Choosing the best movies on HBO Max is a trip through cinematic history. As one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best streaming services out there, it has a packe༺d catalog that inclu꧂des many of the greatest films ever made.
That's not just hype: HBO Max's stacked library contains all of The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:DC movies, and🤡 the filmography of anime legends Studio Ghibli!
But HBO Max isn't just your destination for old movies. There are plenty of recent releases on there too, including Alex Garland's Civil War and Jane Schoenbrun's mind-bending I Saw the TV Glow. And when you've finished here, check out our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best HBO Max shows for some incredible small screen classics.
10. Civil War
Year: 2024
Director: Alex Garland
Direc🅘tor Alex Garland made a serious return to form with this blisteringly bleak and unnerving portrait of the United States falling into collapse. Kirsten Dunst plays war photographer Lee Smith who is intent on documenting the conflict. Tagging along is Cailee Spaeny as Jessie Collin, a young wannabe who is about to get a first hand look at just how terrifying combat really is.
Shot in an un-showy, matter-of-fact style that only highlights the horror of war, Garland follows these photographers as they wander from location to location. A nerve-shredding encounter with an uncredited Jesse Plemons is the film's most disturbing moment, but another sequence where two opposing sides take pot shots at each other without ever really knowing if they're even enemies is almos🐓t as bleakly memorable.
For more recommendations, read our list of the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best shows on HBO Max to watch right now.
9. I Saw the TV Glow
Year: 2024
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
One of last year's most critically acclaimed films was this eerie sort-of-horror from director Jane Schoenbrun. I Saw The TV Glow is both a loving homage to the golden age of '90s/early '00s teen shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a powerful exploration o꧂f identity. It centers on Owen (Ian Foreman), a lonely teenager who bonds with the older, if similarly outcast, Maddy (Jack Haven) over The Pink Opaque – a Buffy-like series that seems more real that real life to the two. Cut to a few years later and Owen, now played by Justice Smith, is reunited with Maddy who comes with a life-changing message.
I Saw The TV Glow is a tricky film to describe without getting into spoilers, but if you like films and shows that blur the boundaries between fantasy and reality, or metaphysical mysteries like Donnie Darko and Twin Peaks, then this one is very much f♑or you.
8. Barbie
Year: 2023
Director: Greta Gerwig
Despite being massively popular across generations, Barbie dolls🤡 don't exactly have an inherent narrative that you'd think would make for a good film. And yet, Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie (who produced Barbie in addition to playing the title character) pulled off something of a miracle, as Barbie is whip-smart, funny, and tremendously relevant🔯, exploring heavy issues with earnest deftness.
When Barbie starts having thoughts about death and other things that do not belong in the pink paradise of Barbieland, she ventures into the real world (joined by a scene-stealing Ryan Reynolds as Ken). Once there, she discovers🤡 the true complexities ꦚof being a woman, just as Ken learns about the highs and ultimate lows of the patriarchy. Barbie will make you laugh and weep in ways you might not have expected.
If you want a tour of this Dream House of a film, check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Barbie review.
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Year: 1968
Director: Stanley Kubrick
When it comes to filmmaking, few hold a candle to Stanley Kubrick, and few movies have ever managed to achieve both the level of design and scope that the director's '60s sci-fi, 2001: A Space Odyssey, did. Not only does the story ma🔥nag♔e to cover the history of humankind but it shows us the birth of a new species through a mesmerizing plot that reminds you what an outer space epic truly entails – big concepts explored through a big universe.
It's inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's 1951 short story 'The Sentinel' and other works and follows a voyage by astronauts and their sentient supercomputer HAL as they set out to investigate an alien monolith. Throughout its two-and-a-half-hour runtime, we see one of the first films to explore themes of human evolution, technology, and the dangers of AI. 200🐼1: A Space Odyssey helped pioneer special effects in sci-fi and is truly one of the most influential movies ever made.
Read our five-star 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:2001: A Space Odyssey review for more information on this timeless piece of art.
4. Casablanca
Year: 1942
Director: Michael Curtiz
Sometimes, old movies that are widely regarded as 'Great Films' can feel a bit like homework to younger audiences. Rest assured, Casablanca is not that, as the World War II classic above love, loss, and resistance is a thoroughly engaging watch all these many decades later. To watch Casablanca fꦐor the first time is to understand why all those quotes (such as, "Here's lookin' at you, kid") are so iconic.
The film follows Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine, an American expat who runs a bar in the titular Moroccan city, which is under Vichy control as the Nazis have overtaken France. ไThen, of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, his former lover Ilsa (Ingrid🐬 Bergman) walks into his looking for help. Rick must decide if he should follow his heart or help Ilsa's husband, a resistance leader, escape the Germans. It's worth remembering that World War II was ongoing when Casablanca came out in 1942, meaning the outcome of the war was uncertain, adding an extra level of poignancy to the film.
Need more classics in your life? Well, read our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Casablanca review for more insights into this Max gem.
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Years: 2001-2003
Director: Peter Jackson
Yes, including the whole trilogy technically brings this list of 10 movies up to a dozen, but how can you pick just one movie when The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King collectively make up some of the greatest epic filmmaking of all time? I mean, are you actually watching Tolkien if you don't watch all the澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: Lord of the Rings movies in order during a single sitting?
A true adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy saga was once thought unfilmable, but Peter Jackson s𒐪omehow pulled it off. He did this by using cutting-edge special effects, thoughtful adapting of Tolkien's books, an incredible score from Howard Shore, and a fantastic cast whose likes included Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Vigꦓgo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, and many more. Depicting the Fellowship’s quest to defeat the ultimate evil of Sauron by trekking across Middle-earth is an astounding and moving cinematic achievement.
2. The Dark Knight
Year: 2008
Director: Christopher Nolan
The best Batman movie ever made? The best superhero movie of all time? One of the best action films released this century? The Dark Knight is all of the above if you ask us. Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins is nothing short of iconic, from the ﷽outstanding performances to the breathtaking action. Nolan delivered a dark, bold, and mature take on the superhero movie, creating a crime thriller with complex themes and compelling characters.
Everything works to perfection, but the highest praise has to go to Heath Ledger's memorable performance as Joker. Add in Christian Bale's serious Batman, Gary Oldman's cun🌼ning Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman's charismatic Lucius Fox, and Maggie Gyllenh🅺aal's fierce Rachel Dawes, and you have a dreamy ensemble for a groundbreaking, history-making superhero movie.
For more details, read our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:review of The Dark Knight.
1. Spirited Away
Year: 2001
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
In all honesty, this list could probably just be 10 of Miyazaki's movies, and it would still work as a list of the 10 best movies on Max. Bu🀅t as much as Porco Rosso is slept on and worth watching, we'd be kidding ourselves if we put anything but Spirited Away, the greatest of his many great works.
The film follows a young girl named Chihiro who gets trapped in a fantastical world of spirits. Forced to work at an ornate bathhouse run by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro must learn how to find strength within herself if she ever hopes to escape (and to rescue her parents, who have been transformed into pigs). Magical, moving, and absolutely gorgeous, Spirited Away regularly gets named as one of the greatest 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:best anime movies of all time, and for good reason.
For more details on the best HBO Max movie that you can watch right now, read our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Spirited Away review.
For more on HBO Max, check out our handy guides on all the澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询: deals and prices available on the streamer right now and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:how you can watch HBO Max in the UK. Or, if you are after more releases, we also have a list of all the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:upcoming movies heading our way this year.
James is an entertainment writer and editor with more than a decade of journalism experience. He has edited for Vulture, Inverse, and SYFY WIRE, and he’s written for TIME, Polygon, SPIN, Fatherly, GQ, and more. He is based i𓃲n Los Angeles. He is really good at that one level of Mario Kart: Double Dash where you go down a volcano.
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