The Best Movies on HBO Max

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 North by Northwest and Poltergeist to celebrated modern films like A Christmas Story Christmas and Nobody, here are some of the best films you can find currently streaming on HBO Max.

Updated: November 23.

Family: A Christmas Story Christmas

Over thirty years after the events of A Christmas Story, a now-adult Ralphie (still played by Peter Billingsley) returns to his hometown of Hammond, Indiana with his wife (Erinn Hayes) and kids in tow. Reuniting with his family and childhood friends, Ralphie tries to celebrate Christmas the same way his father had decades prior, realizing it’s a lot more effort than he ever imagined.

A Christmas Story is an undisputed classic of the holiday season. It’s a movie that’s meant to be watched and enjoyed every time the tree goes up and the lights are hung from the front porch. With how loved A Christmas Story is, it's only natural for people to raise their eyebrows at the idea of a proposed sequel — a movie that could never live up to the original film.

And yet, while A Christmas Story Christmas doesn’t quite match the quality of the first film, it still does a great job following in the footsteps of the family-favorite holiday film. Starring most of the original cast, it’s a cathartic follow-up, focusing on a parent’s efforts to celebrate Christmas with their kids while remaining in touch with the memories of their own childhoods.

Comedy: Ingrid Goes West

Aubrey Plaza is one of the bravest actors working today. Never one to turn down a meaty role, she’s willing to tap into some off-beat energy not many actors can convincingly play. Case in point with Ingrid Goes West, a dark comedy satire that sees Plaza take on her most nuanced character yet.

Ingrid (Plaza) is an impressionable young woman who forms unhealthy attachments to social media personalities. After becoming drawn to influencer Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), Ingrid travels to Los Angeles, stalking Taylor in the hopes of becoming her new best friend.

A satirical send-up of social media and influencers’ lifestyles in general, Ingrid Goes West explores the inherent issues that come with social media apps in general, especially the effect it has on certain people’s minds. Plaza knocks it out of the park in her lead performance, portraying an incredibly tragic character who only wants gratification from her idols — only to realize in the end how hollow and unfulfilling such a resolution really is.

Drama: While We’re Young

As we prepare for the astounding Noah Baumbach’s latest film (White Noise) on Netflix, we’re afforded some ample time to revisit any one of Baumbach’s previous films, like the touching 2014 comedy drama, While We’re Young.

Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are a middle-aged couple who are growing bored in their marriage. Meeting the younger couple of Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried), the four become close friends, Josh and Cornelia’s own marriage slowly changing — perceivably for the better.

Nobody wants to get old. We associate it with slowing down, with boredom, with our dreams dissipating before our eyes. But While We’re Young teaches us aging is only in our minds, and that we are still capable of having happy, productive lives if we want to. It’s a simple, positive message behind a powerful film — funny, heartfelt, and genuine, like virtually all of Baumbach’s films so far.

Horror: Poltergeist

The Freeling family moves into a new home in the suburbs of California. Before very long, their youngest daughter (Heather O'Rourke) begins to experience supernatural happenings in the house, and is eventually kidnapped by sinister spirits who transport her to another realm.

Up to the 1980s, the haunted house film had become hammered down by cliches and stereotypes. For example, haunted mansions were either covered in cobwebs and long since abandoned, or were isolated in the remote mountains of Colorado or on a mysterious lone hill people were afraid to venture to.

But Poltergeist changed all of that, reinventing the genre and making it startlingly more realistic than most films that came before it. Here, the ghost-populated house wasn’t in the hills or mountains, it wasn’t covered with dust or falling apart from neglect. It was a gleaming new house in the ‘burbs — just like the millions you pass on the way to and from work.

It ushered in the idea that ghosts weren’t strictly found in derelict houses, but could be found in any common household, terrorizing a family not unlike your own.

Superhero: Shazam!

Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a young orphaned boy who is bestowed magical powers from the legendary wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou). Now able to transform himself into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi), Billy must accept the responsibilities of herodom when he is menaced by a mad scientist (Mark Strong).

By the end of the 2010s, the DCEU was in complete shambles, having failed the moment they tried to build an extensive cinematic universe with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By 2019, it seemed like fans would never see a genuinely decent superhero film that lived up their expectations.

But then, just like when they seemed ready to give up, Shazam! came and blew everyone’s minds. Like the similarly surprising Marvel hit, Guardians of the Galaxy, it came out of nowhere, winning audiences over with its more comedic approach, especially when compared to the more mature tone of practically every other DC film.

Crime: The Departed

As epic a crime film as it gets, The Departed is the movie that won Martin Scorsese his first Oscar after over 30 years in the film industry. It was a long time coming, but it’s no surprise that Scorsese won for a high-caliber movie like The Departed.

Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an aspiring police officer sent undercover to infiltrate Boston’s Irish Mafia, headed by the erratic gangster Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). What Billy and his superiors don’t know is that Costello has his own mole within the police force (Matt Damon), the two spies trying to discover the other’s identities.

With an ensemble cast that includes Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Vera Farmiga, The Departed is a winding epic loaded with plot twist after plot twist. The performances are believable, the cast stacked, the morality ambiguous, and the story sweeping enough for the film to land on numerous critics’ top ten lists for 2006.

Thriller: North by Northwest

Alfred Hitchcock will forever be known as the king of the thriller genre. And with movies like North by Northwest, it’s easy to see how he earned that title. In Hitchcock’s fourth and final collaboration with Cary Grant, he builds a palpable suspense film that combines laughs, love, and action to dazzling effect.

Roger Thornhill (Grant) is a successful advertising executive who is mistaken for a secret agent by a shadowy spy ring. Fleeing from New York, Thornhill is pursued by the spy ring and the police, meeting a mysterious woman (Eva Marie Saint) who agrees to help him.

The best thing that can be said about North by Northwest is that it’s a far less serious film than most other Hitchcock pictures. Relying on plenty of comedic moments, it seems almost like a parody of a spy film, laying the stylistic groundwork for similarly-kitschy espionage movies like the Sean Connery Bond films. But every once in a while, when the movie does slow down and get serious, it instantly commands your full attention — the famous crop-duster scene being a great example of this.

War: Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

As the Napoleonic Wars rage in Europe, a British Navy captain (Russell Crowe) pursues a larger, more formidable French vessel around the coast of South America, doing everything he can to stop the ship from reaching the Pacific.

On paper, Master & Commander doesn’t sound like it would appeal to a mass audience — being perhaps more tailor-made for history buffs or viewers used to the slow pace of lengthy epics like Lawrence of Arabia or The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

But if you give Master & Commander a chance, you likely won’t be disappointed. Relying on a far more realistic pitch to the seafaring genre, it’s an intense and claustrophobic chase film sadly overshadowed by the magical realism of Pirates of the Caribbean, released around the same time. Drastically underrated upon its release, a sequel has been teased on and off over the years, but no matter what, at least we have this hidden gem to return to again and again.

Action: Nobody

Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is a meek family man trying to live an ordinary life. After an incident on a bus sees him beat up several would-be attackers, he and his family are targeted by an infamous crime boss (Aleksei Serebryakov), forcing Hutch to rely on instincts long since held dormant.

Bob Odenkirk has had a long and varied career over the years. Initially starting off in comedy, he made his name based on the success of HBO’s Mr. Show. After that, he broke out as a more dramatic actor thanks to his starring roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Now, with Nobody, Odenkirk stretches his acting chops even further, diving into the action genre and transforming himself into an unlikely yet wholly believable action star. One part History of Violence, one part John Wick, Nobody is just one more example of Odenkirk being able to take on any genre he chooses. What’s next, I wonder? Horror, sci-fi, romance? Only time will tell.

Underrated: Richard III

Putting a distinctive spin on classic Shakespearean text is a common trait for modern productions of the Bard's plays (just look on National Theatre Live and you’ll see dozens of them). Decidedly less common is using that same spin for film adaptations of Shakespeare’s work — 1995’s Richard III being a notable exception.

As the War of the Roses dies down and the House of York cements its hold on the English throne, the scheming Richard Gloucester (Ian McKellen) begins to systematically betray his own family in the hopes of securing the monarchy for himself.

Ditching its original historical setting of 15th century England for the 1930s United Kingdom, Richard III reimagines the tyrannical titular villain as a fascist leader, gradually using lies, violence, and manipulation to cheat his way to the crown. It’s a bold and visionary film, perfectly preserving Shakespeare’s dialogue, hammering home how timeless the writer’s work is regardless of its settings or presentation.

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.

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