{"id":833023,"date":"2026-07-30T08:03:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T08:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/833023\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T08:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T08:03:18","slug":"hbo-max-best-movies-best-films-to-stream-on-hbo-max","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/833023\/","title":{"rendered":"HBO Max best movies: Best films to stream on HBO Max"},"content":{"rendered":"

The depths of winter demand a night in with a great movie. The problem? Choice paralysis. Every streaming platform has thousands of films available. To cut through that, here are 30 great hand-picked movies on HBO Max right now. Don\u2019t have HBO Max? Check out our guides on Netflix<\/a>, Stan*<\/a> and Amazon Prime Video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"We\u2019ve<\/a>2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)<\/p>\n

Stanley Kubrick<\/a> changed the course of science-fiction with this humanity-spanning saga of a mission to Jupiter where \u2013 in an all too timely twist \u2013 human deception runs afoul of the spacecraft\u2019s thwarted artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

Acute Misfortune (2018)<\/p>\n

Australian actor and director Thomas M. Wright made the leap from stage to screen with this reinvention of the biopic<\/a>. The story draws blood as the relationship between a leading artist (Daniel Henshall) and a journalist (Toby Wallace) spirals.<\/p>\n

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)<\/p>\n

Great fun and splendidly made, this is the epitome of swashbuckling Hollywood adventure with a showcase performance from Errol Flynn as the heroic outlaw fighting oppression and infuriating his foes.<\/p>\n

\"HughHugh Jackman and Allison Janney in Bad Education.Bad Education (2019)<\/p>\n

The best Hugh Jackman<\/a> performance you haven\u2019t seen. In a drama based on real events, the Australian star and Allison Janney play lauded school district officials whose success masks a secret uncovered by a student journalist.<\/p>\n

Beetlejuice (1988)<\/p>\n

Few Tim Burton movies have more of his idiosyncratic DNA than this afterlife comedy about a pair of inept new ghosts (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) whose attempts to haunt their home\u2019s new owners unleashes a spectral maniac (Michael Keaton<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"JulieJulie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise.Before Sunrise (1995)<\/p>\n

Rife with telling talk and \u2013 increasingly \u2013 loaded glances, this twenty-something romance between an American tourist (Ethan Hawke<\/a>) and a French traveller (Julie Delpy) unfolds over an evening together in Vienna. Their connection is everything.<\/p>\n

Best in Show (2000)<\/p>\n

Christopher Guest and his band of comic sparks \u2013 Eugene Levy, Catherine O\u2019Hara<\/a>, Parker Posey and more \u2013 delivered one of the great mockumentaries in this haywire collection of human contestants at a prestigious dog show.<\/p>\n

\"EricEric Bana in his breakthrough role as Mark \u201cChopper\u201d Read. The movie won three AFI Awards, including Best Director and Best Actor.Chopper (2000)<\/p>\n

Eric Bana<\/a> completely disappeared into the role of notorious convicted criminal Mark Brandon Read for a crime drama that laconically demystifies the legend and applies a pitch-black humour to the bloody record.<\/p>\n

Conspiracy (2001)<\/p>\n

Told from the minutes of their planning meeting, this historic drama stars Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci<\/a> as the Nazi officers who implemented Hitler\u2019s Holocaust. It is a procedural portrait of unchecked evil, with a matter-of-fact monstrousness.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Neill and Nicole Kidman in movie Dead Calm.Dead Calm (1989)<\/p>\n

Alone in the Pacific Ocean, a grieving couple (Sam Neill<\/a> and Nicole Kidman) and their sailing boat are invaded by a stranger (Billy Zane) from a sinking ship. It\u2019s a terrific thriller, of compressed physical space and emotional tenacity.<\/p>\n

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)<\/p>\n

When a Brooklyn bank robbery unfortunately becomes a siege, the two fledgling criminals (Al Pacino and John Cazale, equally brilliant) succumb to paranoia and street oratory. It is a riveting, tragic farce.<\/p>\n

\"Timoth\u00e9eTimoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Zendaya in Dune: Part Two.Dune: Part Two (2024)<\/p>\n

The cinema has never had a director whose image-making works on the scale of Denis Villeneuve. His space opera of rebellion<\/a>, led by Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s conflicted young prophet, has an otherworldly physicality and bitter repercussions.<\/p>\n

The Dry (2021)<\/p>\n

Set in a rural town beset by drought and a senseless crime, Robert Connolly\u2019s distinctly Australian thriller<\/a> has a twisty plot and palpable themes, as Eric Bana\u2019s long-gone investigator returns to the place that still haunts him.<\/p>\n

Escape From New York (1981)<\/p>\n

With Kurt Russell as the sardonic anti-hero \u201cSnake\u201d Plissken, this dystopian action film imagines New York\u2019s Manhattan Island as the biggest maximum-security jail in America. If you want an American Mad Max, this is it.<\/p>\n

\"LukeLuke Wilson in the comedy Idiocracy.Idiocracy (2006)<\/p>\n

Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge was 20 years early with this satire, where an everyman (Luke Wilson) emerges from 500 years in hibernation to discover America is a dumbed-down, corporatised mess with a pro wrestler elected president.<\/p>\n

Klute (1971)Editor’s pick\"Lola<\/a><\/p>\n

Jane Fonda rightfully won a best actress Oscar for this gripping psychological thriller, playing an escort at risk after reluctantly helping Donald Sutherland\u2019s private eye with a case. The film\u2019s commentary on self-deception, pleasure, and performing are wholly contemporary.<\/p>\n

The Lego Movie (2014)<\/p>\n

The mini figures bring maximum laughs in this madcap animated comedy<\/a> that turns the \u201cchosen one\u201d movie trope into a riot of blocky visual gags, pop culture riffs, and choice tunes. A genuine hit that\u2019s fun for all ages.<\/p>\n

The Maltese Falcon (1941)<\/p>\n

This is the perfect introduction to Humphrey Bogart. In this film-noir classic, complete with sharply acidic dialogue, he plays a cynical private eye navigating a clique of duplicitous fortune seekers chasing a priceless statue.<\/p>\n

\"ProductionProduction has been suspended: Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving in science fiction film The Matrix.The Matrix (1999)<\/p>\n

Made in Sydney and by the brain-bending imagination of the Wachowskis, this gravity-defying science-fiction epic was cinema\u2019s perfect goodbye to the 20th century, with Keanu Reeves<\/a> as the human rebel fighting against a machine-run future.<\/p>\n

Mulholland Drive (2001)<\/p>\n

A David Lynch mystery that demands to be watched and refuses to be solved, this menacing neo-noir thriller stars Naomi Watts as an innocent amnesiac seeking an identity amidst a coolly surreal Los Angeles. A truly beautiful nightmare.<\/p>\n

\"MurielMuriel and the bridesmaids from hell in Muriel’s Wedding.Muriel\u2019s Wedding (1994)<\/p>\n

With Toni Collette as the hopeful heroine, this crowd-pleasing comic-drama<\/a> shows how female friendship is more resolute than romantic fantasies. An Australian classic full of colour and vernacular, this helped reset Australia\u2019s movie boundaries.<\/p>\n

One Battle After Another (2025)<\/p>\n

A hapless former revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) tries to rescue his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti) from a US Army nut job (Sean Penn) in Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s visually charged, blasphemous ode to love and defiance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"PaddingtonPaddington Bear and friend in the delightful Paddington. Paddington (2014)<\/p>\n

Finding empathy (and marmalade) at every turn, this benchmark family film<\/a> follows the misadventures of a gentle Peruvian bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) newly arrived in London. It\u2019s both great fun and a great advocate for community togetherness.<\/p>\n

The Prestige (2006)<\/p>\n

Of all Christopher Nolan\u2019s puzzle-box movies<\/a>, this is the under-appreciated marvel. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians in 19th-century London in a story where artistry is a curse and performance eventually a death wish.<\/p>\n

\"HughHugh Jackman and Christian Bale in the Christopher Nolan drama The Prestige.The Searchers (1956)<\/p>\n

Director John Ford and his leading man John Wayne were foundation stones of the western genre and this is their most unyielding collaboration. Wayne\u2019s stoic Civil War veteran returns to conflict when his niece is kidnapped by Native Americans.<\/p>\n

Singing in the Rain (1952)<\/p>\n

Another Golden Age Hollywood classic, this one a musical set during the transition from silent films to the talkies. Co-director Gene Kelly is at the centre of a satirical plot filled with romantic longing, effervescent songs, and timeless choreography.<\/p>\n

\"SinnersSinners is a vampire horror set in Jim Crow-era America.APSinners (2025)<\/p>\n

Never less than deeply felt, whether as a supernatural thriller, celebration of music, or remembrance of African-American endurance, Ryan Coogler\u2019s horror blockbuster<\/a> doubled Michael B. Jordan\u2019s charisma by having him play twins opening a Mississippi juke joint.<\/p>\n

Temple Grandin (2010)<\/p>\n

Claire Danes\u2019 ability to lose herself in a role has never been more illuminating than it is here, playing the titular real-life autism advocate whose humane 1960s inventions changed the livestock industry. The movie\u2019s depiction of Temple\u2019s senses is vivid.<\/p>\n

\"VictorVictor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot in Tim Burton\u2019s Corpse Bride. Corpse Bride (2005)<\/p>\n

Given this is a gorgeously macabre stop-motion animation about a young man (Johnny Depp) who accidentally marries an undead woman (Helena Bonham Carter) and runs with it, you could probably guess that Tim Burton was involved.<\/p>\n

Weapons (2025)<\/p>\n

With a Russian doll storytelling structure that tells you just enough to increase the suspense, Zach Cregger\u2019s supernatural mystery turns the nocturnal disappearance of a primary school class into a sustained expression of mordant wit and folk terror.<\/p>\n

All information correct at July 2026. *Stan is owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead. <\/p>\n

Want more TV? We\u2019ve got you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The depths of winter demand a night in with a great movie. The problem? Choice paralysis. Every streaming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":833024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,134,344],"class_list":["post-833023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}