We’ve got another month of great new movies on HBO Max! The first day of May saw a slew of great movies drop on HBO Max, plus a late April arrival that can’t be skipped. These additions to the library are part of why we think it’s the best streaming service.
So while we round up our list of the best HBO Max movies already out there, we’re taking a moment to browse through our list of what’s new on HBO Max to find the best movies arriving recently. Then we use their Rotten Tomatoes scores to help ensure that your next movie night contains a winner.
The review aggregator provides a numerical score that reflects the critics’ aggregate views. We narrowed our selections to films with ratings of 85% or higher, indicating that they garner a strong consensus among tastemakers.
Here are the most beloved HBO Max movies to stream right now.
Parasite (2019)
Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, was the biggest hit of 2019, as the Korean director reminded movie fans around the world that he is a giant of the art form.
A tale of the class war of two families, Parasite follows the downtrodden Kim family as they find ways to infiltrate the overly rich Park family’s life in their gorgeous modern home. It’s not like the Kim family, which is led by the cunning patriarch (Sung Kang-ho), has many other options. I don’t see you wanting to live a life scrambling to find free Wi-Fi because you can’t afford to pay your internet bills.
But what begins as a wonderful comedy of mistakes and failures turns into a tense nightmare, as the Kims feel very comfortable in their Park home. The discovery of a third family’s involvement in the house leads to more chaos and bloody chaos.
Connect to HBO Max at: May 1
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Type: Comedy / suspense
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Daydream Monogram (2022)
A live-action documentary couldn’t be properly presented with David Bowie – who has gone from Aladdin Sane to The Thin White Duke to Ziggy Stardust and beyond. That’s why we’re happy to report that director Brett Morgen has made Moonage Daydream as fun as Bowie’s own career.
Archival footage and interviews blend with Bowie’s personal poetry and artwork in a video collection. Critics hail Moonage Daydream as a Bowie-worthy experience, as if you were walking into a living museum of his career.
Connect to HBO Max at: April 29th
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Type: Music Documentary
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Calvary (2014)
If you love Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin), you better not sleep in 2017’s Calvary. Father James Lavelle (Gleeson) deals with a very complex situation: the parish’s confession came with a death threat and revelations of rape. This conversation creates uncertainty every moment he shares with his community members, as he tries to figure out who is hunting him.
During Calvary, writer/director John Michael McDonagh’s biggest surprise was the humor used to keep the film from succumbing to its own gloom. It’s skillfully told, and features a great cast including Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aiden Gillen, and Dylan Moran, Calvary is the latest proof that HBO Max knows how to pick great movies.
Connect to HBO Max at: May 1
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Type: drama
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Blue Valentine (2010)
A love story told out of order, Blue Valentine follows the ups and downs of Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy’s (Michelle Williams) relationship. But before you hit the play button, know that this isn’t a first (or second) date movie. Blue Valentine shows how and why their love blossoms and turns sour, all while suggesting that their bond may never be saved.
Brilliant performances by Gosling and Williams were well received, and Blue Valentine drew praise for his relentlessly honest portrayal of Dean and Cindy’s flaws. Dean, in particular, isn’t quite a hero, but Gosling plays him so perfectly that you might end up rooting for him to stop undermining their situation.
Connect to HBO Max at: May 1
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Type: Romance / Drama
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
As Tears Go (1988)
Wong Kar-wai’s first feature film shows Wah (Andy Lau), a Chinese gangster, dealing with far too many small fires to survive in this underworld. Not only does his subordinate (Jacky Cheung) struggle in their line of work, causing trouble for both of them, but the appearance of his long-lost cousin (Maggie Cheung) whom he has never met raises many questions.
While Tears Gone By is clearly the director’s debut work, critics have praised it for the first signs of his signature style and skill.
Connect to HBO Max at: May 1
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%
Type: crime drama
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Paper Moon (1973)
Credited to Paper Moon for how outlandish one can take a premise, con artist Muse (Ryan O’Neal) and a nine-year-old named Addie (Tatum O’Neal) become friends after meeting at her mother’s grave service. The two then travel from Kansas to Missouri, under the premise of bringing young orphan Addie to her aunt’s. Soon, Moses realizes that his little traveling companion is as smart as he is, and the two of them run off together.
Not only was Paper Moon praised for the strong performances of the real-life father-daughter duo, but Tatum also won an Academy Award for her role as Addie. Critics have hailed director Peter Bogdanovich for how the film has so much charm.
Connect to HBO Max at: May 1
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Type: comedy
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon star alongside Marilyn Monroe in this comedy classic. Joe (Curtis) and Jerry (Lemon) are musicians on the run from the mob, who don’t run and become Josephine and Daphne to hide out in an all-female band. But the two still manage to create a complication, as they are both obsessed with Shukr (Monroe), a singer and bassist they meet on the run.
Still worth watching today, some like her Hot Stacks joke on banter as her plot accelerates away on a train to Miami. Lemmon won points with critics for his casting, and director Billy Wilder is credited with how the film remains breezy and entertaining.
Connect to HBO Max at: May 1
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Type: comedy
Stream it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
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