Maximum Film!

Film critic Katie Walsh joins us to take a close look at the various desirable qualities of MATERIALISTS, the sophomore feature from director Celine Song. Then, we talk about movies that didn’t quite match what their trailers were selling.

What’s Good
Alonso - Sick and Dirty by Michael Koresky
Katie - Love Island “I’m a mommy” meme
Kevin - full-on astrology chart

ITIDIC

• 48 Films Awarded Tax Credits To Shoot in California
• Megalopolis is Going on a Roadshow
• Robert Eggers Developing ‘A Christmas Carol’ Adaptation at WB

Staff Picks
Alonso - Sorry, Baby
Katie - Christiane F
Kevin - The Hunt for Red October

Details for Alonso's screening of Ma Vie en Rose on June 28

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

In honor of Pride Month, we’re taking a look back at an important title from queer cinema history. Our guest, Caden Mark Gardner, is the co-author (with Willow Maclay) of Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema – he picked this Vincente Minnelli classic for us to watch! Then, we choose which flawed movies we’d edit (and how we’d amend them) to make them work for us.

You can stream Tea and Sympathy across lots of platforms, or check your local library. 

What’s Good
Alonso - Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 (sort of)
Drea - Katya in the Criterion Closet
Caden - dog ownership (and traveling to LA for event)
Kevin - first hot dog in a while, best ever

ITIDIC

• Summer of 1956 will be a big movie season (Erskine Johnson)
• “Robert Rich” (secret alias of a blacklisted Dalton Trumbo) is Nominated for Best Screenwriter for The Brave One

Staff Picks
Alonso - The Cobweb
Drea - The Power of the Dog
Caden - Vulcanizador
Kevin - Blazing Saddles

LA Folks, Check out Alonso and Caden’s series “Taking Pride” with American Cinematheque! See and learn about some great films, and get your books signed.

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Film critic and podcast bon vivant (and Stephen King movie buff) William Bibbiani (Critically Acclaimed Network) joins us to take a look at the latest King adaptation, a movie told in three parts, backwards (and in heels). Then we get Hall of Excellence results and draw inspiration from a listener’s unexpected movie tattoo.

What’s Good
Alonso - anti-ICE protests in “Red” states
Drea - Bentonville Film Festival (screening Heightened Scrutiny)
Bibbs - Maximum Film! hosts
Kevin - Cinespia season

ITIDIC

1. Pedro Almodovar’s Next Film will be a Christmas Movie
2. Warner Bros. Discovery to Split into Two Companies
3. Variety Editorial: No One in the Movies Stays Dead Anymore

Staff Picks
Alonso - Cobra Woman (see him screen it in person on June 14, 2025!)
Drea - Drop
Bibbs - River (don’t watch it on Amazon, the subtitles get out of sync)
Kevin - Silver Streak

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Wes Anderson’s latest film has no shortage of charts and plans. Our guest, Matt Zoller Seitz, helps guide us through THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, and warns us about emotional land mines (which, in fact, we might actually want to step on? It’ll make sense in context.) Then we nominate our favorite filmed father/daughter dynamics to the Hall of Excellence.

What’s Good
Alonso - bitching about the new season of AND JUST LIKE THAT…
Drea - your friends meeting
Matt - The Life of Chuck
Kevin - The Traitors Australia

ITIDIC

1. Disney delaying next two Avengers films
2. Paramount Plans Celebrations for 30th Anniversary of ‘Clueless’
3. 2025’s Domestic Box Office Chat

Staff Picks
Alonso - Mountainhead
Matt - Deaf President Now & Sharp Corner
Drea - Holy Cow (Vingt Dieux)
Kevin - Mazes & Monsters

Visit the arts bookstore at  Mzs.press

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

How many reckonings will Ethan Hunt face? More importantly, how many planes can he fly at once? None of these questions are answered in today’s discussion, but many more are raised and addressed as we consider Tom Cruise & Co.’s most Impossible Mission yet. We’re joined by special guest Billy Ray Brewton, whose new documentary Coroner to the Stars is cleaning up at festivals as we speak. Then we pitch some new (?) ideas for blockbuster franchise reboots based on old TV shows.

What’s Good
Drea - Meat Raffle
Billy Ray - Audience Award at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival
Kevin - Trader Joe’s has cheap wine, you guys!

ITIDIC

• Richard Linklater’s Ode to Godard Sells at Cannes…To Netflix
• Google Financing Short Films to Make AI Seem Less “Doomsday”

Staff Picks
Drea - Sinners
Billy Ray - Pee-Wee as Himself
Kevin - Mission: Impossible 3

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Final Destination Bloodlines might be your sixth FD or your first (or maybe, like Kevin and Drea, you aren't confident about which ones you've seen or not). For our guest writer, filmmaker, and genre-film expert BJ Colangelo, Final Destination is THE horror franchise, making her the perfect lead for our metaphorical dance with Death. After we discuss the film, we honor the late Tony Todd by talking about our favorite "horror oracles."

What’s Good?
Alonso - Étoile (the new show from Amy Sherman-Paladino & Daniel Paladino, on Prime)
Drea - Mission Impossible franchise rewatch
BJ - Cash’s high school graduation
Kevin - Kara Morgan’s one woman show, Inner Voices

ITIDIC

1. Max is HBO Max Again
2. Clarksdale, MS, Setting for SINNERS, Petitions for Special Screening
3. Tubi Has a New Category Filled With Classic Movies From the Criterion Collection

Here’s the teaser trailer for Final Destination Bloodlines (as Alonso mentioned)

Staff Picks
Drea - Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Alonso - Caught by the Tides
BJ - The Ugly Stepsister
Kevin - Open Water

Sleep Away Camp book, written by BJ and Harmony Colangelo

This Ends at Prom podcast

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

Tim Robinson (of I Think You Should Leave fame) hits the big screen in Andrew DeYoung’s feature debut. He’s becoming buds with Paul Rudd, but don’t call it a bromance – call it ‘Friendship.’ We’ve got a friend of our own joining us: comedian Michelle Biloon. After the movie chat, we’ll discuss some memorable drug trip/fever dream movie sequences. 

What’s Good
Alonso - Season 2 of Poker Face
Drea - Bentonville Film Festival Lineup Announced
Michelle - free airplane gin seconds
Kevin - Jill Sobule’s music

ITIDIC

1. Catholic Cardinals Reportedly Consulted ‘Conclave’ Film Ahead of Vote for Next Pope
2. Cinecittà on Track to Build the Biggest One-Stop-Shop in Europe
3. Milestone Films Will Be Given Away

Staff Picks
Alonso - I Love You Man
Drea - Queen of the Ring
Michelle - Nice Girls Don’t Explode
Kevin - Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Engame audience reaction video

Michelle’s albums are:
Permanent Hat
You Can Be an Asshole

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

It’s episode 401 and we’ve reassembled, now with Kevin Avery at the helm. Back in the guest chair is the familiar voice of Jordan Morris, Maximum Fun superstar and writer of TV and comics. And the movie is Thunderbolts* , the MCU’s little gang of misfits film that just might have what it takes to make you feel again.** Then we’ll have a movie quiz to test our memories of MCU Phases past.

What’s Good
Alonso - “my first dump salad”
Drea - WhatsApp + voicenotes = “friendship podcast”
Jordan - The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Kevin -  Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

ITIDIC

1. Spike Lee’s New Film, Which Reunites Him With Denzel, To Premiere at Cannes
2. Oscar Voters Have to Watch the Movies Now

Staff Picks
Drea - Sacramento
Alonso - Godard’s King Lear (Wiki)
Kevin - Magic Mike XXL
Jordan - Black Bag

*yes we’re still calling it that
**about Marvel movies specifically. General depression reduction not guaranteed. But hey, worth a shot!

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde

Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

It’s been a long time…and a sizeable chunk of this podcast! We’re preparing a hell of a party this week, as we hit 400, Ify cruises into the sunset as host, and we finally cover the original supernatural drama that film nerd dreams are made of, Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS. We’ve got past guest and IRL Ify bud Cody Ziglar riding shotgun this week to boot! And we dream up what some serious films might be like if we threw some vampires into the mix.

What’s Good
Alonso - Pineapple Upside-Down Cake (especially Nancy Silverton’s)
Drea - “How long does it actually take” TikToks
Zig - Tom Cruise coconut cake from Doan’s Bakery (+Ify mentions King’s rainbow cake)
Ify - Neotropolis

Ify’s Staff Picks on Letterboxd

Ryan Coogler Aspect ratio video

Staff Picks
Alonso - Red Rooms
Drea - Let the Right One In (and Green Room)
Zig - Assault on Precinct 13 and From Dusk Till Dawn
Ify - From Dusk Till Dawn

Thanks to our sponsor, Good Story Guild! Listen to In Media Res wherever you get your podcasts.

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’ve got the fabulous Parvesh Cheena here, once again on the gaysian movie beat! This time around, it’s Andrew Ahn’s THE WEDDING BANQUET, which reimagines and modernizes the core story of a nearly unseeable 1993 Ang Lee film (maybe try your local library?). It’s a complicated relationship comedy between two queer couples, and two of their matriarchs.  Plus, we choose which classic films we’d like to see get a queer remake (besides all of them).

What’s Good
Alonso - TCM Festival
Drea - Drag Race finale, TV as a group activity
Parvesh - More Drag Race
Ify - Temptation Island (see also: Montoya Por Favor)

ITIDIC

1. SINNERS is the first horror movie to receive an ‘A’ Cinema Score
2. Wicked’s VOD “Bonus Features” Are Getting Tons of Plays

Staff Picks
Drea - The Half of It
Alonso - Art for Everybody
Parv - A Nice Indian Boy
Ify - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

See Parvesh in Trauma Play at IAMA

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