Maximum Film!

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...

It's MaxFunDrive. And here, for the first time, we give you an exclusive look (well, listen) at the craft of podcasting: presenting Casters on Casters . For MaxFilm! listeners, we're kicking off the MaxFunDrive with a DOUBLE FEATURE of Casters on Casters . Both Alonso Duralde and Drea Clark participated in two separate recordings of this incredibly important podcasting event. The first episode you...

A rom-com is going to rom-com, but YOU, ME, & TUSCANY is actually doing at least one thing that feels pretty unique. We talk about this new movie from Kat Coiro and producer Will Packer (starring Halle Bailey & Regé-Jean Page) with All the Feels podcast’s Dory Benford. What’s Good Drea - friends coming by and doing helpful stuff Dory - Easter candy Alonso - chocolate pound cake ITIDIC Over 1000 Bi...

What’s the drama behind director Kristoffer Borgli’s new film, THE DRAMA? And, unlike Mary J. Blige, do we want said drama? We unpack all that with film critic Ariel LeBeau , and then talk about some movies that were secretly darker than advertised.   What’s Good Alonso - Flossing first Drea - Artemis II Ariel - soft boiled eggs for breakfast (6m) Kevin - rediscovering Billy Joel ITIDIC Writers Gu...

Ryan Gosling is on a one-man mission to save the universe...but he's not alone. We've got film critic Rendy Jones with us to discuss PROJECT HAIL MARY from directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Then we share some of our favorite science fiction concepts from cinema. What’s Good Alonso - Free airplane Wifi Drea - skin flooding Rendy - taking time to rest Kevin - taking down Christmas deco...

We’re capping off a month at looking at different films directed by women with Hannah Berryman’s documentary, Spacewoman . Kevin Smokler , author of Breaking the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers joins us to talk about this close look at the stellar career of astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot, and later command, a Space Shuttle mission. What’s Good Alonso - Calm for naps...

We’re taking a good hard look in the mirror with our guest, actor/writer/director Michelle Krusiec as we discuss SXSW;s 2025 Grand Jury Prize winner, Amy Wang’s darkly comedic body horror, SLANTED. Then we’ll share some of our favorite movies that feature the prom, well…prominently. What’s Good Alonso - Alain Guiraudie Poster for Cannes Critics’ Fortnight (Quinzane des Cineastes) Drea - Jessie Buc...

Podcaster and writer Harmony Colangelo joins the gang to track the many movements of THE BRIDE! Then we talk about actors we’d love to see paired up on the big screen.  What’s Good Alonso - matzoh Drea - filing (not clipping!) nails Harmony - definitely NOT Daylight Saving Time Kevin - zero degrees of Kevin Bacon?? ITIDIC Disney Releasing Fully Re-animated ASL Versions of Several Movie Songs Annap...

March is Women’s History month, and all the movies we cover this month will be directed by women! To kick things off, we’re leaning into the “history” part, and going back to 1953 to cover the most popular film from a truly pioneering director (and prolific actor), the one and only Ida Lupino. It’s The Bigamist, with our special guest, a journalist covering culture and history, Hadley Hall Meares...

The gang's all here to discuss a new black comedy (sorta) where its Glen Powell's Becket Redfellow in a cat and mouse game to the death with his obnoxiously wealthy family -- a modernization of the 1949 Alec Guinness film Kind Hearts and Coronets . What’s Good? Alonso - Slow TV walks through snowy Helsinki Drea - Dog and Pet advocacy from Isabel Klee and the WeRateDogs guy Kevin - getting really i...

Romance novelist and filmmaker Alys Murray joins us to unpack Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) opinions are varied! What does the movie have in common with Grease 2? Listen and learn! Plus, we have a Hotline call all about movie characters that need family or couples counseling. What’s Good Alonso - Nathan Rabin’s The Fractured Mirror Drea - Talking Spin...

Have you heard about the new A24 movie from writer/director Harry Lighton that’s almost a romantic comedy about gay BDSM biker culture? That’s PILLION, starring Alexander Skarsgaard and Harry Melling, and we’re thrilled to have our friend Nayland Blake (an influential artist and teacher who’s an authority on queer kink, riding with us! What’s Good? Alonso - Trans Girl Scouts you can buy cookies fr...

Sam Raimi's darkly comedic thriller SEND HELP is a bright spot in the early 2026 movie calendar, and we've got writer and film critic Kristen Lopez with us to discuss it, as well as some of our favorite "Desert Island Movies" -- by which we mean movies set on a remote island, of course. What's Good Alonso - Super Bowl festivity & food Drea - Rainbow Wool Kristen - good movies in January Kevin - Tw...

We’re throwing our whole bodies into this discussion of Mona Fastvold’s epic historical musical biopic THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE. But it’s an audio medium, so you’ll have to take our word for it. We’re thrilled to have Emily St. James back with us! What’s Good Alonso - Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man Drea - The power of “DROWSING” (in Scrabble) Emily - Rewatching 28 Years Later Kevin - Love Thy Nei...

MaxFun's own Jordan Morris ( Jordan, Jesse, Go and Free with Ads ) joins us to discuss Nia DaCosta's latest flex -- this time, she's settling into the 28 Years Later director's chair for the second in a proposed trilogy of 28 Years films (which are themselves sequels to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later ). It's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, starring Ralph Fiennes, Chi Lewis-Parry, Erin Kellyman,...

After making a splash at Cannes, THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATER is finally getting released to theaters around the US. It’s a faithful film adaptation of the memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, and we’re joined by both a memoirist and a filmmaker to discuss it all — Roxane Gay (HUNGER, BAD FEMINIST, and much more) and Alain Martin ( The Forgotten Occupation). Then we’ll name some of our favorite memoir adaptatio...

Josh Safdie directed it, Timothée Chalamet stars in it, awards groups are crazy for it, and it’s seriously stressing us out. This week we’re back in the swing of things and talking about MARTY SUPREME. Then, in honor of main character Marty Mauser, we’re naming some of our favorite world-class assholes of cinema. What’s Good? Alonso - The meme feedback loop of Heated Rivalry Drea - Taskmaster (and...

We’re celebrating the end of the movie year that was and the start of the movie year to come, plus our first year (minus a few months in the middle there) with Kevin at the helm! We’ve got our annual Maxie Awards, movies we’re looking forward to in 2026 and, most importantly, each host’s 10 favorites from 2025. What's Good? Alonso - Barebells Drea - Warm (True) Spring Kevin - a year of hosting (so...

Jingle jingle, ya’ll! We’ve got comedian Ben Katzner joining us under the mistletoe for the holiday movie about a recovering improviser and a divorced dentist that you didn’t know were missing. Then we have a Hotline question about holiday movies that center Black Joy for a change! #4Brothers4Christmas What’s Good Alonso - LAFCA Citation for Gardena Cinema; Support Your Local Film Society Drea - P...

The Flop House ’s Elliot Kalan joins us to put his “Mad about Mads”-ness where his mouth is as we discuss a stylized new horror-ish thriller from director Bryan Fuller. Then we’ll talk about movies that would make good genre entry points for kids who are ready. What’s Good Drea - Heated Rivalry Elliott - Latke Night, his new book Joke Farming , & Werner Herzog’s A Guide for the Perplexed Kevin - Y...

George Clooney is JAY KELLY in Noah Baumbach’s latest film…and that might be true in more ways than one. The film chronicles the career of a fictional movie star. Speaking of chronicles, we’re joined by actor and filmmaker Justin Tyler, voice of the titular Derf in MaxFun’s newest show, The Young Old Derf Chronicles . And we have a movie quiz about real actors playing fictional actors on film! Wha...

What’s Good Alonso - the magic of podcasting Drea - the magic of a repainted bathroom Kevin - the magic of live jazz improvisation (The Tyler Hammond Jazz Experience) [ Morgan Freeman falling asleep clip ] ITIDIC 2020 and 2021 Titles Coming to Indie Theaters for ‘Lost Films of COVID’ Series Shrek 5 is back in the news as 3 actors are cast as his triplets Staff Picks Alonso - BLKNWS: Terms and Cond...

The new film from the team behind JOCKEY and SING SING is a lyrical life story starring Joel Edgerton. We’ve got casting director Nicole Arbusto with us to discuss this, and take on a Hotline question asking for professional shoutouts. Plus our annual Turkeys of the Year and the first post-Thanksgiving Christmas Movie Minute! What’s Good Alonso - magazines Drea - Buzz Ballz/BeatBox/Cutwater cockta...

An ode to a classic of French New Wave cinema – Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless ( A Bout de Souffle ) – Nouvelle Vague is more than a heady film nerd love fest. It’s a Linklater movie, which means it’s a hangout film; it’s just that the gang we’re hanging with happens to be reinventing modern cinema, whether they know it or not. We’ve got writer, actor, and teacher Tarik R. Davis (The Amber Ruffin Sh...

CW: discussion of domestic abuse We get into the good the bad and the ugly of the new boxing biopic CHRISTY, which tells the story of pioneering boxer Christy Martin and her dark power struggles both in and outside the ring. Then we have a movie quiz about bio pics with first-name titles.  What’s Good Alonso - successful Parker House rolls trial run Drea - remembering a detail of Arrival Daresha -...