Maximum Film!

Could there be a tougher act to follow than Paddington 2? With a new director, a new Mrs. Brown, and a new continent to explore, we’ll see if this bear is able to reach his former heights. We’re joined by writer and film critic Abby Olcese, whose new book is called Films for All Seasons.

What’s Good
Alonso - 25th anniversary of Coyote Ugly (and the fire benefit screening of it)
Drea - hair brushing
Abby - cat cuddles and True/False Film Fest
Ify - Minnesota trip

ITIDIC

1. Awards Season in Full Swing, with BAFTAs, WGA Awards, and HMU Awards all Last Weekend
2. Disney+ Rewording, Shortening Its Content Warnings on Old Films
3. NEON Still Sends Out a Coveted DVD Box Set of Screeners

WKUK sketch referenced (totally legally)

Hall of Excellence Nominees
Drea: Logan
Alonso: Goldfinger
Abby: Die Hard With a Vengeance
Ify: Toy Story 3

Staff Picks
Alonso: …Coyote Ugly
Drea: Jazzy
Abby: Universal Language
Ify: Flow

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

It's the latest star turn for former Ify Nwadiwe co-star Timothée Chalamet! We're joined by musician and educator Enrique Chi (of the appropriately-named band Making Movies) with us to share notes on the Bob Dylan origin story that isn't really an origin story at all. Then we'll have fun pitching our own ideas for musical biopics.

What’s Good
Alonso - Erotic Vagrancy by Roger Lewis
Drea - 5Calls.org
Enrique - arts as public health
Ify - youngest brother’s bachelor weekend

1. The Super Bowl was on…Tubi (and here was Tubi’s ad)
2. Prince’s Estate Has Blocked the Release of a New Documentary
3. Pharrell and Gondry Musical Scrapped

“The Prince We Never Knew” (Sasha Weiss’s NYT article)

Staff Picks
Alonso - I’m Not There
Drea - Suze
Enrique - Quincy
Ify - Selena

Check out Enrique’s band, Making Movies

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

From a fun little Cannes oddity to an Oscar mega-nominee…and (ahem) beyond, EMILIA PÉREZ has had quite the journey. It’s also made the journey into the eyeballs of our three hosts and their esteemed guest, writer (of essays, books, TV, and now a novel!) Emily St. James. Everyone lived to tell the tale, but not in song…but don’t worry, we have musical content in the form of a movie quiz about movie musicals that sound unmakeable.

What’s Good
Alonso - weekly Christmas cookie trials
Drea - Bookshop.org now has e-books (Preorder Woodworking by Emily St. James!)
Emily - Woodworking :: Sabrina Carpenter
Ify - Being back!

B.J. Colangelo’s Slashfilm article (referenced by Ify)

Staff Picks
Alonso - I’m Still Here
Drea - Companion
Emily - You Are Not Me
Ify - Johanne Sacrebleu

Podcast Like It’s the 2000s

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

THE BRUTALIST has been catching accolades, awards noms, and headlines. But who is László Tóth? What's the deal with Brutalism? And is any movie worth 215 minutes of your life? These answers and more, with Kendra Gaylord, architecture YouTuber and host of Someone Lived Here. Plus, Oscars chat, and we talk about the movie houses we'd most like to move into.

What's Good?
Alonso - the rise of the repertory screening
Drea - secret safeword party
Kendra - USPS announces Goodnight Moon stamps
Marissa - cinephile babysitting friend Will
Kevin - Lego therapy

John Lautner’s Garcia House
BOOM!’s Villa Goforth
Kendra’s Witch House Video

Staff Picks
Drea - The New Bauhaus
Alonso - Columbus
Kevin -  The Court Jester
Kendra - The House From…

This episode is hosted by Kevin Avery. THANK YOU, KEVIN!

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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.

What’s Good

Alonso - Electronic Frontier Foundation article Mad at Meta?

Drea - Ayoh Dill Pickle Mayo

Kevin - Beetle House

ITIDIC

• Film and TV Production In L.A. Was Already Plummeting. Wildfires May Hasten the Exodus
• David Lynch

Staff Picks

Drea - Unstoppable

Alonso - Presence

Kevin - Captain America: Winter Soldier

Mentioned in the episode

Kyle MacLachlan NYT obit for David Lynch

Dungeons & Dragons Twenty-Sided Tavern

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart

Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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.   

What’s Good

Alonso - Watch Duty app

Drea - An “adult Scholastic book fair”

Kirby Howell-Baptiste - Tina Lifford’s book The Little Book of Big Lies

Kevin - Kindness

ITIDIC

• Hollywood landmarks destroyed by the fires
• Awards Shows Postponed due to the fires

Movies That Capture Locations Perfectly

Kirby - Uncut Gems & Shaun of the Dead

Alonso - True Stories & Dr. T and the Women

Drea - Young Adult and Nebraska

Kevin - Beat Street

Staff Picks

Alonso - Career Girls

Drea - Sing Sing and Grand Theft Hamlet

Kevin - Spy Game

Kirby - We Strangers

Follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram

With
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Kevin Avery

Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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.

What’s Good:

Alonso - Squid Games

Drea - The 2024 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog

Lucé - Keeping Letterboxd Clean in 2025

Kevin - The Bob Bakker Maronite theater

This Week's ITIDICs:

1. Melania Trump Documentary Directed By Brett Ratner Bound For Prime Video

2. Netflix Is Telling Writers to Dumb Down Shows Since Viewers Are on Their Phones

3. If you cry while watching movies, it is probably a sign of your emotional strength

Staff Picks:

Drea - Good Luck To You Leo Grand

Alonso - Hope Springs

Lucé - Secret Ceremony

Kevin - The Lookout

Plugs!

Listen to It’s Always Halloween!

Check out more of Lucè!

Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas

I’ll Be Home For Christmas Movies

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

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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.

What’s Good:

Drea - LED face mask/cat snuggle combo

Tristan - New doc he directed: Game Maker's Journey | "Legends of Orisha: Blood and Water"

Ify - White Elephant gift party

Staff Picks:

Drea - A Fire Inside

Tristan - Conclave

Ify - Fruitvale Station

Plugs!

Watch Game Maker's Journey | "Legends of Orisha: Blood and Water"
 

Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas

I’ll Be Home For Christmas Movies

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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.

What’s Good:

Alonso - TCM New Year’s programming

Drea - More lookalike contests

Ify - Friends’ wedding

Plugs!

Come see Holiday Hornyfest: Bound hosted by Ify, December 28th at Vidiots in Los Angeles!

Come see Holiday Hornyfest: Magic Mike XXL hosted by Ify, December 30th at Vidiots in Los Angeles!

Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas

I’ll Be Home For Christmas Movies

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

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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.

What’s Good:

Alonso - Going to Wawa for the first time!

Mo - Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Drea - Being on Bluesky

This Week's ITIDICs:

1. Even After ‘Kraven the Hunter’ and ‘Madame Web,’ Sony’s Marvel Movies Aren’t Dead (EXCLUSIVE)

2. Zoe Saldaña Feels Actors Who Use CGI for Roles Are Often Overlooked for Awards

3. Anne Hathaway Is ‘Desperate’ to Star in a Christmas Movie: ‘That’s a Weird Bucket List Thing’
 

Christmas Movie Minute:

1. Chrismess
2. Following Yonder Star
3. Sugar Plum
4. The Santa Class

Staff Picks:

Alonso - The Brutalist

Mo - My Old Ass

Drea - Holiday In Handcuffs

Plugs!

Come see Alonso intro Carol and sign books at the American Cinematheque THIS SUNDAY (December 22nd, at 7pm in Los Angeles)!

Come see Holiday Hornyfest: A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy hosted by Ify! Today, December 13th at Vidiots in Los Angeles!

Come see Holiday Hornyfest: Shortbus hosted by Ify, December 21st at Vidiots in Los Angeles!

Come see Holiday Hornyfest: Bound hosted by Ify, December 28th at Vidiots in Los Angeles!

Come see Holiday Hornyfest: Magic Mike XXL hosted by Ify, December 30th at Vidiots in Los Angeles!

Have Yourself A Movie Little Christmas

I’ll Be Home For Christmas Movies
 

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

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd

With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher