45 Of The Best Movies To Stream On HBO Max In March

Winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014, 20 Feet From Stardom turns the spotlight on the backup singers that made some of rock and roll's biggest hits so unforgettable. It's fascinating to hear the perspective of vocalists like Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, and Judith Hill whose huge talents have mainly been used to support huge stars instead of being heralded in their own right. In interviews with backup vocalists and the rockers they lifted up, you get a full, before unseen picture of the politics and workings of the recording industry, and gain a whole lot of respect for the unsung performers who make it all happen. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Before leaving Grey's Anatomy and getting barred from the industry, Katherine Heigl had a thriving film and television career. Who knows how far the butterfly effect could have reached? Perhaps we'd be living on Mars or would have solved global warming. But it would have all been crowned by 27 Dresses, a perfect romantic comedy that proved the TV magnate was compelling enough to turn the phrase "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride," into a two hour romp grossing well over $150 million. James Marsden charmed as a wedding reporter (lol) and Malin Åkerman was perfect as Heigl's bratty little sister, a trope I will never tire of.

Watch it on HBO Max. 

It's rare to find a romance that ends with what I'd call a "twist," but that's part of what made Atonement — both the 2001 book by Ian McEwan and the 2007 film adaptation — so popular. Full of intrigue and tragedy, it most notably brought Saoirse Ronan to the scene as meddling little sister, Briony, and gave us Keira Knightly in yet another period piece, but wearing THE green dress. The most incredible dress that has ever dressed. James McAvoy...is also there. But it's Ronan and Knightly that bring the drama to life. Petition for them to costar again soon. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

"I love Batman Begins because it's the story of how Batman began," is a refrain you'll hear from me all the time. While it might sound like a bit, I really mean it. I love this movie for explaining to me — someone who was extremely uninterested in any kind of superhero movie until I *eye-roll* decided to become a Nolan completist over quarantine — how this sad little prince became the king of vigilante justice. Kicking off the trilogy that changed comic book movies...forever? Batman Begins, with Christian Bale at its helm, brought us a Bruce Wayne that's as tortured as he is slick with a voice so gravelly and unnatural it goes beyond cool into funny and then somehow back to cool again with every word. Thanks to this film, which by the way features SO many actual bats, I'm fully in my Batman Era. I hope you join me. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

The Jennifer Coolidge renaissance is upon us, and Best in Show should be a required rewatch for all. This iconic mockumentary about a dog show and its, erm, unique human entrants is one of the best by director Christopher Guest — how could a premise like that miss? It's co-written by Eugene Levy whose Schitt's Creek moment seems to be never-ending, and to top it off, Catherine O'Hara plays his wife here as well. The late Fred Willard as commentator Buck Laughlin is one of my favorite comedy performances full-stop, and *checks notes* show dog Exxel's Dezi Duz It With Pizaz is nothing short of breathtaking as Coolidge's dog Rhapsody in White the Standard Poodle. 

Watch it one HBO Max. 

When a group of androids known as replicants escape their space colony and come back to earth, retired "blade runner" Rick Deckard is tasked with hunting them down. But as they're nearly indistinguishable from humans and are even programmed to have memories, it's a difficult task, and one with a thin ethical line. Though there have been many cuts of the film over the years, this one is the version which director Ridley Scott had final say over, making it the definitive version in the court of public opinion. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Every time The Bodyguard crosses my mind, it's a run-don't-walk situation to rewatch it yet again. We love when a pop star turns to acting, and we love it even more when they without question pull it off. Whitney Houston as Rachel Marron, the pop sensation under threat, is radiant and perfectly cast. I should not believe that she falls for her titular bodyguard Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner) who is an orange juice-loving, katana-collecting weirdo, but I do  every time hook, line, and sinker. Before seeing it, I knew The Bodyguard was a beloved romance and the reason we have the definitive recording of "I Will Always Love You," but nobody prepared me for the campy intrigue, cowboy bars, and a climax that's set at the Academy Awards. Gold!

Watch it on HBO Max. 

What a directorial debut for John Singleton who earned a Best Director nomination as well as a Best Screenplay nomination at the 1991 Academy Awards for Boyz n the Hood. It opens in 1984 in South Central Los Angeles, introducing us to Tre as he's raised by his father (Lawrence Fishburne) and gets into trouble, both innocent and sinister, with his friends. We then flash forward to 1991 as Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) tries to make his way out of South Central, witnessing as Doughboy (Ice Cube), Ricky (Morris Chestnut), and the rest of his community is affected by gang violence. A jaw-dropping start to Singleton's stunning career.  

Watch it on HBO Max. 

I'm a huge fan of the year 2008, so it stands to reason that I'm a huge fan of Cloverfield — what I remember as one of the biggest movies of the year. It brought the found footage trend kicked off by The Blair Witch Project and continued by Paranormal Activity out of the woods and the home and into the streets of New York to its logical end — an apocalyptic alien invasion. If you just saw The Batman and loved the look, great news. Director Matt Reeves was also at the helm of Cloverfield working in a similar style. Though packed with breathless running, fruitless strategizing, and some well-designed aliens, the stand-out moments are the flashbacks — it's been 14 years since I first saw this movie and I still can't look at a ferris wheel without a tear coming to my eye. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Clueless is fully back in the cultural conversation, but did it ever really leave? Loosely based on Jane Austen's Emma, it follows Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) as she socially navigates high school as a kindhearted if overbearing popular girl in Beverly Hills. Stacey Dash plays her best friend Dionne who IMO has the best style in the movie, and Brittany Murphy plays Tai, a "tragically unhip" new girl at school who Cher gives a makeover. The fashion is *chef's kiss*, especially watching it in a time when every single outfit could be photographed at fashion week and be considered the coolest thing there. 

Watch it on HBO Max.

Prince of the African nation Zamunda, Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) wants to shirk the tradition of arranged marriages and find someone who loves him for him, even without the money and titles. How? You guessed it: coming to America, where he tries to live a normal life in New York City along with his assistant and friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall). A smash hit, in Coming to America Murphy is as charming as a prince as he is as a janitor at a fast food joint, and it's wonderful to see someone who was already so popular still firing on all cylinders at the height of his stardom. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Crazy Rich Asians wins my award for "new movie that became a comfort watch the fastest." I truly cannot count the number of times I have watched this, especially during quarantine when designer clothes, parties on skyscrapers, and multi-million dollar weddings were things that sounded even more incredible and out of reach than usual. If you're not already all-in on Henry Golding, Constance Wu, and Gemma Chan, get with the program! It's far past time to hail them as some of the best in the game, and having the trio all in one movie is a treat that I'll enjoy over and over forever. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

As someone who has lived on the property of an inn where I worked for the summer, I can confirm that there *was* indeed a movie's-worth of drama going on behind the scenes. It was NOT as sexy as it looks in Dirty Dancing, but hey, Patrick Swayze wasn't there and that's what movies are for anyway. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is spending the summer with her family in the Catskills when she meets and falls in love with Johnny Castle (Swayze), the resort's dance instructor. Her parents don't approve, so it's a summer of sneaking around for the two, whose romantic summer full of adventure and dance lessons (lol) is not to be missed. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Adapted from Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name, Drive My Car follows fictional director Yūsuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) as he stages a production of Uncle Vanya in the wake of his wife's death and the relationship he builds with his chauffeur, a young woman named Misaki Watari (Toko Miura). Like a Murakami work, the film is long (coming in at about three hours) but fully engrossing, and is a frontrunner for this year's International Feature Film Oscar (and an unlikely, but not out-of-the-question, possibility for Best Picture). A thrilling breakthrough for a foreign-language film, and a triumph for anyone who sees a shiny red car and thinks "cool" (me). 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Let me first say that I was not a Dune fan before seeing the 2021 film adaptation, but since convincing myself to see it, despite not being a sci-fi fan generally, I have chanted “DUNE, DUNE, DUNE” at least once a day simply remembering the blessed experience of viewing it in the theater. The story, which is ultimately a sweeping political drama, is great, but what brings the movie home are the technical feats: spaceships and planets and even giant worms all rendered with such verisimilitude you can’t help but believe for a moment that they’re real, organic things, and seat-shaking sound that, I’d put good money on winning an Oscar soon enough. Lil’ Timmy Chalamet gave it his all in this one, and continues to convince me that maybe he’s just as great as we collectively believe, and Oscar Isaac delivers another stunning performance that gives me big, stupid heart eyes every time he’s onscreen. I am desperately looking forward to the next installment where we are promised more than seven minutes of Zendaya and someone riding the damn worm. Heaven.

Watch it on HBO Max. 

On paper, an adaptation of The Scarlet Letter set in a 2000s high school sounds like a horrible idea, but in reality, it was a wildly beloved movie and a launchpad for one of the most in-demand stars of the following 10 years. I guess that's why I'm not a Hollywood exec! Emma Stone is emblematic of 2010s snark as Olive Penderghast, a teenage nobody who suddenly gains a lot of attention when she lies about losing her virginity. Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci are a true power couple as Olive's supportive parents, and Amanda Bynes is a joy to behold as evangelistic mean girl Marianne Bryant. Who knew one unassuming comedy could hold so many iconic performances in amber?

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Everyone loves to be like, "what bad contract sealed the deal for Anne Hathaway to be forced to do Ella Enchanted?" I think that's ridiculous. You're telling me perma-theater kid Annie Hathaway wasn't champing at the bit to do a FULL rendition of "Somebody to Love" in front of a green screen so it looks like she's in a bar for giants while wearing medieval clothing? Yeah right. This is a soft, comfortable movie and one that should be treasured, yes, for Anne at her silliest and hence best, but also for baffling appearances by Minnie Driver and Cary Elwes — three people who seem to be all in on this movie for children that mysteriously works for me. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Jessica Chastain's version of "Jesus Keeps Takin' Me Higher and Higher" has been stuck in my head for what feels like eternity, and I'm not that mad about it. As famed televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, Chastain is campy and bright, and while her physical transformation is at the forefront of the conversation around her Oscar-nominated (TBD on Oscar-winning) performance, it's the outrageous amount of energy she's able to sustain that I find most impressive. While I wish the script lived up to what Chastain was bringing to the table, it's worth witnessing this performance, which earns the spotlight it gets though the film, and will certainly be at the top of her resume for some time to come. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Even as a Ryan Reynolds skeptic, I had a good time watching Free Guy, in which an NPC (Non-Playable Character) named Guy (Reynolds) gets wise to the fact that he's in a video game and works with game designers in the real world to help take down the eccentric billionaire who threatens to delete his city. If "brain off" entertainment is what you crave, absolutely put this on and enjoy the world-building, fun graphics, Jodie Comer rocking an American accent, and even a bit part from my king Channing Tatum. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Wes Anderson's latest curio is a love letter to the press, and is told in a series of vignettes — each a story from the final edition of The French Dispatch after the sudden death of its editor (Bill Murray). It's, of course, Andersonian in style, meticulously colored, timed, and crafted, but it's impossible to say he isn't getting even better over time, if the balance of precision and storytelling is our measure. And with a knockout cast, including many of his long-time collaborators, as well as new faces among his work like Timothée Chalamet, The French Dispatch is another bright feather in Anderson's cap. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Ice Cube and Chris Tucker star in this iconic comedy as Craig and Smokey, unemployed friends who need to get $200 one Friday to pay off a local drug dealer before the end of the night or face deadly consequences. With a huge cast of characters, never-ending jokes, and a truly incredible soundtrack, Friday is a must-watch. And thanks to a knockout script from Ice Cube and DJ Pooh backed up by big performances we got two sequels with a reported forth coming this year. I mean, Friday birthed "Bye, Felicia." How much more influential can you get? 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

I'll admit to having a soft spot for all of the Harry Potter movies (Fantastic Beasts does not exist in my perfect little world), but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is in my opinion among the best. It marks the series's transition toward more adult themes, going so far as to depict the first onscreen death in the series to great effect. There are hormones in the air at Hogwarts as our favorite students enter their forth year. Everyone's hair looks truly terrible, and the Triwizard Tournament brings a ton of fun new characters into the mix — a recipe for teenage angst, which is often when HP is its most enjoyable. Robert Pattinson also graces this installment, delivering one of his best performances to date as Cedric Diggory and setting him up for a fruitful career — something we should all be thankful for. 

Watch them on HBO Max: Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Deathly Hallows: Part 2. 

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When music superstar Grace Davis (Tracee Ellis Ross) decides she wants to record a new album instead of taking Vegas residency as is expected of an aging pop star, her assistant Maggie Sherwoode (Dakota Johnson) aims to trade in taking coffee orders for producing Grace's new songs to start her own music career — a far from welcome idea, especially to the rest of Grace's team. It's obviously fascinating to see Ross portray a huge music star, as her mother Diana Ross must have offered at least *some* inspiration. Johnson plays the part of cool music producer well, bringing an organic feel to what could've been a too-shiny movie. Touching, quick, and full of great looks, I highly recommend The High Note for a Sunday afternoon watch. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

It's difficult for me to overstate how much joy I felt watching The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, which was one of the first movies I saw in theaters after a year and a half break during quarantine. Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, and Ryan Reynolds are entertainers in their purest forms, and this silly vehicle is just what I needed to remember that movies are Good, and life is vastly enhanced when you can tune out and just vibe for two hours. As for plot, the title says it all, and expanding on it here would distract from the point: brain empty, movie fun. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Lin-Manuel Miranda's first — and Best New Musical Tony Award–winning — Broadway effort is brought to the screen in this recent film version, which has Anthony Ramos starring as Usnavi, successfully filling the big (like, clown-size big) shoes of Miranda's originated role. We hang a while at Usnavi's corner store in Washington Heights, where we meet everyone in the neighborhood — from his abuela ("She's not really my abuela, but she practically raised me, this corner is her escuela"), cousin Sonny, and other local business owners and their families to Usnavi's longtime crush, Vanessa — all of whom are pursuing their big dreams. 

Watch it on HBO Max.

"Hold on to your butts," indeed! No time like the present to watch Laura Dern as a paleobotanist tend to an ill triceratops and love every minute of it. It's hard for me to watch the first hour of Jurassic Park without wishing it could stay tranquil forever, that Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern) could just vibe and say "this park rocks," to get funding for their research. But famously, nothing gold can stay, chaos ensues, and it's all thanks to that pesky Newman. Classic. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Steven Soderbergh's latest Kimi follows Angela (Zoë Kravitz), who is working for a tech company monitoring issues on Alexa-like devices when she hears something she wasn't supposed to while checking an audio stream. Confirming that avoiding smart home products like the plague was a good move on my part, Kimi takes on big tech, surveillance, and the social effects of the pandemic and packages it as a very watchable thriller. But above all, shout out to Angela's blue hair, which I firmly believe is some of the best ever committed to film. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Will Smith's portrayal of Richard Williams, father and coach of tennis superstars, Venus and Serena Williams, has generated endless Oscar buzz this season. And for good reason. He fully transforms without crossing into caricature and without the use of too much makeup (as is so prominent these days), delivering the kind of solid performance Academy voters and viewers simply love. Aunjanue Ellis is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Brandi Williams, and delivers a strong performance I only wish there was more of. If you're wanting to catch this heavily nominated movie before the Oscars on March 27, you're in luck, as it's on its way back to HBO on March 24. 

Watch it March 24 on HBO Max. 

Based on a true story of French medieval nobility, The Last Duel is the story of a Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) who is accused of assaulting Jean's wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Told in sections from all three of their points of view and culminating in the titular duel, the film is a gruesome show of patriarchy, but nevertheless a story well told. The choice to let the actors keep their own accents was honestly a treat since the "British accent no matter where this historical drama is set" move needs to end and literally nobody needs to watch half-baked French accents for two and a half hours. I like to picture Ridley Scott deciding to skip accents in this movie while going all in on accents in House of Gucci just as a lil' experiment to see which was better received this year. Mmmm I think the winner is clear. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

The romantic comedy proved itself to be alive and well in 2019 with Long Shot, in which struggling journalist Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogan) is hired by his former babysitter, long-time childhood crush, and oh yeah, current Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) as a speechwriter during her run for president. Part globe-trotting romp, part political satire, part tender-hearted romance, Long Shot is one of my favorite movies of the past few years. I love Theron in a drama as much as the next person, but it's equally wonderful to see her at the helm of a comedy and fully pull it off. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

36 years after the first Mad Max movie was released and 20 since the last installment, co-writer and director George Miller brought back the beloved franchise after decades of development. Popular with moviegoers and critics alike, Mad Max: Fury Road delivered manic energy of the first films times one million, as the jump in image quality in the time since the last films were released makes the brilliant stunts all the more spectacular. Essentially one long chase scene in a post-apocalyptic world where water and gasoline are the most vital and most scarce assets, Fury Road is literally a nonstop ride packed with some of the most impressive effects I've ever seen, most of which are practical as opposed to CGI. Fury Road is a triumph, and while we always knew it was a small miracle that it existed, the newly released Kyle Buchanan book about its production Blood, Sweat, and Chrome confirms it. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

The newest from populist horror wizard James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious), Malignant was one of the most talked-about horror releases of the past year, inspiring literally everyone who saw it to text all of their friends about the twist. It opens with Madison (Annabelle Wallis) realizing that the recurring dreams she has about grisly murders are happening in real life. And the rest? It just needs to be seen to be believed. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

The amount of movies, shows, and clothing that wouldn't exist had The Matrix not been made is nearly infinite, as it's hard to think of a more influential movie from this time period. Fully encapsulating the '90s in all of its leather-clad, big computer, tiny sunglasses glory, The Matrix offered up huge questions about free will, identity, and technology to society and boy oh boy did we gobble them up, sometimes coming to the wrong conclusion (lookin' at you "men's rights activists"). The Wachowskis' greatest work is ripe for revisitation, and I feel like I always notice a new detail every time I watch it. While the rest of the trilogy — well, now a quadrilogy I suppose with the new release of The Matrix: Resurrections — can sometimes feels like it veers too drastically between philosophy and action, the balance is struck perfectly in the first, where moments like "There is no spoon," and, "I know kung-fu," live in perfect harmony. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

The first in a long string of hits by Christopher Nolan, Memento set audiences up for more of what was to come is his career by playing with timelines, half-told stories, and memory. Guy Pearce plays Leonard, a man with severe short-term memory loss who is attempting to use his (presumed) routines, Polaroid photos, scrawled notes, and tattoos to help him gain enough new information to solve his wife's grisly murder. Told simultaneously backwards and forwards, the script feels like a feat of engineering as well as writing, alternating between color and black-and-white sequences in each respective timeline. But even with such intricacy, Memento is very watchable (those who have avoided Nolan since Inception, do not be afraid) and captivating performances by Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss as potential love interest Natalie, and Joe Pantoliano as a hang-around friend Teddy will make you stick around even if you lose the thread. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Want to pregame for the upcoming release of The Lost City? Regardless, it's always a treat to return to the early days of Sandra Bullock as one of our greatest comedy screen presences, whose physical comedy and wryness first *really* put on display in Miss Congeniality we still crave two decades later. Delivering "I'm not like other girls" like no one else can, it seems we're collectively not annoyed by this movie, which has undercover F.B.I. agent Gracie Hart teach us that smart women with brown hair can be nice AND pretty...with the help of a group of beauty professionals that are literally militarized. It's far from revelatory, but it is a good time, and one that gave us a suite of rom-com goodness from Bullock in its wake. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

If you're a young person who hasn't seen Moonstruck, I NEED you to stop what you're doing and turn it on immediately. Nothing could prepare me to see Cher and Nicolas Cage — two icons who could not be further apart categorically in my brain — together romantically. Cher plays Loretta Castorini, an Italian-American widow who finds herself in a pickle when she falls hard for her fiancé's hot-headed younger brother Ronny. Quite often, I quote this movie saying, "Yes, John Anthony Cammareri, I will marry you, I will be your wife," in a line read from Cher that alone could have won her the Oscar. I have no notes.

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Watching My Cousin Vinny is an exercise in control, as every time Marissa Tomei is offscreen, you will be tempted to do anything you can to bring her back, and fast-forwarding begins to sound like a viable option. Of course Joe Pesci is also great as smooth-talkin' lawer (kind of) Vinny Gambini. With Tomei as his girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito they're an absolutely perfect pair. But once you see Mona Lisa in all of her early '90s glory, you never want to let her out of your sight. This is far from an original thought. Tomei won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the role, a feat for a performer in a comedy, and incredibly well-deserved. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

It's incredibly important to me that Bradley Cooper look worse for wear for at least 20 minutes of every movie he's in from this point forward, as Nightmare Alley firms my belief that shiny Coop isn't always the most compelling. The opposite is true for Cate Blanchett who is at her sleekest as Dr. Lilith Ritter, a psychiatrist who uses her understanding of human behavior to questionable ends. Come to Nightmare Alley for co-writer and director Guillermo del Toro's signature macabre style and stay for the promise of Cooper with dirt on his face and Cate Blanchett playing a true dame. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Until I saw A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time last year, I never totally believed that Freddy Krueger was actually scary. His weapons of choice at first glance seem thoughtless and thrown-together. His outfit is very silly — autumn stripes and a fedora? OK. "Freddy" is the name of a child, and kind of a wimpy one at that. And then the movie started. It opens with Freddy crafting the claw glove hybrid — a detailed affair that involves a lot of filing, dripping water, and synthesizers — and within two minutes there's no way not to be like "...yeah, fine, that would really hurt." And hunting you in your dreams? That's just not fair. But I will finally admit, it is scary, and a must-watch. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Director Cameron Crowe's reputation for saccharine work, especially in his later films, proceeds him, so I didn't expect to love Say Anything... for its grounded character work, nuanced take on familial relationships, and a depiction of that weird summer post-high school and pre-college that rings true. If you only know Say Anything... from its meme-able boombox-over-the-head moment, expect way more than overwrought romantic gestures. Prepare instead for a movie that interrogates the parent-child relationship and has an oddly compelling subplot about tax evasion, along with John Cusack and his mumbliest, of course. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

Running into your sugar daddy *and* your ex-girlfriend while at a shiva with your whole family is a nightmare situation that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies, and Shiva Baby plays it with all of the tension and, frankly, horror it can muster. Coming in at a tight 80 minutes, it packs a wallop in a short amount of time, and fantastic performances from Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, and Polly Draper are a masterclass in knowing glances ripe with personal history. 

Watch it on HBO Max.  

My personal favorite of Hayao Miyazaki's films, Spirited Away is about 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino (Rumi Hiiragi in the film's original Japanese, Daveigh Chase in the English dubbed version) who enters a spirit world and must work in a bathhouse after her parents are turned into pigs, hoping to free her them so they can all make their way back to their normal life. It would be disingenuous of me to say that I totally understand what Spirited Away is about since, although technically made for the young, Miyazaki's work is so rich with symbolism it can be difficult to nail down. And that's a good thing — the feeling you get from watching this, and his other films, is profound, and I find always lends itself to a great discussion with whoever I watch them with. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

The newest from Christopher Nolan, Tenet is yet another take on temporality, this time proposing a world in which some people and objects move backwards in time. At least...I think. I could be wrong, and honestly, that's fine. I'm not watching Tenet to ace Nolan Physics 101. I'm watching because an action slash drama with an over-the-top budget and barely any CGI (yes, they crashed a real airplane into a real hangar) is a beautiful thing, especially with relative newcomer John David Washington and the always enigmatic Robert Pattinson at the helm. Tenet may not have gotten the super wide theatrical release the studio was hoping for (though it was still a fair showing considering the circumstances), but it's absolutely worth watching now. And if you don't think you'll be a fan, I encourage you to remember almost all of the effects are done in-camera — it's a feat of craft, and truly cool to see. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

My friends love to make fun of me for loving this movie about siblings who return home for a week to sit shiva for their recently deceased father, but they will never be able to convince me that a movie in which Adam Driver dates Connie Britton is not worth watching over and over again. "Dysfunctional family stuck at home together" is one of my favorite genres (see also: The Family Stone, Dan in Real Life), and one with this much of an all-star cast is almost too much for me to handle. Look no further for a movie to smash play on if you're interested in Rose Byrne as an ice skater with an American accent, Jane Fonda as a mother with a secret, and Kathryn Hahn generally. 

Watch it on HBO Max. 

While there has been much debate over whether a West Side Story remake was actually necessary for the year 2021, I'd like to believe Spielberg's struck a perfect balance of finding the "new" in this classic, while maintaining its original charm. Also, it gave us some of this year's most exciting performances, notably Rachel Zegler as Maria and Ariana DeBose as Anita, in an Oscar-Nominated as well as Golden Globe- and SAG-winning turn. Mike Faist as Riff is also a standout, and his jumpy, unpredictable energy is hard to tear your eyes away from, even in huge numbers where everyone is giving it their all. 

Watch it on HBO Max.