Maximum Film!

Latest Episodes:

Episode #465: 'The Dink' with Jaron Myers Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

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 Steenburgen. It's streaming now on AppleTV. And we have comedian (and yes, pickleball enthusiast) Jaron Myers with us to discuss! Then we get some pitches together for thoroughly modern movies that wouldn't have made sense a few years (or decades) ago.

What's Good?
Alonso - Severin Films’ Disco Italiana box set
Drea - Bob the Drag Queen recapping Love Island on YouTube
Jaron - Big Brother 24-Hour Feed recap podcasts
Kevin - SDCC ‘26 (check out Minister FarraComic-Con)

ITIDIC
Sony, Alamo Drafthouse, to Reopen Cinerama Dome/Arclight at Long Last
Comic-Con 2026 – Hits and Misses
Paramount/WB Merger Paused Until June 2027, Or Court Ruling

Staff Picks
Drea: Mustache
Alonso: Family Plot
Jaron: Heavyweights
Kevin: Paper Lion

PS: Get PHYSICAL MEDIA merch at MaxFunStore.com!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #464: 'The Odyssey' with Dimitry Pompée Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

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.

What's Good?
Alonso: vegetables that don't give you explosive diarrhea
Drea: Blue Diamond Dill Pickle Nut-Thins
Dimitry: The Ottoman Empire (Rise of Empires: Ottoman on Netflix)
Kevin: the Other Mommy trailer

ITIDIC
Hollywood Deems the Box Office “Back” – Big Time
A Rotoscoped TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE is in production

The Odyssey/We Bought a Zoo meme

A Letterboxd List: High-School Reads

Staff Picks
Alonso: The Good House
Drea: The Return
Dimitry: Polite Society
Kevin: The Long Walk and other great movies to fall asleep to, if you're Kevin

Listen to Eurovangelists!

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #463: 'Phantom of the Paradise' [Listener Pick 2026!] Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

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/director Brian DePalma's career. It's box-office flop-turned cult classic. And it is heavily reliant on the dubious cultural power of songwriter and actor Paul Williams.

As if this episode needed to be MORE special, we also mark the mid-year by naming some of our favorite films of the year so far.

What's Good?
Alonso - oh, let's call it "current events"
Drea - fixing her own portable AC unit
Marissa - Paramount+ (sorry) has a 90s sitcom "live" channel
Kevin - reading Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

ITIDIC
GLAAD Study Shows Drop in LGBTQ Characters in FIlm
A Look Back at the Pop Culture of 1974…

Staff Picks
Drea - Horsegirls
Alonso - Ishtar
Marissa - Tommy
Kevin - River [Ribâ, nagarenaide yo]

Kevin at Comic-Con:
Malcolm & Friends Panel: Thursday, 12:30pm, Room 6A
The Pitching Hour: Friday, 12pm, Room 32AB

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #462: 'The Invite' with Amber Healey Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

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!

What’s Good
Alonso - Christian Marclay’s The Clock returns to LACMA; Spain in World Cup quarterfinals
Drea - Emily Wilson’s translation of THE ODYSSEY
Amber - potpourri basket of hippie gum; Skylight Books opening an Eagle Rock location
Kevin - young love drama before Shrek at Cinespia

ITIDIC
Alamo Drafthouse to Begin Screening Unsold Festival Darlings
Universal Opts to Skip “Influencer Screenings” for THE ODYSSEY

Staff Picks
Alonso - Splitsville
Drea - Widow’s Bay (because An Unmarried Woman and The Heartbreak Kid aren’t streaming)
Amber - Such Brave Girls
Kevin - The Invitation

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #461: 'Supergirl' with Amy Nicholson Jul 03, 2026

Show notes

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.

What’s Good
Alonso - binging THE BOYS
Drea - watching an accidentally funny moment on repeat in the film Jefferson in Paris for the Supporting Actresses podcast
Amy - watching The World Cup (and YouTube videos of dog agility competitions)
Kevin - digging through original Backrooms videos, and other short films (Alone Time, The Hole)

ITIDIC
'Michael’ Becomes the Highest-Grossing Biopic Ever
Netflix Announces Weird Willy Wonka Project

Staff Picks
Drea - True Grit
Alonso - Minions & Monsters
Amy - Buffet Infinity
Kevin - Aline

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #460: 'Leviticus' with Justin Kirkland Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

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.com
Drea - Bentonville Film Festival 2026!
Justin - Launch of This is Not a Weapon podcast
Kevin - life-changing coasters

ITIDIC
AmazonMGM Bails on Guadagnino’s Almost-Complete Sam Altman Movie
Madonna Says Her Biopic was Scrapped at Universal Over Budget

Staff Picks
Alonso - The Boys in the Band (1970) (in new 4K UHD!)
Drea - Color Book and Maddie's Secret
Justin - The Birdcage
Kevin - Invaders from Mars (1953)

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #459: ‘Disclosure Day’ with Jamelle Bouie Jun 19, 2026

Show notes

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 hidden secrets.

What's Good?
Alonso - chicken soup
Drea - Lawrence, KS welcoming Algeria for the World Cup
Jamelle - making your own stock
Kevin - Guy Branum's My Life as a Goddess

ITIDIC
AMC Postpones Concert Simulcast Plan to Make More Room for…Movies
Sean Penn Directing a Jan 6 Movie Starring Bradley Cooper (maybe?)
SUPERGIRL’s Cape Uses Fabric from Original Reeve Superman Cape

Staff Picks
Drea - The Furious
Alonso - Jewel's Catch One
Jamelle - George Wallace (1997)
Kevin - September 5

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #458: Tropical Malady with Harry Dodge and Silas Howard Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

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 perfect, you can eat them like the fruits they are
Alonso- The releases of wonderful queer films Leviticus, Maddie's Secret, She's the He, Girls Like Girls, all unfortunately dropping on the same day
Kevin - No more wasps or bees!
Harry - The Spiritual Journey of Alexander Jodorowsky book
Silas - Qween Jean wins (a Tony), Spencer Pratt loses (the LA mayoral race)

ITIDIC
The Academy is creating the "Academy Marquee Theater List", an annual list of the 25 best US and 25 best international cinemas
Bad Bunny will voice "Pizza with Sunglasses" in Toy Story 5

Staff Picks
Alonso - I Shot Andy Warhol
Drea - Mulholland Drive
Kevin - Reservoir Dogs
Harry - Stalker (1979), Jubilee (1978)
Silas - I Saw the TV Glow

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #457: 'The Mandalorian & Grogu' with Danielle Radford Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

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 film. Then we'll take a hotline question about Dad Movies!

What’s Good
Drea - Lake of the Isles Pencil Sharpening Party
Danielle - get a hobby (like DIY press-on nails)
Kevin - inside scoop on the La La Land/Moonlight Oscars snafu (as told in Oscar Wars)

ITIDIC
Paddington 4 Will be Written by Armando Iannucci
Mark Duplass and Other Big Names Defend BACKROOMS’s Young Director

Staff Picks
Drea - Carolina Caroline
Danielle - Drumline (and the Waterworld Stunt Show at Universal Studios)
Kevin - Backrooms

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinmaxfilm

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Episode #456: 'I Love Boosters' with Ryann Graham May 29, 2026

Show notes

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 “Christmas” (both red and green chile) in Albuquerque
Drea - Baked Ruffles
Ryann - El Pollo Loco
Kevin - mystery sauce saga

ITIDIC