With The White Lotus season 3 completed, HBO has two hit shows premiering this weekend: The Last of Us season 2 and Hacks season 4. The former set viewership records on its way to becoming a beloved video game adaptation. The latter recently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
While HBO continues to dish out great television, the movie library on Max isn’t too shabby. Blockbusters like The Lord of the Rings and DC movies are fun, but you can find some underrated hits within each genre. Try something new this weekend and give one of these three movies a shot.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Greenland (2020)
Greenland is another example of “Gerard Butler channeling his inner 1990s action hero to save the world.” Instead of defeating another man, Butler tackles one of his biggest obstacles yet: Mother Nature. Humanity’s time is limited after a world-destroying comet hits Earth’s atmosphere.
John Garrity (Butler), his estranged wife (Morena Baccarin), and his son (Roger Dale Floyd) must reach an evacuation flight that will take them to an underground bunker in Greenland. The clock is ticking because people will fight (and kill) their way into that bunker. Good luck stopping Butler in a scrap.
Stream Greenland on Max.
Y2K (2024)
Nostalgia is a powerful drug. In Y2K, Kyle Mooney travels back to 1999 and reminisces about the year 2000 problem in a horror-fueled comedy. It’s New Year’s Eve in 1999. Best friends and social outcasts Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) decide to crash the popular high school party so the former can talk to his crush, Laura (Rachel Zegler).
When the clock strikes midnight, anarchy ensues from an unlikely source: technology. The sentient creatures — essentially anything electronic — go on a killing spree and take over the town. The remaining survivors must work together to end the Y2K event before AI becomes the dominant race. If anything, Y2K will further your appreciation for Fred Durst.
Stream Y2K on Max.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Robert Eggers is a master of worldbuilding. He’s a meticulous filmmaker who puts so much thought and care into every frame. The Lighthouse is arguably his most divisive film. Admittedly, two men working at a New England lighthouse in the 1890s isn’t the most invigorating premise.
However, Eggers blends multiple genres — horror, psychological thriller, and comedy — into a gripping meditation on isolation and the human psyche. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, the lighthouse keepers, fully commit to the roles of two men descending into madness. Additionally, The Lighthouse has some of the best cinematography and production design from that year.
Stream The Lighthouse on Max.