HBO Max may be one of the newest platforms to enter the streaming world, but already it’s one of the best. Not only does the service offer a ton of exclusive content related to its hit properties — like Game of Thrones, The Wire, and The Sopranos — it also has a ton of fantastic films strengthening its online catalog.
Thanks to HBO’s partnerships with standout companies and networks like TCM, Studio Ghibli, and DC, the service has an absolutely stacked selection of films you’re able to choose from.
Whether you’re in the mood for a classic black and white monster movie from the ‘30s, a beloved anime film from Hayao Miyazaki, or a recent blockbuster from this past summer, there’s no end to the number of great films you’re able to choose from.
From universally praised films like The Silence of the Lambs and The Terminator to celebrated modern films like Birdman and Swiss Army Man, here are some of the best films you can find currently streaming on HBO Max.
Updated: February 10.
Drama: Birdman
With the Academy Award season on the horizon, now is as good a time as any to revisit some of the past films to win the Oscar for Best Picture, including Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2014 masterpiece, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
Trying to reestablish himself as a serious stage performer, a washed-up superhero actor (Michael Keaton) directs and stars in a theatrical Broadway show, facing intense professional scrutiny and personal issues along the way.
Keeping in line with its theatrical settings, Birdman is unique in that many of the scenes are shot using uninterrupted takes, allowing the actors a chance to truly embody their characters and deliver more naturalistic performances. Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Zach Galifianakis all provide some fantastic acting, but it’s Keaton alone who shines bright at the center of the film as a thinly-veiled version of himself.
Comedy: Swiss Army Man
The Daniels are one of the few directors who have managed to achieve mainstream fame early on in their career with their breakout, Everything Everywhere All At Once. With all the critical accolades that film has garnered, there’s no better time than the present to watch the duo’s first collaboration with the absurdist comedy, Swiss Army Man.
Marooned on a desolate island by himself, lone survivor Hank (Paul Dano) is overjoyed to find the body of a deceased man (Daniel Radcliffe) who — despite being dead — proves to have many uses that aid in Hank’s survival.
From its strange plotline, quirky humor, and underlying cathartic moments, Swiss Army Man is a movie that could’ve only been dreamed up from the joint imagination of the two Daniels. Humorous, bizarre, and unbelievably original, it’s the perfect demonstration of their obvious talents, making for an incredible double feature after watching Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Sci-Fi: The Terminator
As he’s raking in millions at the box office with his latest endeavor, Avatar: The Way Water, it’s also worth noting the number of other films that James Cameron has created over the years, many of which have earned a firm place in pop culture. As great as Aliens or Titanic are, few movies are as universally synonymous with Cameron’s name than his 1984 classic, The Terminator.
Sent from an apocalyptic future where machines have risen against humanity, a lone soldier (Michael Biehn) fights to protect a single mother (Linda Hamilton) whose unborn child is destined to lead mankind to final victory.
As with Cameron’s previous work on Aliens, the genius of The Terminator is how immaculately it combines horror and sci-fi, mixing the two together into one nightmarish cocktail. Fans can spend days and nights arguing over which is better, The Terminator or its sequel Judgment Day, but there’s no way you can deny The Terminator’s place as one of the best science fiction films of all time.
Romance: Crazy, Stupid, Love
When his unhappy wife (Julianne Moore) decides to leave him, a despondent middle-aged man (Steve Carrell) receives dating advice from a young Lothario (Ryan Gosling) who takes him under his wing.
In the early 2010s, Steve Carrell was still coasting off the success and popularity of The Office. In the years that followed his departure from the series, Carrell wisely decided to look into more dramatic roles, hoping to distance himself from the lovable oaf, Michael Scott.
One of the first movies Carrell appeared in after his Office exit interview came with Crazy, Stupid, Love. A supremely entertaining romantic comedy, it includes plenty of tender and comedic moments between its main cast (most especially Gosling, Moore, and Emma Stone). But even more than that, it illustrated Carrell’s ability to take on more serious roles — even if he still employed a decent amount of light-hearted humor with this film.
Action: GoldenEye
Uncovering a terrorist plot to seize control of a weapon orbiting the planet, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) learns that the leader of the terrorist organization is a former MI6 agent with close ties to 007’s past (Sean Bean).
The reason James Bond continues to stand the test of time is how successfully the series manages to adapt to its time period and the interests of its audience members, as seen with Pierce Brosnan’s first outing in GoldenEye.
Abandoning the less well-received elements of the Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton Bond films, GoldenEye once again established James Bond to the forefront of the espionage genre (if only temporarily). Returning to the more grounded narrative of the early Sean Connery days, it’s an action-packed, gritty spy thriller that marked a major return to form for 007.
Thriller: The Silence of the Lambs
Few films are as authentically chilling as The Silence of the Lambs. A police procedural thriller in the same vein as Zodiac or Se7en, The Silence of the Lambs treads more fully into the horror territory than any of its successors, rightfully earning the Oscar in all five major categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay).
Desperate to catch a serial killer (Ted Levine) wreaking havoc across the country, the FBI sends rookie agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) to interview the infamous, psychopathic murderer, Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins), to gain insight on a killer’s mindset.
It’s almost difficult to narrow down why The Silence of the Lambs is fantastic in a mere paragraph. The writing, cinematography, and music alone create a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, made all the better by some stellar acting from Foster, Hopkins, and Levine.
Sports: The Wrestler
It’s perfectly understandable if professional wrestling isn’t your cup of tea, most people not placing it in the same category as other popular sports like football or baseball. Still, even those who dislike wrestling are able to enjoy The Wrestler, a sobering sports drama that leaves you with a renewed respect for the sport and all those who participate in it.
Facing mounting health crises, an aging wrestler (Mickey Rourke) tries to leave his professional career in the ring behind and reconnect with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood).
We’ll warn you ahead of time: The Wrestler will probably be one of the most chilling and downright tragic films you’ll ever see. Drawing on elements of his own personal life and career, Rourke is gut-wrenching in his portrayal of the lead character, a man who has given everything to the fans at ring-side, leaving absolutely nothing for himself in the process.
Horror: Sleepy Hollow
The last great film of Tim Burton’s early career, Sleepy Hollow is an imaginative adaptation of Washington Irving’s famous short story. Utilizing an aesthetic and set design reminiscent of ‘50s Hammer Horror films, Burton strikes gold with his take on Irving’s tale, handing in a film as grim and Gothic as some of Burton’s best movies (Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd).
After a string of brutal beheadings wracks the superstitious inhabitants of an upstate New York village, a New York police constable (Johnny Depp) is sent to investigate, putting his innovative forensic skills to the test.
To be sure, Sleepy Hollow lacks the same sentimentality of Burton’s other films (Edward Scissorhands, in particular); but what it lacks in emotion, it makes up for with its impressive set design and palpable mystery, resulting in a film that’s as fun to look at as it is to actually watch.
Classic: Blow-Up
By the mid-1960s, the cinematic world was engulfed in a wave of socially conscious thrillers that made everyday subjects into vast conspiracy theories. A decade before this niche subgenre became commonplace, influential director Michelangelo Antonioni released Blow-Up, a thriller that channels all the telltale elements found in a Hitchcock movie.
Randomly photographing two lovers in a park, a London photographer (David Hemmings) starts to believe that he’s unknowingly documented a murder with his camera.
Blow-Up may be only marginally well-known in the States, but its immediate influence on the world of 1970s and ‘80s film is evident in everything from The Conversation to Blow-Out. Along with other counterculture films of its era, it’s a movie that also helped put an end to the restrictive MPAA code that had dominated the film industry for the past several decades.
Underrated: Mars Attacks!
With an armada of spaceships arriving from Mars, the humans of Earth arrange a peaceful meeting between themselves and their intergalactic visitors, only to find the Martians are far more hostile than they initially believed.
Mars Attacks! probably ranks as one of the more disappointing Tim Burton films in the director’s body of work. (After all, a Burton adaptation of the fan-favorite Mars Attacks! playing card game seems like it would make for an ideal fit.)
As underwhelming as the entire film is, there are still some elements of Mars Attacks! that make the film generally entertaining, from its massive ensemble cast (Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pam Grier, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Natalie Portman, and Michael J. Fox) to its macabre dark humor.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Richard Chachowski is a freelance writer based in New Jersey. He loves reading, his dog Tootsie, and pretty much every movie to ever exist (especially Star Wars).