Because the birthplace of status TV exhibits like The Sopranos and The Wire, HBO—and, by extension, Max (aka the streamer formerly known as HBO Max)—is greatest identified for its spectacular lineup of authentic sequence. The community has additionally been upping the ante with feature-length content material that’s the stuff of Oscar desires.
Under is an inventory of a few of our favourite movies streaming on Max—Oscar-winning overseas movies to dystopian sci-fi classics. Should you resolve you’re in additional of a TV temper, head over to our picks for the best shows on Max. Should you’re in search of much more suggestions, take a look at our lists of the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best movies on Disney+.
Additionally, for a really restricted time (by Monday, December 2), you may achieve entry to all of Max’s content material for simply $2.99 monthly for the subsequent six months (be taught extra here).
Juror #2
Up till now, most of what you’ve heard about Juror #2 is the way it’s considered one of Clint Eastwood’s most completed directorial efforts—and but someway it received shafted when it got here to its theatrical launch. Now’s your probability to see what all of the fuss is about. Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a journalist and recovering alcoholic who’s making each effort to keep up his sobriety. That turns into a little bit of a problem when he’s placed on the jury of a high-profile homicide trial … solely to understand that he could have inadvertently performed an element in what occurred. Hoult is improbable on this edge-of-your-seat authorized (and moral) drama.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
It has been 36 years since Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stormed the late ’80s field workplace. Within the a long time since, we’ve usually heard rumblings {that a} sequel was within the works. Or is likely to be within the works. Or most positively was within the works. Or won’t be within the playing cards in any respect. Nicely, in 2024 it lastly occurred, and it was as if Michael Keaton had by no means stepped away from the function in any respect (everlasting life has a manner of doing that to you). This time, nevertheless, Lydia (Winona Ryder) continues to be doing her greatest to neglect her rendezvous with the bio-exorcism professional. However when she returns to her childhood residence, it’s her personal badass daughter (Jenna Ortega) who finds a method to deliver him again into all their lives.
Tremendous/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
James Gunn’s new model of Superman received’t arrive in theaters till July. Within the meantime, audiences have Gunn and his DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran (partly) to thank for bringing this long-overdue documentary concerning the final superhero actor to worldwide audiences. Administrators Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui ship a heartfelt, transferring tribute to Reeve—as an actor, sure, however much more in order an individual who by no means gave up. Alexandra Reeve Givens, Matthew Reeve, and Will Reeve—Reeve’s youngsters—share their very own tales about their dad, giving the venture yet one more layer of intimacy. No, you’re crying.
Joker: Folie À Deux
5 years in the past, Joker was a serious awards season contender: The movie, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, earned a complete of 11 Oscar nominations—and went residence with two of them (together with one for Phoenix). Joker: Folie À Deux isn’t more likely to observe the identical path. The sequel, by which Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck finds love with the equally disturbed Lee Quinzel (Girl Gaga), fizzled on the field workplace and was met with fairly scathing critiques. Nonetheless: Choose the movie for your self, we are saying. Even in the event you agree with the majority of critics, spending 138 minutes with Phoenix and Gaga taking part in off of one another at their most unhinged is definitely worth the value of admission (which, on this case, is the Max subscription you have already got).
Watchmen: Chapter I
Brandon Vietti (Batman: Beneath the Purple Hood) directs this progressive animated adaption of Alan Moore’s Hugo Award-winning graphic novel about an investigation into the homicide of Edward Blake—higher referred to as a superhero named the Comic. When the police come up empty when it comes to suspects, the costumed vigilante Rorschach (Titus Welliver) decides to take the case into his personal fingers, and ultimately involves consider that somebody is making an attempt to knock off superheroes. So he enlists the assistance of a gaggle of them as a way to put a cease to the killing spree.
Jurassic Park
Greater than 30 years after its authentic launch, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s novel about dinosaurs gone awry nonetheless ranks among the many high 50 highest-grossing films of all time. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) is a CEO decided to go away his mark on the world and decides one of the best ways to do this is with Jurassic Park: a secluded theme park the place cloned dinosaurs roam, and might be noticed by anybody who will pay the payment to go to. However earlier than the park opens, Hammond brings in a crew of scientists to indicate them what he has created—just for them to understand the various brief cuts Hammond took as a way to transfer the park ahead shortly. Homicide and mayhem ensue, a lot to audiences’ continued delight.
MaXXXine
MaXXXine is the third movie in writer-director Ti West’s X trilogy, which started with X and Pearl. It’s set instantly after the occasions of Pearl: Mia Goth’s Maxine Minx is determined to flee her upbringing as a preacher’s daughter and make the transfer from porn to extra mainstream films. She will get her probability when she lands the lead in a horror film, The Puritan II. Then her pals begin getting murdered. Finally, Maxine is compelled to confront the sins of her previous and discover a method to obtain the celebrity she so desperately desires of.
Civil Conflict
Within the not-too-distant future, america has remodeled into an all-out battlefield between an authoritarian authorities, headed by a third-term president (Nick Offerman), and a stream of secessionist actions that threaten to destroy the nation as we all know it. However a gaggle of journalists (led by Kirsten Dunst) is set to doc the downfall of America at any price, so that they set about heading to the White Home as a way to interview the embattled president. Which is way simpler stated than performed. Oscar nominee Alex Garland (Ex-Machina) writes and directs this dystopian drama that usually hits uncomfortably close to home.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Furiosa could been dubbed the summer’s first box office “bomb” when it arrived in theaters in Might, however don’t let these dollar-focused headlines deter you from this one. Anya Taylor-Pleasure, who’s undoubtedly some of the versatile actors working at the moment, shines within the function of Imperator Furiosa, a badass emancipator who dares to problem gender conventions in a harmful, postapocalyptic world the place (no shock in any respect) males make the foundations. Taylor-Pleasure does an admirable job embracing the function that Charlize Theron memorably originated in Mad Max: Fury Street.
Drive My Automotive
Regardless of incomes 4 Oscar nominations in 2022—and successful one for Greatest Worldwide Characteristic Movie—it nonetheless feels totally correct to state that Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Automotive stays woefully underseen. Right here’s your probability to do your half to repair that. Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) ia a famend theater director nonetheless reeling from the demise of his spouse. Ultimately, he makes the choice to start working once more and agrees to a two-month residency to direct a play in Hiroshima, an hour from his residence. So every day, a younger lady (Toko Miura) drives him to and from the theater. All that point spent in a confined area collectively ultimately results in a friendship—one the place Kafuku feels comfy sharing the challenges he’s going through together with his new venture and, ultimately, the reality about the best way by which his spouse betrayed him. Street films have by no means felt so intimate—or leisurely.
Beetlejuice
Almost three months after its launch, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, continues to be delivering on the field workplace (and can arrive on Max on December 6). So why not take a journey again to 1988, the place the story of the havoc-wreaking “bio-exorcist” (aka Betelgeuse) started. Michael Keaton is at his zany greatest because the troublesome spirit employed to assist a lately deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) use their ghostly powers to scare away the obnoxious household that has moved into their dream home.
Love Lies Bleeding
English writer-director Rose Glass follows up her BAFTA-nominated Saint Maud with this twisty, hyper-violent love story. It’s 1989 in a rural New Mexico city the place gymnasium supervisor Lou (Kristen Stewart) is doing her greatest to remain below the radar and regulate her sister Beth (Jena Malone), who’s in an abusive relationship together with her husband JJ (Dave Franco). However Lou’s life is turned the other way up when Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a stunning younger bodybuilder, begins coming to Lou’s gymnasium to coach for an upcoming competitors in Las Vegas. The 2 fall in love—after which Lou’s hidden household secrets and techniques come tumbling out of the closet and threaten her life, and the lives of these she cares about.
Faye
“I’m Faye Dunaway. That’s who I’m.” That’s the best way the star introduces herself within the trailer for Laurent Bouzereau’s feature-length documentary. However what the movie reveals is that there’s much more to Faye Dunaway than the glamorous picture related to the Oscar-winning star of Community. Dunaway opens up in a manner that has hardly ever been seen earlier than, discussing her childhood and household, her struggles with bipolar dysfunction, and the way the characters she has performed proceed to affect her. It’s a captivating portrait of a real Hollywood icon.
Quad Gods
Jess Jacklin’s characteristic documentary follows the fascinating journey of Blake, Prentice, and Richard—three people with quadriplegia who meet in a neuro-rehabilitation lab at Mount Sinai Hospital and launch a plan to create the world’s first all-quadriplegic esports crew. It’s a noble pursuit, however one fraught with challenges as they break down the doorways of ableism. At its coronary heart, Quad Gods is a narrative of friendship, perseverance, and survival.
Am I OK?
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a thirtysomething dwelling in Los Angeles, consistently failing at relationships and questioning why she doesn’t have all the pieces found out but. After drunkenly sharing the story of the time she kissed a feminine buddy as a teen, she begins to understand that the issue in her love life won’t be the lads she’s selecting, however that she’s selecting males in any respect. Former Saturday Evening Stay author Lauren Pomerantz penned the script for the movie primarily based on her personal expertise of popping out in her thirties. Tig Notaro and her spouse Stephanie Allynne do an admirable job as codirectors, treating Lucy’s journey of self-discovery with the respect it deserves—and loads of humor.
MoviePass, MovieCrash
For higher or worse, thousands and thousands of movie followers will bear in mind 2012 because the 12 months of MoviePass. For $25 monthly, you might principally reside in a movie show—which was nice for audiences, not so nice for film theaters (which had been already struggling), and ultimately disastrous for the corporate itself. For anybody who nonetheless has their MoviePass, this revealing documentary tells the actual story of all that went incorrect behind the scenes, and shares the story of the unsung heroes who actually did simply need to create a product that film lovers may embrace. By the best way: Should you do certainly nonetheless have your authentic MoviePass, this doc has made it a worthwhile piece of memorabilia—with some selling for north of $1,000.
Dune & Dune: Half Two
Since breaking by with the Oscar-nominated Incendies (2010), Denis Villeneuve has continued to show that he’s some of the proficient filmmakers working at the moment. As if making a Blade Runner sequel that didn’t suck wasn’t sufficient, Villeneuve then went on to crack the cinematic code on Frank Herbert’s Dune sequence—one thing that true visionaries like David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky had tried earlier than him, albeit largely unsuccessfully. Each the 2021 authentic movie and its sequel are streaming on Max—as is Lynch’s 1984 adaptation (which has turn into a little bit of a cult traditional over time). The movie follows the destiny of the planet Arrakis—and its provide of melange, a novel spice and probably the most helpful substance within the universe—which rests within the fingers of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the untested son of a strong duke. On the lookout for extra Dune motion? The prequel sequence Dune: Prophecy, starring Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Mark Sturdy, premiered on Max on November 17.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Should you’re a fan of the absurdly darkish work of Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, Poor Issues, Sorts of Kindness) or are simply discovering the uncomfortable brilliance of Barry Keoghan, The Killing of a Sacred Deer has received your title written throughout it. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) is a extremely esteemed surgeon with a loving spouse (Nicole Kidman) and kids whose life is turned the other way up after he befriends Martin (Keoghan), an ungainly teen who Steven learns misplaced his father a number of years earlier. What begins as a seeming act of kindness on Steven’s half quickly turns into a very demented model of Sophie’s Selection. As all the time, Lanthimos’ means to combine humor with pathos stays unmatched—maybe by no means extra so than right here.
The Zone of Curiosity
In 1943, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) was the commandant of Auschwitz who spent his days taking part in god with the lives of the focus camp’s harmless prisoners. However what occurred when Höss went residence? That’s the fact Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar-winning movie examines, and the reply is: Not a lot. Höss lives proper subsequent door to the camp, within the so-called Zone of Curiosity, together with his spouse Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their 5 youngsters. Inside these 4 partitions, they try to construct a dream life for his or her household—whereas the sound of gunshots, incoming trains, and furnaces being lit are simply part of each day life. Sure, it’s each bit as brutal—and essential—because it sounds.
Black Swan
Natalie Portman gave what would possibly very properly find yourself being the defining efficiency of her profession on this darkish dance drama from Darren Aronofsky. Nina Sayers (Portman) is a dancer with the New York Metropolis Ballet whose whole life has been devoted to her artwork, largely as a result of her overprotective mom (Barbara Hershey), who was additionally a ballerina and pushes her daughter to have the profession she needed for herself. Nina’s life is turned the other way up when she lands the lead in a brand new manufacturing of Swan Lake, solely to understand that she’ll be splitting the half with the free-spirited Lily (Mila Kunis) who shortly turns into each the one buddy Nina has ever actually had and her most bitter rival. Quickly, she descends right into a dizzying insanity that’s mirrored in Aronofsky’s directorial selections, which make the viewers really feel each little bit of her feelings.
Good Time
Again in 2020, we named Good Time as one of many most underrated movies of the past 20 years, and completely nonetheless stand by that declare. Fortuitously, as Robert Pattinson and the Safdie Brothers have continued to ascertain themselves as among the most attention-grabbing actors (Pattinson and Benny Safdie) and administrators (Benny once more and his brother Josh) working at the moment, extra individuals have found the movie, and much more will, now that it’s on Max. Connie Nikas (Pattinson) is a small-time prison who’s all the time in search of his subsequent huge rating, and sometimes employs his developmentally disabled brother Nick (Safdie) as his associate. When a financial institution theft goes incorrect and Nick is nabbed by the police, Connie should struggle for his or her survival. Very like Uncut Gems, which might later come to outline the Safdies’ model (and can also be now streaming on Max), Good Time is a fast-moving, visceral crime thriller that can have you ever on the sting of your seat as Connie works to reunite together with his brother, no matter the associated fee.
Wonka
Timothée Chalamet stars as Willy Wonka on this completely entertaining origin story of Roald Dahl’s quirky chocolatier, directed by Paddington’s Paul King. Whereas it doesn’t hit the identical as Mel Stuart’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Manufacturing facility—actually, who may match Gene Wilder’s somersaulting sweet maker?—it additionally far surpasses Tim Burton’s pretty useless 2005 remake.
Dream Situation
Like Forrest Gump’s famed field of sweets, you by no means know what you’re going to get from a Nicolas Cage efficiency. However he’s a one-of-a-kind actor whose roles are likely to fall into considered one of two classes: completely transcendent, or scenery-chewing at its most voracious. Dream Scenario may be very a lot the previous, and has been heralded as one of many Oscar-winning actor’s greatest performances by some critics. Rightfully so. Cage stars as Paul Matthews, an unassuming biology professor who all of the sudden begins showing in strangers’ desires and achieves viral fame on account of it. Like several good Cage efficiency, this one is multifaceted and examines the draw back of sudden fame and what it actually prices.
Dicks: The Musical
A24—the studio identified for its edgy, award-winning indies like Moonlight and Ex Machina (that are each streaming on Max)—takes a dive into the musical style with this adaptation of the off-Broadway hit Fucking An identical Twins (and also you thought Dicks: The Musical was a raunchy title). Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp cowrote and costar on this over-the-top musical as two coworkers who uncover that they’re long-lost twin brothers, they usually try to Mum or dad Lure their mother and father (performed by Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally). Megan Thee Stallion performs their boss. Anybody offended by an f-bomb—or dozens of them—would possibly need to give this one a skip.
Barbie
Greta Gerwig is a grasp of respiratory new life into previous properties (see: Little Girls). With Barbie, she has ignited a revolution. Barbie (Margot Robbie) resides her greatest life in Barbieland—till someday, when her completely plastic world, and heels, all of the sudden start to break down. To get her fabulous life again, Barbie should journey to the actual world—properly, Los Angeles—to find out who or what’s inflicting her existential disaster. The movie grossed practically $1.5 billion worldwide, which means you’ve got already seen it. However even in the event you did, it’s completely value a second watch—if solely to lament its many Oscar snubs.
RoboCop
From Whole Recall to Showgirls and again to Primary Intuition, director Paul Verhoeven has a monitor file virtually unmatched in fashionable cinema. RoboCop, his dystopian tackle legislation enforcement, is proof. Set in a bleak imaginative and prescient of Detroit overrun with crime, it follows a cop (Peter Weller) who will get fatally wounded and was, sure, a robotic cop, who you would possibly assume is nice at preventing crime, however in fact shouldn’t be. A number of the visible results could look just a little beat up now, however in 1987, they seemed like the longer term. Additionally, if RoboCop leaves you wanting extra, the movie’s two sequels and 2014 reboot—none of which, sadly, had been directed by Verhoeven—are additionally out there on Max.
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life
Albert Brooks is a comic’s comic. Although he is likely to be greatest referred to as the filmmaker behind such celebrated comedies as Defending Your Life, Misplaced in America, Actual Life, and Mom, he’s additionally a superb actor (with an Oscar nomination to show it). Brooks’ longtime pal Rob Reiner directs this charming documentary, which paperwork Brooks’ one-of-a-kind expertise, with a shocking lineup of A-listers—together with David Letterman, Steven Spielberg, Sarah Silverman, Judd Apatow, Chris Rock, Larry David, and Ben Stiller—all able to sing his praises.
Actuality
In 2017, an intelligence report about Russian interference within the 2016 US presidential election was leaked anonymously. One 12 months later, former NSA translator Actuality Winner (sure, that’s her actual title) was sentenced to greater than 5 years in jail for the crime—the longest sentence ever obtained by a authorities whistleblower. HBO’s reigning muse, Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus), shines on this gripping true story, which performs out principally in actual time because the FBI knocks on the 25-year-old’s door and spends greater than an hour questioning her.
Parasite
Even in the event you don’t care about awards, the truth that Parasite is the primary—and nonetheless solely—non-English-language film to win a Greatest Image Oscar ought to inform you one thing concerning the universality of its themes. The Kims, a household struggling to make ends meet, set their scheming sights on the Parks, a well-to-do household with loads of issues of their very own, but in addition loads of cash to muffle their dysfunction. At the least for a time. Simply whenever you assume you understand how class warfare is taking part in out on this black comedy, it adjustments course to achieve an surprising conclusion. As all the time, Bong Joon-ho is aware of simply how one can lead his viewers down one path, solely to open a trapdoor into one other.
All of the Magnificence and the Bloodshed
Discovering success in a single’s lifetime would possibly look like the dream of each artist, however Nan Goldin has greater ambitions. Although she’s a photographer by commerce, she’s an activist by calling and has lengthy used her digital camera to seize painfully intimate moments of America in disaster, together with in depth work centered on the HIV/AIDS and opioid epidemics. However All of the Magnificence and the Bloodshed reveals the artist in battle: Ought to she enable her work to be showcased in one of many distinguished museums or galleries which have obtained endowments from the Sackler household—the Massive Pharma household that many blame for America’s opioid disaster? It’s a transferring portrait of an artist keen to danger all of it for her beliefs.
