Drea references this...

Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood For Love (which some are calling the fifth best movie ever made, or at least the fourth best this century ?) was released 25 years ago, and anniversary screenings of a new 4k restoration have been happening all over. We've got critic John Powers ( Fresh Air , Vogue ), author of WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar-Wai with us to help us take an inside look at a movie that continu...

Actor and comedian Michael Hartney -- a Superman guy to his core - joins us to discuss James Gunn's much-anticipated, highly-speculated upon take on the world's most famous superhero. Then, in honor of Krypto (the Superdog, of course) we nominated best (goodest?) movie dogs to the Hall of Excellence. What’s Good Alonso - Dark Chocolate Oreos Drea - gift article links on Bluesky Michael - Superman...

It’s week two of our inadvertent two-week celebration of the post-apocalypse on film. This time around, Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes head up a family fighting to protect their land and their lives from murderously hungry intruders in 40 ACRES. NPR Pop-Culture Happy Hour’s co-host Aisha Harris joins us to discuss this feature debut from RT Thorne. What’s Good? Alonso - Making pignoli coo...

23 years later, director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland bring the rage virus back to life with their sequel to 28 Days Later, 28 Years Later. Actor and director Graham Skipper guests this week to talk about the trilogy, Alpha prosthetics, and coming of age in a zombie UK. Then, we discuss the dream 23-years-later sequels we want to see. What’s Good Alonso - Chef Alison Roman Drea -"Hi Andrea!...

Film critic Katie Walsh joins us to take a close look at the various desirable qualities of MATERIALISTS, the sophomore feature from director Celine Song. Then, we talk about movies that didn’t quite match what their trailers were selling. What’s Good Alonso - Sick and Dirty by Michael Koresky Katie - Love Island “ I’m a mommy ” meme Kevin - full-on astrology chart ITIDIC 48 Films Awarded Tax Cred...

In honor of Pride Month, we’re taking a look back at an important title from queer cinema history. Our guest, Caden Mark Gardner , is the co-author (with Willow Maclay) of Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema – he picked this Vincente Minnelli classic for us to watch! Then, we choose which flawed movies we’d edit (and how we’d amend them) to make them work for...

Film critic and podcast bon vivant (and Stephen King movie buff) William Bibbiani ( Critically Acclaimed Network ) joins us to take a look at the latest King adaptation, a movie told in three parts, backwards (and in heels). Then we get Hall of Excellence results and draw inspiration from a listener’s unexpected movie tattoo. What’s Good Alonso - anti-ICE protests in “Red” states Drea - Bentonvill...

Wes Anderson’s latest film has no shortage of charts and plans. Our guest, Matt Zoller Seitz , helps guide us through THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, and warns us about emotional land mines (which, in fact, we might actually want to step on? It’ll make sense in context.) Then we nominate our favorite filmed father/daughter dynamics to the Hall of Excellence. What’s Good Alonso - bitching about the new seas...

How many reckonings will Ethan Hunt face? More importantly, how many planes can he fly at once? None of these questions are answered in today’s discussion, but many more are raised and addressed as we consider Tom Cruise & Co.’s most Impossible Mission yet. We’re joined by special guest Billy Ray Brewton, whose new documentary Coroner to the Stars is cleaning up at festivals as we speak. Then we p...

Final Destination Bloodlines might be your sixth FD or your first (or maybe, like Kevin and Drea, you aren't confident about which ones you've seen or not). For our guest writer, filmmaker, and genre-film expert BJ Colangelo, Final Destination is THE horror franchise, making her the perfect lead for our metaphorical dance with Death. After we discuss the film, we honor the late Tony Todd by talkin...