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 - Twilight Zone fundraiser reading

ITIDIC
IRON LUNG, YouTube Creator’s $3m Indie, Opens #2 at the Box Office
Lake Oswego Theater Loses Rights to Screen ‘Melania’ After Marquee Jokes
MST3K and Rifftrax Plan Crossover

Check out our "Desert Island Movies" List on Letterboxd

Staff Picks
Drea - The Housemaid
Alonso - Office Killer
Kristen - Pillion
Kevin - The Ruins

Read all about Kristen Lopez at her site or on The Film Maven
 

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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 Live Reading of The Twilight Zone (Live at Dynasty Typewriter and Livestreamed, 1/31/26)

ITIDIC

1. Oscar Nominations Announced
2. Sundance Film Festival kicks off, for the final time in Park City

Unusual Musicals List on Letterboxd

Staff Picks
Drea - A Poet
Alonso - The Moment
Kevin - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Follow Emily St. James on Bluesky or Instagram @emilystjams

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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, and Jack O'Connell. Then we take a Hotline call about food and cooking in the movies.

What’s Good?
Alonso - Experimenting with Bro Soap
Drea - the many queens of the Midwest (here’s a list of ways to help Minnesota)
• The Smitten Kitten
• Comma, a bookshop
Jordan - search for “ICE agents slipping on ice”
Kevin - YouTube ‘80s/’90s football games rabbit hole

ITIDIC

1. Kathleen Kennedy Stepping Down as Lucasfilm Head
2. Boots Riley to Direct An Adaptation of ‘Mr. Burns,’ a Play About The Simpsons

Staff Picks
Drea - Pride
Alonso - A Bigger Splash
Jordan - Godzilla vs. Biollante
Kevin - The Marvels

More about Jordan’s Predator: Bloodshed

bit.ly/coolfight to preorder a signed copy

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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 adaptations, and some memoirs we’d like to see adapted to film  

What’s Good?
Alonso - The Hunger: Film Writing 2012-2024 by Melissa Anderson
Drea - TasteBuds NYC videos
Roxane - Heated Rivalry book series
Alain - LA trip (for local premiere of The Forgotten Occupation!)
Kevin - Buzz Ballz for Drea

ITIDIC

1. Golden Globes 2026 Happened
2. Alamo Drafthouse Shifting from Pen-and-Paper to Mobile Menu Ordering

Staff Picks

Alonso - The Swimmer
Drea - Sound of Falling
Alain - Nouvelle Vague
Roxane - Hedda
Kevin - Cedar Rapids

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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 the show’s quiet inclusivity)
Kevin - Batman Bomber Jacket (and getting Alonso’s book for J)

ITIDIC
Betty Boop and Blondie Enter Public Domain in 2026
John Mayer and McG Buying the Henson Studio Lot and Name it Chaplin Studios

Staff Picks
Drea - Predator: Badlands
Alonso - Familiar Touch
Kevin - We Bury the Dead

Leave us a message with your movie query! MaximumFun.org/Hotline

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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 (sorta)!

*indicates a film we covered on the show!

Drea
10. Twinless*
9. Lurker
8. Hamnet*
7. Bugonia*
6. Sentimental Value
5. Sorry, Baby
4. The Secret Agent
3. Train Dreams*
2. One Battle After Another*
1. Sinners*

Alonso
10. Happy End
9. A House of Dynamite
8. Rebuilding
7. It Was Just an Accident
6. One Battle After Another*
5. Train Dreams*
4. Caught by the Tides
3. My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow
2. Eephus
1. Sinners*

Kevin
10. Good Fortune
9. Hedda*
8. The Long Walk*
7. Twinless*
6. Weapons*
5. Thunderbolts**
4. F1
3. Superman*
2. Sinners*
1. 40 Acres*

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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 - Pipsly.org
Ben - Sam Evans’ comedy special, Down a Mom
Kevin - moving boxes and having a space

WETIDIC
a).  Several Stories about films in development:

• Live Action Teddy Ruxpin Movie Coming from AmazonMGM and 7 Bucks
• Social Network 2 In the Works 
• Miss Piggy’ Movie In Development With Cole Escola Writing

b). Rick Moranis Returns to Acting for Spaceballs 2

c). Ariana Grande Grabber Sentenced to 9 Days in Prison

Christmas Movie Minute
A Make or Break Holiday
The Christmas Baby
The Best Thing About Christmas

Staff Picks
Alonso - Boys Go to Jupiter
Drea - The Muppet Christmas Carol
Ben - One of Them Days
Kevin - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Watch Supple Harlot
Troll Hole Podcast

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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 his decorations up

ITIDIC

a.) Zootopia 2 Becomes the Year’s Highest Grossing Film
b). Famed Variety Oscars Party Moves to LACMA

Christmas Movie Minute
Single on the 25th
Oy to the World
A Suite Holiday Romance
The Christmas Writer
(and a shout out to yet-unseen The Christmas Baby premiering on Hallmark on 12/21/25)

Staff Picks
Drea - The Princess Bride
Elliott - This Is Spinal Tap (see also, A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever: The Story of Spinal Tap) 
Kevin - Misery

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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!

What’s Good
Alonso - “Buy a Christmas tree that’s considered too big for your apartment.”
Drea - Forks Out on Sesame Street
Justin - end of year check-out
Kevin - Paranormal Activity play

ITIDIC

• Netflix/Warner Bros. Monopoly Insanity
• Original Star Wars film to be Rereleased in Theaters for 50th Anniversary

Christmas Movie Minute
The Christmas Cup (Hallmark)
She’s Making a List (Hallmark)

Staff Picks
Drea - Goodbye June
Alonso - The Swimmer (1968)
Justin - Blue Moon
Kevin - Three Kings

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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

1. 2020 and 2021 Titles Coming to Indie Theaters for ‘Lost Films of COVID’ Series
2. Shrek 5 is back in the news as 3 actors are cast as his triplets

Staff Picks
Alonso - BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions
Drea - Wild Rose
Kevin - Hamlet 2

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher