Maximum Film!

The theater's greatest weapon is the element of surprise!

It's been 28 years, and the Owens sisters are still cursed. Does this lega-sequel break the spell?

What if "I love you, you love me" was a demand, not a request?

Justice for cinema! Justice for toons! Justice for Kevin Avery!

Before he was Bourdain, he was...TONY (kinda)

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 really for the…

Was the summer we spent at Camp Miasma the best darn summer of our lives?

A Marvel movie that gets back into the swing of things

Is a pickleball comedy still a sports comedy? Don't ask the tennis guys...

From Ithaca to Troy and back again, in under 3 hours!

One of the weirdest movies of 1974, plus our favorite movies of 2026 so far!

Invite the neighbors over, what's the worst that could happen?

Depressed, dog-loving, and donning a duster: meet Supergirl!

Is your crush is a monster? Or that just a monster that looks like your crush?

Government coverup? Alien secrets? New Spielberg? Alert the media!

A queer love story between a soldier and a country boy in Thailand. There is a tiger involved.

It may not be your daddy’s Star Wars movie, but it definitely contains a daddy.

It’s fashion, baby (and that's just the outer layer)

Part revenge thriller, part Greek tragedy, and fully its own thing

Turns out the coziest mysteries are made of wool

New media, same haircuts

A biopic about Michael Jackson that stops the story in 1988? What could possibly go wrong?

It's #MaxFunDrive so here's a sleepy surprise: Drea can whisper!

Support something you love and everyday can feel like Saturday...

Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel get a little bitchy, a little twitchy, and a little witchy!

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'll…

You say "formulaic" like it's a bad thing...

Zendaya & Robert Pattinson are at the center of THE DRAMA in the newest A24 film

Lord & Miller & Gosling & Rocky

A new documentary takes a close look at an American space pioneer who ought to be a household name.

Some teens will go to face-melting extremes to fit in...

Mary Shelley’s back and she’s got all new dance moves.

In front of and behind the camera, Ida Lupino wants you to call her "mother."

Opinions differ on the latest Glen Powell vehicle, but a time was had by all.

Emerald Fennell’s version is goopy and gothic…but is it good?

Alexander Skarsgaard’s in the saddle, and we’re along for the ride

Can a frumpy Rachel McAdams outwit, outplay, outlast her hot a-hole boss?

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 Neighbor: A Charity…

Nia DaCosta takes the '28 Years' reins and steers us toward a big showdown at 'The Bone Temple.'

Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut is not what you’re expecting (unless, perhaps, you’ve read the memoir).

Josh Safdie directed it, Timothée Chalamet stars in it, and it’s seriously stressing everybody out.

Oh what a year at the cinema it was…

Merry Christmas, MF’ers!

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 - Yuletide Unc gets…

Young Old Derf himself joins us to consider Young and Old Jay Kelly

Chloe Zhao's latest has us feeling all kinds of ways...

Plus our annual "Turkeys of the Year!"

réalisé par Richard Linklater

“Good luck getting knocked the f**k out.”

A CEO, a conspiracy theorist, and his cousin walk into a basement...

Is "Hedda" short for "Hedda-nism?"

We’d slowly and repeatedly climb a rickety ladder for a Kelly Reichardt movie.

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 us to get into the…

Surprise! Shane Black directed a new movie starring Mark Wahlberg and you almost didn't notice!

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 Championship Michael - being…

When death is a journey, not a destination

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’s Good Alonso -…

We got the #Denzealots back together in honor of Spike Lee & Denzel’s long-awaited reunion

What's scarier than being a public school teacher? The answer may surprise you!

HONEY, DON'T skip this episode!

Tough choices and tamed horses in a very real South Dakota family

Body swap till you drop

THE NAKED GUN is back...are mid-budget studio comedies back too?

What time is it? FOUR!

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of a modern classic

Hear me out: what if Superman were, like...a good guy?

40 acres they've got, but in *this* post-apocalypse, there’s not a mule in sight.

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland are back to remind you that the real monsters are STILL the people

Celine Song lights up a matchmaker

We celebrate Pride Month with Vincente Minnelli's classic (and some manly roughhousing).

How many Chucks can Stephen King & Mike Flanagan chuck?

All the film talk you can fit in a series of shoeboxes…

Taking the whole "impossible mission" thing to new depths...er, heights? Let's call it both.

Six movies in, Death still has a sick sense of humor (and Rube Goldberg's sense of physics).

They say it's hard to make new friends as an adult...

Welcome to Phase 3 of the MPU (MaximumFilm! Podcastic Universe)

...with special guest friend of the pod (and of Ify) Cody 'Zig' Ziglar!

Andrew Ahn remakes a classic of queer cinema, now even gayer.

An episode that really ties the podcast together…IN PERSON!

A lesson in grieving doubles as a guide on how to fit a Great Dane in your a rent-controlled apartment.

This marriage is a real hoot…

It's the end of the MaxFunDrive! Support this show directly (and any others on the network, if you wish!) at MaximumFun.org/join We're covering a movie that started out as a noteworthy Sundance debut from director Elijah Bynum, but later became noteable for much less fun reasons. While we attempt to separate art from artist -- in this case, star Jonathan Majors -- the film's intensity and dark subject matter don't…

In BoCo as in Tiny Boys, the first taste is free!

It's MaxFunDrive, and Director Bong got us multiple Robert Pattinsons

It’s not MaxFunDrive without a wild kickoff spectacular! Former real-life VJ and host of MTV's Spring Break 1999, Dave Holmes, takes your favorite MaxFun hosts through some wacky ‘90s- and Spring Break-themed mini games!! Featuring: Dave Holmes, Jeremy Bent, Oscar Montoya, Dimitry Pompée, Tom Lum, Ellen Weatherford, Alex Schmidt, Brenda Snell, Drea Clark, Alonso Duralde, Dan McCoy, Jordan Morris, Manolo Moreno,…

It’s been 25 years…did Patrick Bateman ever return those video tapes?

Sylvester Stewart, aka Sly Stone, aka the driving force behind Sly and the Family Stone, makes a complex subject for Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s latest documentary, SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). Music and pop culture writer/professor (and one time co-host of MaxFun alumna podcast Heat Rocks ) Oliver Wang is with us to take a closer look. Then we'll give Questlove some (probably unneeded, but good!)…

A 'Captain America' sequel that’s also an 'Eternals' sequel and an 'Incredible Hulk' sequel

Cinema’s favorite little bear has come out of hibernation…

Folk music smashes, culture clashes, and all the face acting the Academy can handle

It has 13 Oscar nominations...but should you Screen It?

Architecture & pop culture fanatic Kendra Gaylord gets Brutalized with us!

Did Keke crush it and SZA sizzle?! This is but one question on this week’s show. Another? Plus, “Drea, Alonso and Kevin bring on “Bring It On”” is a sentence that makes little to no sense. It will make more sense after you listen to the episode. Fine. They reveal the female buddy comedies that made each of them LOL. But literally made them laugh out loud.

With a city in flames, four individuals come together to confront Hard Truths. Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“The Good Place”, “Killing Eve”) joins us from London to talk Mike Leigh’s latest film “Hard Truths”. Wildfires have claimed historic Hollywood landmarks. And movies that capture the locations they’re set in perfectly.

It’s Maximum Horny on today’s Maximum Film. We are looking at the 2024 erotic thriller(?), Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman, written and directed by Halina Reijn. Our returning guest today is filmmaker, writer, comedian, and the host of the It’s Always Halloween Podcast, Lucé Tomlin-Brenner.

We are looking at the 2024 film, Nickel Boys, directed by RaMell Ross, based off the 2019 Colson Whitehead book of the same name. Plus we look at other films covering lesser known historical events. Our guest today is the talented director and writer, Tristán T.A. Hill.

The end of the year is upon us and we’re here to talk about our favorite films of 2024 aka the BEST films of the year.

Today we are looking at the 2024 film, Nightbitch, directed by Marielle Heller, based on the 2021 novel by Rachel Yoder of the same name, starring Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, and beautiful pack of pooches. Plus we are looking at other films that portray motherhood in a more complicated light. Writer and director, Mo Perkins, joins us.

Today we’re looking at the 2024 period drama, Queer, directed by Luca Guadagnino, starring Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey, based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs of the same name. Plus, we are looking at other straight action stars who have portrayed queer characters on screen. Senior Culture Writer for Newsweek, H. Alan Scott, joins us.

Today we are looking at 2024’s hit musical movie adaptation, Wicked: Part I, directed by Jon M. Chu, starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. Plus we hear from the listener looking for movie recs while they recover from surgery. Author Paul Miles Schneider (The Silver Shoes trilogy) joins us.

We are looking at 2024’s Gladiator II, a sequel to the original 2000 film, also directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen. Plus we look at the Top Turkeys of 2024 and our favorite Legacy Sequels. Writer and comedian, Kevin Avery (The Great North, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), joins us.

We are looking at the 2024 Netflix adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson play, The Piano Lesson, directed by Malcolm Washington, starring John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Samuel L. Jackson. Plus we take a music-movie quiz written by Steven Ray Morris. Emmy-winning film and television producer, Shelby Stone, joins us.

We are taking a look at A24’s 2024 spiritual horror film, Heretic, starring Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East about two Mormon missionaries whose faith is tested by a seemingly awkward, but polite man. Plus we look at more movies about playing games. Oh No, Ross and Carrie's Ross Blocher joins us.

We are taking a look at the new Steve McQueen film Blitz, the 2024 historical war drama starring Saoirse Ronan as Rita, a single mother, working in a bomb factory, and introducing Elliot Heffernan as her son, George. Plus we look at other films where characters go on a journey to find their way home again.

We are taking a look at Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, the new Netflix movie focusing on the true story about serial killer Rodney Alcala’s 1978 appearance on The Dating Game. Plus we look at other true crime stories dramatized on film. Lucy Fitzgerald from Wine & Crime joins us.

Anora is a 2024 romantic-comedy (?) written and directed by Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project), starring Mikey Madison as stripper Anora Mikheeva, and follows her beleaguered romance with Vanya (Mark Eidelstein), the son of a Russian Oligarch. All that and a discussion of other films portraying sex work.

The Substance is a 2024 body horror film written and directed by French filmmaker Coralie Farageat, starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid. The film follows a recently displaced celebrity who decides to take a secret drug that temporarily creates a younger version of herself with unexpected side effects. All that and a discussion of films that make you squirm. The one and only Katya Zamolodchikova…

Joker: Folie à Deux is the 2024 follow-up to 2019’s Joker. Directed again by Todd Phillips (of The Hangover fame originally), it stars Joaquin Phoenix (reprising the Oscar-winning role as Arthur Fleck), joined by musician-turned-actor Lady Gaga, playing the iconic comic book character Lee Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. All that and discussion of other musical moments in “none-musicals.”

Will & Harper is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Josh Greenbaum and follows Will Ferrell and Harper Steele as the duo made a 17-day road trip across the United States discussing Harper’s transition, and their friendship. All that and discussion of other iconic friendships in cinema. Film Critic and Essayist, Willow Maclay joins us!

After undergoing facial-reconstructive surgery, Edward becomes fixated on an actor in a stage production based on his former life. That’s the setup for A Different Man starring Sebastian Stan, written and directed by Aaron Schimberg. All that and a discussion of best plays-within-films from movie history. The Wrap’s Kristen Lopez joins us!

The call is coming from inside the...you? But from the future?

This guy comes around every 36 years like clockwork

In Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, it’s all drugs and fine dining until [redacted]

Reflections (from 1999) of the way life used to be (in 1968)...for three best friends

It's the summer between middle school and high school. All your YouTube videos are now deeply embarrassing.

"Cinema is a spectrum." - Ify Nwadiwe

Taking the concept of "based-on-a-true-story" and getting it up on its feet...

It’s not even our first rodeo in the past two weeks! But it IS our first tornadeo…

A trip to the gay rodeo to find your people...

It’s our annual Listener Pick episode, and we’re going back in time…to 2023!

Maxine Minx is back and she can feel St. Elmo's Fire burnin

Lily Gladstone enters aunt mode, and won't take no for an answer

Everybody put on your June Squibb hats, we’re headed to an action movie!

Celebrating Pride, movies AND physical media all in one go!

[Dog/Robot] love is the universal language...

It’s the comedy that doubles as a modern gal’s guide to one of life’s grossest miracles.

Tuck your wigs tight under those caps, ‘cause we’re riding the War Rig to the Gasworks

Record this episode on cassette and share with a friend!

Gosling, Blunt, lots of fights and a little mystery with the director of ‘Stuntwomen: The Untold Story’

It’s Tashi vs. Art vs. Patrick, but who’s ruling the court?

Cabrini Green, 1992, through the eyes of childhood BFFs

A sweet (and savory) new animated film we barely realized was “for kids.”

Four sasquatches, four seasons, one road, no dialogue, zero levers

Vera Drew's trans coming-of-age comedy has finally broken out of movie-Arkham

They’re jacked, they’re in love, and they may have you picking your jaw up off the floor.

The thrilling conclusion to DUNE MONTH...and to the #MaxFunDrive!

As Dune Month winds toward its climax, a foray into the world of documentary to glimpse the Dune that might have been. But would it have been…good?

It's #MaxFunDrive so here's a sneak peek at the first of three "Maximum Horny!" bonus episodes, just for Maximum Fun Members!

This special network wide event is a celebration of the MaxFunDrive! If you’d like to support podcasts you love for just $5 a month and get bonus gifts in the process, go to maximumfun.org/join.

Plus an in-depth Oscars 2024 recap!

Kicking off "Dune Month" with the weirding ways of Dave Lynch

There’s a wild surprise inside their trunk…and inside this episode!

The droopy Charlie Brown Christmas tree of Spider-Person movies

Crawl into your tanning bed, we've got some parts to reanimate

Does Bradley Cooper’s Bernstein biopic have MASS appeal?

We catch up with Cord Jefferson’s very literary Oscar-nominated dramedy

20 years later, the world will learn: did they ever make "fetch" happen?

Director Blitz Bazawule and a powerhouse cast bring us the same color, with some new shades

Von Erich Boys Don’t Cry

The most banal, most evil start to 2024

It's our annual roundup of Top 10 Lists, Maxie Awards, and films we’re looking forward to in the New Year!

The author of 'Shrill' and 'Shit Actually' doesn’t actually hate 'Love Actually'

Of course Yorgos Lanthimos's coming of age film is about a revived corpse

Emerald Fennell's sophomore feature has tongues wagging.

It’s homeroom for the holidays with Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and newcomer Dominic Sessa

Colman Domingo stars in a new biopic; plus our Turkeys of the Year!

Marvel gives you even more Marvels to marvel

When you think you're going to Graceland but it's more like the Heartbreak Hotel

A story about rule-breaking women that breaks a few rules itself

Martin Scorsese's latest recounts a horrific episode in America's dark history

This year's Cannes winner takes us back to French court

Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp take their UCB show to the big screen, queerly

Once again, with (parental) feeling

The New, Funky Adventures of Hercule Poirot

A new wrestling biopic with a documentary lineage and a gay agenda

Come along with us as we explore a fantasy of supportive parents and alt rock radio

This podcast is also an R-Rated comedy

Move over Dom, there's a new familia in town

A long, hot day in the life of one young, trans guy.

This week, we’re talking about a very special book-to-film adaptation: Red, White & Royal Blue. Our guest is the charming Traci Thomas of The Stacks podcast!

We’re finally completing our Barbenheimer review experience by talking about Oppenheimer with the lovely Tom Lum of Let’s Learn Everything!

John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx star in a genre-bender that's no copycat.

We'll tell you what's really beyond the valley of the dolls...

Putting the "song and dance" in Songdance. I mean Sundance.

A comedy that puts the camera in the right hands, and the right places...

Our annual listener selection sent us to Mars...and back to 1997.

What if entire life, but different?

Wes Anderson's eleventh movie is Ify's first Wes Anderson movie

Before there was JUDY, there was Judy.

Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive

Grab your swords and your skirts, we're celebrating! 300!

Fun (and extreme peril) for the whole Family!

Straight from a mother's heart. Straight between the eyes. Straight to Netflix.

A lot's changed since 1970, but one thing that hasn't: being a tween is rough stuff.

A girl and her broken chair must close doors and chase cats…to save Japan!

The quasar of rock and roll shines in all his complex glory in this Sundance-winning doc

Can a shoe be nominated for an Oscar? One Bostonian director aims to find out.

The gang goes on a quest, but leaves the dice at home

A Sundance rom-com by way of Southeast London (and Hulu)

Forget it, Eddie. It's Toontown.

A MaxFunDrive Surprise!

Drea and Alonso's additions to the Ifechukwude Collection, Pt. 1!

Jonathan Majors Era

POV: You’re a precious, actual donkey

Bear = Frightening. Bear + Cocaine = Highly Frightening!