Now that House of the Dragon is over, it can be tough to justify that Max subscription. If you weren’t watching the Game of Thrones prequel, you may have subscribed for any number of other reasons. Regardless of exactly why you decided to pay for the streamer, though, it can be hard to feel like you’re getting your money’s worth out of it.
What you may not know, though, is that Max is absolutely stuffed with great movies, many of which are actually hard to find from the home screen. If you’re looking for a movie to while away Labor Day weekend with, then we’ve got you covered with three titles that perfectly fit the bill.
Need more recommendations? We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best movies on Max.
Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 (2024)
If you missed Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 in theaters, you definitely weren’t the only one, but Kevin Costner’s Western epic is actually worth watching. The film, which was intended to be the first part of an intended four-part story, tells the story of the West in the years immediately before and immediately after the Civil War.
The film itself leaves plenty of plot threads dangling, but it’s hard to deny that Costner is getting the most out of his Western setting, and telling a pretty stirring story about the ways in which regular people uprooted their lives, only to discover that the West was a much crueler and colder place than they had been told.
You can watch Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 on Max.
Wonka (2023)
One of the great surprises of 2023 was that the Willy Wonka prequel movie starring Timothée Chalamet was actually pretty excellent. While it may not have much to do with either previous film incarnation of the character, it’s hard to deny that Wonka is a delight on its own terms, telling the story of Willy Wonka’s battle against a chocolate cartel determined to keep him from selling the chocolate he’s poured his heart and soul into.
Directed by Paddington director Paul King, Wonka is infused with exactly the right amounts of whimsy and silliness, and the songs are much better and more creatively staged than you might expect.
You can watch Wonka on Max.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
If you’re looking for something challenging but rewarding this weekend, then The Zone of Interest may just be for you. Few films are more confrontational than this one, and fewer demand more of their audience. The film is set largely at the house of the commander of Auschwitz, and it emphasizes the point that in spite of his Nazi attire and his haircut, he was living what amounted to a pretty normal live.
He was not some fantastical, cartoonish monster, but an actual person who was charged with the bureaucracy of mass death. In emphasizing the mundanity of the Holocaust, The Zone of Interest is a reminder that Nazis were capable of great evil not because they were inhuman, but because they embodied the worst of humanity: greed, disinterest, and an inability to feel compassion for others.
You can watch The Zone of Interest on Max.