HBO Max: The 23 Absolute Best Movies to Watch

1 9 minutes read

Attempting to discover the right film to watch on HBO Max?

Regardless of the Warner Bros. Discovery TV and movie cull of 2022, there’s nonetheless a superlative assortment of titles to catch. It helps that HBO, Warner Bros. and DC Comics all dwell beneath the HBO Max roof. Plus, take a look at what’s coming to the streamer this month.

What’s new on HBO Max for March

March 1

Creed and Creed II (2015, 2018): Sports activities dramas starring Michael B. Jordan. Creed III debuted in theaters on March 3.Selena (1997): Biopic starring Jennifer Lopez. It is a celebration of Selena Quintanilla Perez.

March 8

Mortal Kombat (2021): Online game adaptation. It brings collectively Earth’s best champions in opposition to the enemies of Outworld in a high-stakes battle for the universe.

March 19

All of the Magnificence and the Bloodshed (2022): Documentary. It is a deeply private story of photographer Nan Goldin’s life, profession and activism.

March 29

These Who Want Me Useless (2021): Thriller starring Angelina Jolie. A smoke jumper nonetheless reeling from the lives she failed to save from a fireplace comes throughout a traumatized 12-year-old boy.

Learn extra: Best TV Reveals to Watch on HBO Max

Best HBO Max originals and blockbusters

At time of writing, these movies all rating round 65 or greater on Metacritic.

Drama

Warner Bros.

Need to see Austin Butler rock out in a pink swimsuit? How about one of many 89 other costumes the actor dons within the dazzling, jam-packed movie that runs 2 hours and 40 minutes? Directed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, The Nice Gatsby), Elvis is a grand, exhilarating biopic that is all concerning the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In case you did not catch it in theaters, now’s your probability to discover a spot within the crowd.

HBO Max

Steven Soderbergh directs this partaking tech thriller set throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Angela, a Seattle tech employee performed by a neon blue-haired Zoë Kravitz, has agoraphobia, a worry that forestalls her from making it previous the entrance door of her residence. However when she uncovers an unsettling recording whereas doing her job, she’s pushed to make the leap. Kimi is a classy thriller full with eye-catching cinematography, a stable rating and a protagonist you may be rooting for.

Warner Bros.

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After a taking pictures happens at her highschool, 16-year-old Vada Cavell should navigate friendships, faculty and her relationship together with her household. The Fallout skillfully approaches severe material with real looking dialogue and compassion for its characters. With sturdy performances from stars Jenna Ortega, as Vada, and Maddie Ziegler, as her new good friend Mia Reed, the function will hold you glued to the display screen for everything of its 90-minute runtime.

Janus Movies

What can we are saying about acclaimed Japanese drama Drive My Automotive? Properly, it snagged an Oscar for finest worldwide function movie on the 2022 Academy Awards. It is also a three-hour film that individuals are sitting and watching all through, which, to me, speaks volumes. However severely, Drive My Automotive is a robust movie that explores loss and letting go. In case you missed it earlier than the Oscars, stream it now.

Chiabella James/Warner Bros. Photos

King Richard is a feel-good biopic concerning the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. The movie winds again the clock to earlier than the sisters turned family names, giving us a glimpse of their upbringing in Compton and time spent practising on run-down courts with their father, Richard Williams (Will Smith). Satisfied his daughters are going to achieve success, Richard works tirelessly to get their star potential observed by skilled coaches. A sophisticated man with an incredible persona, Richard is fascinating to get to know, and his unwavering perception in Venus and Serena is inspiring.

Scott Free

The Final Duel notably did not win a whole lot of eyeballs when it debuted in theaters in October. Nevertheless it’s on HBO Max now, the place audiences can watch from the consolation of their sofa as Adam Driver and Matt Damon battle it out. Directed by Ridley Scott, The Final Duel is a historic drama set within the Center Ages with an A-list solid that additionally consists of Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck. If any of those particulars pique your curiosity, and also you’re ready to sit by means of its two and half hour runtime, pull out some popcorn and placed on this flick.

Imaginal Disc

A uncommon (these days) 90-minute movie, American Mexican drama Son of Monarchs will stick with you lengthy after the tip credit roll. This deep character research follows two brothers who’re modified in markedly other ways by the trauma they suffered in childhood. This story, folding in magical realism, follows how they transfer ahead in life — the butterfly metaphors are sturdy, with biologist Mendel returning to his hometown surrounded by majestic monarch butterfly forests.

HBO/Screenshot by ClassyBuzz

Primarily based on {a magazine} article by journalist Robert Kolker, this story a few public faculty embezzlement scandal and the scholar journalists who broke the information is charming from begin to end. Allison Janney and Hugh Jackman are nice of their roles as the college officers who took half within the scheme. The drama additionally received the 2020 Emmy award for Excellent Tv Film.

Comedy

Searchlight

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Set on a distant island off the coast of Eire, Banshees is a darkly humorous and heartbreaking drama that is constantly beautiful to have a look at. It is about what occurs after Colm (Brendan Gleeson) abruptly decides to minimize off lifelong good friend Pádraic. Farrell and Gleeson additionally starred collectively in director Martin McDonagh’s debut function, In Bruges.

Father of the Bride (2022)

HBO Max’s Father of the Bride introduces a Cuban American household that features patriarch Billy, a standard man who struggles to digest stunning information from his eldest daughter: She’s met a man, and she or he needs to marry and transfer away with him. The third movie adaptation of a 1949 novel of the identical identify by Edward Streeter, the film is an pleasant iteration that features stars like Andy Garcia and singer Gloria Estefan.

Searchlight Photos

The French Dispatch (2021)

Settle in for an additional eccentric, fantastic-looking function from director Wes Anderson. The auteur behind “Moonrise Kingdom” and “The Grand Budapest Lodge” units his sights on an alluring new story — or reasonably, three. The French Dispatch, dubbed a “love letter to journalists,” takes viewers by means of a triad of separate tales, straight from the pages of a fictional journal. In case you missed this extremely authentic installment when it hit theaters final October, now’s the time to get in on its charming story.

Warner Bros.

A playful comedy set within the ’80s, 8-bit Christmas follows the story of a younger Jake Doyle, a devoted 10-year-old who desperately seeks a Nintendo. The movie is delightfully narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, an older Jake reminiscing on his previous quest to safe the gaming console. Sure, there is a Christmas backdrop to the story, however Jake’s unyielding dedication to his mission, and what he learns alongside the best way, make this cheery function a must-watch even after the vacation season.

HBO Max

Meryl Streep enjoying an eccentric creator in a Steven Soderbergh comedy. What extra do you want to know? In case you do need to know extra: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Hughes (Streep) is struggling to end her subsequent guide, chased by her literary agent (Gemma Chan). She boards a cruise ship with previous mates, who impressed her best-known work. Tensions are sturdy. It appears to be like nice — Soderbergh makes use of crisp, pure mild — and a lot of the dialogue is improvised. See how Dianne Wiest, Candice Bergen, Lucas Hedges and the remainder of the impeccable solid have enjoyable with that.

Documentary

HBO

This charming documentary is stuffed with photos that can follow you. It facilities on two brothers in New Delhi who run a hen hospital devoted to black kites — birds of prey which might be a staple of the sky. The movie is up for finest documentary function on the 2023 Oscars.

HBO Max

Tony Hawk: Till the Wheels Fall Off (2022)

Tune into this HBO doc for the gravity-defying skateboard stunts, a time capsule of the ’80s skateboarding scene, and a model of Hawk you have in all probability by no means seen. We get to know the famend athlete as a lanky, cussed however decided child who adopted his personal skateboarding model. Hawk’s persistence is one thing to marvel at, together with all of the beautiful skateboard strikes this movie packs in. Grasp on for a memorable trip.

CNN/Focus Options

Roadrunner: A Movie About Anthony Bourdain (2021)

This movie about beloved creator, chef and globe-traveling TV host Anthony Bourdain comes from documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville, who additionally directed 2018’s Will not You Be My Neighbor? and the Oscar-winning movie Twenty Toes from Stardom. In interviews with individuals who knew Bourdain, like his mates, former companions and longtime colleagues, the doc tracks his profession path, relationships and private struggles. Bourdain followers and people much less acquainted with the star will possible recognize this two-hour have a look at his life.

Horror

Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Photos

A dinner at an unique restaurant turns from one thing to savor to one thing to survive on this stunning horror satire. Viewers study concerning the privileged visitors eating at Hawthorne as Ralph Fiennes’ skilled chef unveils his fateful menu. Discover your seat for this delectable expertise, which additionally stars Anya Taylor-Pleasure.

twentieth Century Studios

In Barbarian, a younger girl (Georgina Campbell) travels to Detroit for a job interview and discovers her Airbnb has been double-booked. She does not instantly belief the opposite individual in the home (and, honest — the actor, Invoice Skarsgård, seems as terrifying homicide clown Pennywise within the It motion pictures). However you undoubtedly will not predict what occurs subsequent. Barbarian might be discovered on lists of best horror movies of 2022.

Thriller

(*23*)

Common Photos

Final Evening in Soho (2021)

Dreaming of an amazing film night time? Final Evening in Soho, the most recent film from Edgar Wright (Child Driver, Shaun of the Useless) is right here to present. The movie begins within the current day, the place a style-loving Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) units out for the London School of Trend. Finally, sleep transports her to the ’60s, the place she encounters an aspiring singer named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Pleasure). Prepare for thriller, horror and dazzling neon lights.

HBO Max

A brand new Steven Soderbergh film? Aka the nice director behind Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s Eleven and, extra not too long ago, Logan Fortunate? Twists, thrills and determined characters populate this crime thriller set in Fifties Detroit. When a seemingly easy job will get out of hand, a bunch of criminals should work collectively to uncover what’s actually happening. Take within the unbelievable solid: Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm and Amy Seimetz. Whereas the plot generally is a little convoluted and a few will not have the opportunity to get previous the fish-eye lens cinematography, Soderbergh’s humorousness and immersive path make this crime caper an entertaining night time in.

Superhero

Jonathan Olley/DC

Robert Pattinson steps out as Batman on this superhero flick directed by Matt Reeves. The film takes place in a perpetually grey and rain-soaked Gotham Metropolis, the place Bruce Wayne begins to hunt down a assassin with an affinity for riddles. Alongside the best way, he meets Catwoman, performed by a swaggering Zoë Kravitz. Nice scene-setting and storytelling make this a satisfying darkish thriller.

Warner Bros.

Over-the-top violence abounds on this DC movie about supervillains who agree to assist the US authorities in alternate for a while off their jail sentences. Their mission is to destroy one thing alluded to as Undertaking Starfish, harbored within the fictional island nation of Corto Maltese. With a notable solid that features Margot Robbie, Idris Elba and John Cena, 2021’s The Suicide Squad is a wickedly entertaining, darkly humorous massacre that differs from what you often see in superhero motion pictures. (Peacemaker, a by-product TV sequence, can also be accessible on HBO Max.)

Musical drama

Niko Tavernise/twentieth Century Studios

Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of the basic musical has triumphantly leapt and twirled its means onto HBO Max. The movie scored seven Academy Award nominations and Ariana DeBose received finest supporting actress for her function as Anita. Younger Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler) cross paths at a highschool dance and start a forbidden love affair, escalating tensions between two rival gangs. Eye-catching musical numbers and beautiful manufacturing design transport viewers to Fifties New York. The movie darkens in its second half, however with Spielberg on the helm, you may willingly take in all of it.