HBO Max is the ideal streamer to find hidden gems that have been largely ignored or unfairly criticized.
Watch With Us has sorted through all the junk and selected three underrated Max movies for you to watch this weekend.
Sci-fi nerds should check out the unsettling Another Earth, while horror fans should stream Hannibal, an unjustly hated sequel to The Silence of the Lambs.
Finally, if you’re a child of the ‘90s or just miss Kurt Cobain, Last Days is here to fill your “Heart-Shaped Box.”
‘Another Earth’ (2011)
Everyone wants a second chance to start over, and that opportunity presents itself to Rhoda (Brit Marling). She was once a brilliant student with a bright future, but she caused a car accident that put a man, John (William Mapother), into a coma and killed his family. Years later, she masquerades as a maid to get close to him, and they begin an affair. He doesn’t know her real identity, and Rhoda is reluctant to tell him. But how can they both heal and move on without facing the reality of their shared past and the uncertainty of their future?
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Another Earth could work as a straightforward drama, but it also has an intriguing sci-fi element that makes it all the more weird — and effective. There’s an additional subplot about another Earth, called Earth 2, that contains alternate versions of everyone on regular Earth. What if John’s family is still alive on that planet? If Rhoda helps him travel to that planet, will she finally forgive herself for the mistake she made all those years ago?
Another Earth is an intriguing sci-fi drama that is more concerned with big ideas and emotions than it is with conjuring distracting CGI visuals. In many ways, the movie resembles genre classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Invasion of the Body Snatchers — sci-fi films with high concepts that explored the flaws of humankind. Like Denis Villeneuve’s masterful and moving Arrival with Amy Adams, it deserves to be appreciated by a wider audience.
Another Earth is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Last Days’ (2005)
Kurt Cobain changed popular music forever, so when he died in 1994, he was already on his way to becoming a cultural icon. The years since have only cemented his legendary status, but aside from a few documentaries, no one’s ever dramatized his life.
Director Gus Van Sant came close with his film Last Days, which chronicles a Cobain-like rock figure as he readjusts to life after spending some time in rehab. At his home in the woods, Blake (Michael Pitt) is visited by several people, including his bandmates and a record executive, all of whom urge Blake to return to doing what he does best — making music and going on tour. But Blake isn’t the same man he once was, and as he wanders around aimlessly, he struggles to find meaning and purpose in his life.
Last Days isn’t a straightforward biopic like A Complete Unknown — hell, it’s not even a traditional movie. The plot is non-existent, with Van Sant more concerned with Blake’s inner state than telling a story with a beginning, middle and end. But it’s successful in capturing the final days of a musician who has lost his way and can’t seem to find the peace that has alluded him. One of the film’s final images, of someone climbing a ladder to leave a place he no longer belongs, is haunting and unforgettable. So is Last Days.
Last Days is streaming on HBO Max.
‘Hannibal’ (2001)
Few films could match the raw power of 1991’s Silence of the Lambs, a groundbreaking horror-thriller that won 5 Oscars and captured the public’s imagination. A follow-up was inevitable, and when Hannibal was released 10 years later, many people were disappointed. It wasn’t quite as good as the original, and the absence of Jodie Foster as Clarice (she was replaced by Julianne Moore) hurt the film. Yet seen today, Hannibal’s flaws are more fascinating than infuriating, and there’s enough weirdness to warrant a watch — and reconsideration.
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Hannibal Lecter’s (Anthony Hopkins) only surviving victim, Mason Verger (Gary Oldman), is hellbent on revenge. Wealthy and powerful, he arranges for Clarice Starling to be reassigned to Lecter’s cold case, hoping to lure his former tormentor out of hiding. The ruse works as Lecter can’t resist reuniting with one of the few people he’s ever connected with. But is Clarice willing to play the lamb to lure Lecter to slaughter? And does Lecter know a bigger game is being played, with him as one of the pawns?
Hannibal is streaming on HBO Max.
