April has been a great month for movie lovers. The Minecraft Movie has grossed millions at the box office, and diverse, thought-provoking films like Warfare, Drop and The Friend have won praise from critics and audiences alike.
If you’ve already seen those movies or just want to stay inside this weekend, don’t worry — there’s plenty to watch on streaming too.
HBO and Max have hundreds of films to choose from, and the three below are all high-quality movies that deserve some attention.
‘Goodrich’ (2024)
Andy Goodrich’s (Michael Keaton) life just took a turn for the worse. His younger wife, Naomi (Laura Benanti), just left him, his art dealing business is failing and his adult daughter, Grace (Mila Kunis), doesn’t like him. But he needs her help to care for his 9-year-old twins, and she needs him to be there for her when she gives birth to her own child. Can an absentee dad and an estranged daughter repair their relationship this late in both of their lives?
Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis Are a Fractured Family Duo in ‘Goodrich’ Clip
Goodrich didn’t get a lot of attention when it was released last year, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good movie. On the contrary, it’s a quietly excellent drama that features some of Keaton’s best acting ever. Kunis is good too, and both actors convincingly portray members of a fractured family who still can’t quite get over their past mistakes.
Goodrich is streaming on Max.
‘A Kind of Murder’ (2016)
Wally Stackhouse (Patrick Wilson) is an aspiring writer fascinated by the recent murder of a local woman. He suspects the woman’s husband, bookseller Mitch Kimmel (Eddie Marsan), is the culprit, and begins stalking him. Meanwhile, Wally’s wife, Clara (Jessica Biel), is found dead nearby the same place Mitch’s wife’s body was discovered. Did Mitch kill both women? Or is Wally looking for the perfect scapegoat for his own crimes?
A Kind of Murder is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1954 crime novel, The Blunderer, and the story is reminiscent of her more famous work, Strangers on a Train, which was about two men linked by the death of one of their loved ones. In this movie, you’re never sure who is innocent and who is guilty, and the last shot of the film makes you rethink everything you’ve just seen. A Kind of Murder is a throwback thriller Hollywood used to make all the time in the ’50s, and its retro kitsch is its chief asset.
A Kind of Murder is streaming on Max.
‘Diggers’ (2007)
It’s 1976, and America is celebrating its bicentennial birthday. For Hunt (Paul Rudd), Lozo (Ken Marino), Cons (Josh Hamilton) and Jack (Ron Eldard), it’s just another year digging for clams in Long Island’s bourgeois enclave. Their families have been doing it for generations, and it’s just a way of life they all take for granted. But when a bad fishing season and the arrival of a competitor threaten their day-to-day lives, the four friends have to make some hard choices about their future.
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Diggers is a shaggy, low-key coming-of-age story about grown men who have refused to grow up and be responsible. This dramedy manages to find some good laughs and thoughtful observations about the difficulties of moving on, and the acting — particularly Rudd as the group’s de facto leader — is good and feels authentic. Diggers may be the only movie about the lives and loves of working-class clamdiggers, and fortunately, it’s a good one.
Diggers is streaming on Max.
