HBO Max original movies stream every year in various genres. They bring novels, stories, and characters a delight to watch.
They bring you tears and joy, make you think, or keep you on the edge of your seat. So enjoy your weekends choosing from the best HBO Max original movies.
Having the best ensemble cast, new actors, and original stories never made before. The content can make you ponder.
Unlike most commercial Hollywood movies, independent films on HBO have unique stories for their audience to enjoy.
So hop on! And take your pick for this weekend.
Let Them All Talk(2020)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Genre: Comedy-drama
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A Steven Soderbergh film starring Meryl Streep. Alice(Streep) plays a Pulitzer-winning author who has a problem traveling alone.
She invites her nephew and two college friends to come along with her. The movie is about art, friendship, relationships, and older women discovering themselves.
She has a complicated relationship with her friend Roberta, who thinks Alice used her details to write the award-winning book.
Alice has a difficult time on the cruise because of Roberta. Roberta steals Alice’s unfinished writing to make a profit, but her friend Karen encourages her to write her book.
It depicts how his success in Alice changed her relationship with her former friends. The three characters are distinct, and the focus is not on Alice alone.
It explores how the women feel about the book and their friends whom they have known for years.
It shows how friendships change with time. The movie’s slow pace helps define every character and their emotions on the cruise.
Kimi (2022)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Genre: Thriller
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2022-released thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh starring Zoe Kravitz. Angela(Zoe) works for a corporation that has created a Kimi product.
Kimi used a human monitoring system to improve its algorithm; hence the incoming data streams are analyzed for errors. Angela is working from home for the company and monitoring incoming data streams for Kimi.
During one phase of her monitoring, she discovers a murder in one of the data streams. She first tries to inform this incident in her office and is discouraged. While waiting to show the evidence to the F.B.I., she is stalked by men in a violent assault.
Zoe’s performance is riveting. A gem that uses Alexa-like technology is named Kimi. It shows how isolated life of Zoe becomes intrusive and precarious with the discovery of rape and murder on the audio tape.
Angela chooses to work from home because she is agoraphobic. She is keen, focused, tech-savvy, and in a moral dilemma.
It conveys the myriad emotions and mental states of Angela, who is already agoraphobic. Now, she has to face a precarious situation leading to trauma, confusion, and chaos.
Unpregnant(2020)
Director: Rachel Lee Goldenberg
Genre: Road comedy-drama
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2020-released road trip buddy comedy based on the novel of the same title. Veronica discovers she is pregnant at the age of seventeen and that she cannot tell her parents. She takes a road trip with her buddy Bailey to Mexico to get an abortion.
Though she has decided to get an abortion, her boyfriend proposes to her when he knows about her pregnancy. A teen movie about confusion, chaos, and many challenging and awkward situations during their trip to New Mexico.
A few characters in the movie are eccentric and about how teen women are struggling to make independent decisions for themselves. The movie has a message with a dash of political and social satire.
The movie depicts many themes and ideologies in a single social template. Though the movie deals with the tricky subject of abortion in a conservative part of America with strict laws against abortion, it has a tone of compassion.
It also shows the different mindsets of the characters they meet during the road trip regarding abortion. While a few do their best to stop them, the others are considerate and helpful. It shows contrasting ideologies of people, which makes the movie convincing.
An American Pickle(2020)
Director: Brandon Trost
Genre: Comedy-drama
Where to Watch: HBO Max
An American comedy-drama movie that depicts how the generation gap, technology, old values, and urban life come together. The movie stars Seth Rogen in a double role of a great-grandfather and great-grandson, both played by him as Ben(young) and Herschel.
Herschel shifts with his family to America in 1919 and works in a pickle factory. He lies brined inside the pickle vat for a hundred years after an accidental fall. Herschel revives the pickle business successfully because he wants to remove the billboard from his family cemetery.
His great-grandson, Ben, is a freelance app developer and is developing an app called Boop Bop. The movie has some instances which seem similar to the movie Chef. However, this movie has more funny moments and quirks.
Ben envies success of Herschel and sabotages his business. The movie has themes of magical realism where Herschel is inside a vat for a hundred years and wakes up like a Rip Wan Winkler.
A movie with a whimsical premise has a lot of depth and blends urban life with old values very well. Ben is passionate about developing the app, while Herschel wants him to continue the family business of pickle making.
Ben and Herschel are personalities apart. Ben is attached to his parents but does not show it, making Herschel assume he doesn’t care about his family. Ben has developed software but is reluctant to sell it. Hershel is making money and getting popular, making pickles.
Herschel only gets popular dealing with every impediment. Moreover, Herschel has a better work ethic, whereas Ben is doubtful and passive-aggressive. Their contrasting personalities add interesting elements to the plot.
Locked Down(2021)
Director: Doug Liman
Genre: Romantic-comedy-heist
Where to Watch: HBO Max
An American rom-com heist film starring Anne Hathway, Ben Stiller, and Ben Kingsley, amongst others. Linda(Anne) and her husband Paxton are separated. However, Paxton gets the delivery truck driver job because of his record.
Linda is a C.E.O. of a fashion company and plans a heist with her separated husband to steal a million-dollar diamond and replace it with a fake.
Linda and Paxton, who were previously separated, decide to stay together to execute the planned heist. They also team up with a former employer at Linda’s company in their plan.
Linda and Paxton are personalities apart. Linda is a cool, calculative company executive. Paxton has been on the rough side, is rugged, and brutish but with the heart of a poet. The movie has cringe-worthy monologues. But it portrays the frustration and angst of dealing with a lockdown at its best.
The story seems stagnant and cloudy in places. The lockdown has made their relationship even worse, full of spiteful conversations.
The blood-thumping curiosity and anxiety are missing from a movie about the heist. It also lacks craftiness and thrill, an essential condiment of a heist movie.
There are a few funny instances, but the movie also deals with escapism and has an easygoing approach for a heist movie. The light-hearted treatment eliminates the thrill and anxiety of a heist plot, but all that is depicted about being locked down is relatable.
Jack Snyder’s Justice League(2021)
Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Superhero
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2021-released superhero film from the D.C. universe. The film has D.C. superheroes such as Batman, Wonderwoman, Cyborg, Aquaman, The Flash, and Superman, who battle against Steppenwolf and Darkseid. They fight to obtain and guard the Mother Box.
The Amazonians and Superman together form a team of superheroes to battle Steppenwolf. This movie is slightly different from the 2017 installment and has subplots. It is extended to four hours, split into six chapters.
It has more humor and violence. The first Snyder movie was Man of Steel, followed by Batman Vs. Superman, which got a mixed response but was a fresh take on superhero movies. The 4-hour movie has detailed characterization and an expanded story of the original plot.
The movie has a host of superheroes, but too many cooks do not spoil the broth. Each chapter depicts the resentment and mental and emotional challenges the characters had to go through. Cyborg’s story is especially compelling and does not have the same elements as other stories.
For a host of superheroes and their stories, the movie does not seem clamored. It Is interesting to watch for four hours because of its depth, stories, and characterization.
The Fall Out(2021)
Director: Megan Park
Genre: Drama
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2021-released drama movie that stars Shailene Woodley in a supporting role. The movie deals with how a teen copes with a school shooting and how it affects her life and relationships. Vada is a high school student who witnesses a school shooting while she is in the bathroom.
It shows the state of mind and constant panic that Vada is put into. She has messed up relations with numerous people, not finding a meaningful and fulfilling relationship. It shows how the lives of teens are destabilized when such incidents occur on a seemingly normal day.
Since the incident, Vada is hiding in the bathroom when the shootout occurs and dreads going to the bathroom. School seems unbearable to Vada after this incident, and she is unable to cope with it despite having supportive friends who can cope better.
To cope, Vada and her friends use drugs and experiment with sex, making matters even worse. None of the adults in their lives, such as their parents, are helping them deal with trauma and come out of it.
The movie depicts what emotional and mental changes teens go through when they experience tragic events such as school shootings. It shows the emotional fallout the teens experience as a result of dealing and coping with this tragedy.
The Witches(2020)
Director: Robert Zemeciks
Genre: Supernatural comedy
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2020-released supernatural comedy starring Anne Hathway and Octavia Spencer based on Ronald Dahl’s novel of the same name. Anne Hathway plays the Grand High Witch, the powerful, evil witch leader. She transforms young children into rats.
Charlie, who lives with Agatha, is made aware that witches are real and how to recognize them. Charlie, Bruno, and Alice, who are turned into rats and a chicken by the witches, decide to destroy them.
The film creates enough tension and striking visuals for a gothic comedy. The first half is a visual treat but cannot compete with its second half. Ronald Dahl’s depiction is not used to its best to create a compelling template for a witch story.
The film is a visual treat with highly stylized characterization, making it an enjoyable watch for audiences of all ages. The movie is visually innovative and interesting to watch. Anne Hathway’s performance is outstanding.
No Sudden Move(2021)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Genre: Neo-noir, crime, thriller
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2021-released neo-noir crime thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. The movie has a crisp ensemble cast, and the story depicts the characters’ ulterior motives. A heist film that gives the feel of Ocean’s Eleven.
Two hitmen are recruited to watch over a family and one other Charlie is sent to the office of the head of the family to retrieve a document that costs a million dollars. The noir story seems to be a straightforward heist with lots of twists and turns.
This is a rare Soderbergh film made in the old-fashioned styled thriller and deals with themes of corruption and racism.
The characters are cluttered, and the film’s story is complex. You can enjoy watching the movie best when you watch it scene by scene instead of making sense by connecting the dots.
The Father Of The Bride(2022)
Director: Gaz Alazarki
Genre: Romance comedy
Where to Watch: HBO Max
A 2022 remake of the original movie of the same name with different characterization. The movie is also based on a novel of the same name and stars Andy Gracia and Gloria Estefan. This is the third version of the original film that was first made in the 50s.
Billy(Andy) is a Cuban-American and a renowned architect. He is on the brink of his divorce from his wife, Ingrid(Estefan), but they put it on hold because of the marriage of their daughter, Sofia. Sofia learns later that they have been hiding the news of their divorce from her, and she is irked.
Through all the chaos and confusion of the wedding ceremony, Billy and Ingrid rekindle their romance. The movie depicts conflicts, traditions clash, awkward situations, and obligations faced during the wedding ceremony.
It depicts the bittersweet emotions of the families, generational gap, and ideological differences that come with a sense of pride and some bit of loss.
Steve Martin’s Father Of The Bride had a waspy tone portraying Steve as a whining father who is possessive about his daughter. The character of Billy is not in any way similar to that of Steve in the previous version.
Billy is traditional, set in his ways, uncompromising, and obstinate. He considers his daughter’s emotions less and is solely focused on having a Cuban-styled traditional marriage. Sofia’s in-laws are Mexicans which is the point of conflict between the families.
Billy is not struggling to arrange his daughter’s wedding, unlike Steve, because he is wealthy. The movie also has a warm and humorous tone, making it a better version of the movie with quirks and bittersweet moments.
Featured Image Source: EO