Maximum Film!

Have you heard about the new A24 movie from writer/director Harry Lighton that’s almost a romantic comedy about gay BDSM biker culture? That’s PILLION, starring Alexander Skarsgaard and Harry Melling, and we’re thrilled to have our friend Nayland Blake (an influential artist and teacher who’s an authority on queer kink, riding with us!
What’s Good?
Alonso - Trans Girl Scouts you can buy cookies from
Drea - The Milan-Cortina Olympics (also Coach Jackie)
Nayland - Midwest Magic Cleaning on YouTube
Kevin - Casey Abrams at Hotel Cafe (w/surprise Dave Koz); Bobby Brown at the bar
ITIDIC
Letterboxd Op-Ed: Is Streaming Making Movies Less Memorable?
Kristen Stewart Buys Highland Park Theater
Our ‘Sex-Positive Movie Night’ Picks in a Letterboxd List
Staff Picks
Alonso - Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
Drea - Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie
Nayland - Bloodsisters
Kevin - Secretary
Nayland’s Books:
My Studio Is a Dungeon Is the Studio
No Wrong Holes: Thirty Years of Nayland Blake

 

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With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher

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
Oscar Nominations Announced
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
Kathleen Kennedy Stepping Down as Lucasfilm Head
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
Golden Globes 2026 Happened
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

Follow us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, or Letterboxd
With
Kevin Avery
Drea Clark
Alonso Duralde
Produced by Marissa Flaxbart
Sr. Producer Laura Swisher