HBO Max Isn't TV—It's Movie Paradise. Here Are 25 You Should Watch.

Casablanca 1942

Sean's example of the Warner/TCM vault: watch this, King Kong, and Rebel Without a Cause in one night without switching services.

King Kong 1933

Rebel Without a Cause 1955

Singin' in the Rain 1952

2001: A Space Odyssey 1968

Citizen Kane 1941

Dirty Harry 1971

Cited here as a vault title; recommended again at the end as Clint Eastwood pre-gaming before next week's 90th-birthday episode.

North by Northwest 1959

The Maltese Falcon 1941

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948

The Wizard of Oz 1939

Rio Bravo 1959

Aquaman 2018

Part of the DC Universe catalog that lands here under the Warner umbrella.

Wonder Woman 2017

Justice League 2017

Man of Steel 2013

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016

Zack Snyder's Justice League 2021

The 'Snyder Cut,' announced for the service the week before. Sean and Amanda argue the year-out timing is free publicity, not a mistake.

Spirited Away 2001

The whole Studio Ghibli library arrives on streaming in the States for the first time. Sean calls this Miyazaki's best and pairs it with The Wizard of Oz; Bobby puts it first in his queue.

My Neighbor Totoro 1988

Princess Mononoke 1997

Ponyo 2008

One of the Ghibli titles Sean hasn't seen yet and is looking forward to.

Toy Story 1995

Not on the service, invoked to make the Pixar-owes-Ghibli case. John Lasseter was a big Miyazaki fan; watch Spirited Away right after this.

Let Them All Talk 2020

Among the thin slate of HBO Max originals: the new Steven Soderbergh, form still unknown.

An American Pickle 2020

A Point Grey / Seth Rogen picture HBO Max picked up; sounds like a period comedy.

Superintelligence 2020

A Melissa McCarthy comedy directed by her husband Ben Falcone, bumped from last year under the Warner banner.

Unpregnant 2020

Charm City Kings 2020

Picked up out of festivals last year.

The Irishman 2019

Netflix reference points for the same question: will people tune in for a streaming movie?

Marriage Story 2019

Killers of the Flower Moon 2023

This week's news: the DiCaprio/Scorsese adaptation of the David Grann book is going to Apple, distributed theatrically by Paramount, the same everyone's-a-streamer strategy.

Mulan 1998

The Disney+ comparison: a deep catalog of nostalgia you have access to but don't need to watch a fourth time.

The Red Shoes 1948

The Powell and Pressburger backstage ballet tragedy. Sean just rewatched it and pairs it with Whiplash as a dynamite double feature about the cost of being great.

Whiplash 2014

The Damien Chazelle / Miles Teller film, one of his favorites of the last 20 years and the modern-day companion to The Red Shoes.

Armageddon 1998

Once, improbably, a member of the Criterion Collection, never reissued on Blu-ray. Sean will defend it; you know where he stands on Michael Bay.

Sword of Vengeance 1972

The first Lone Wolf and Cub film, 84 minutes, a post-Kurosawa samurai movie whose shogun-executioner-and-child setup reads a lot like The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda.

The Killing 1956

Early Kubrick heist picture with Sterling Hayden. Sean's pairing for fans of Heat.

Heat 1995

The Rewatchables touchstone that sets up the pairing with The Killing.

Network 1976

The Sidney Lumet / Paddy Chayefsky movie: prescient, funny, strange, lots of people yelling, which Bobby notes Sean is fond of.

The Long Goodbye 1973

Robert Altman's 70s noir with Elliott Gould. Sean floats doing a whole episode on it.

Hoop Dreams 1994

The doc that taught Sean a sports movie isn't about sports; he'd just paid for it a la carte before it hit streaming.

When We Were Kings 1996

Raised in the sports-doc Mount Rushmore run, via a Bill Simmons podcast conversation.

O.J.: Made in America 2016

'Watched it last week.' Very powerful, and otherwise an ESPN+ exclusive, now here.

Senna 2010

Asif Kapadia's portrait of the race car driver.

Icarus 2017

Starts like a sports movie and turns into a true-crime story, increasingly the order of the day.

Free Solo 2018

The Endless Summer 1966

The great surfing hybrid documentary.

Beyond the Mat 1999

The late-90s pro-wrestling doc that pulled back the curtain; hard to be a fan after it, Sean says, but very effective.

Shall We Dance 1937

One of the Warner musicals in the deep music-movie collection.

Gold Diggers of 1933 1933

Wattstax 1973

Among the concert films on the service.

Woodstock 1970

Monterey Pop 1968

Which Liz Hannah talked up on the Criterion Channel episode.

Elvis: That's the Way It Is 1970

About Elvis's 70s comeback tour; Sean hasn't seen it since he was a kid.

A Star Is Born 2018

All versions are here, including the Bradley Cooper / Lady Gaga one, a Big Picture Hall of Famer.

The Sea of Grass 1947

First of three lesser-known classics Sean's saving to watch, this one from Elia Kazan.

Countdown 1967

One of Robert Altman's earliest films, a pre-M*A*S*H space story with James Caan.

Keeper of the Flame 1942

The George Cukor Hepburn-and-Tracy picture. Nearly all their movies are on the service.

Pat and Mike 1952

Another Hepburn-and-Tracy title in the vault.

His Girl Friday 1940

Covered earlier in the week; cited for the pitter-patter you find times a thousand in the Hepburn/Tracy films.

On the Record 2020

Their new documentary on abuse of power in the music industry, tethered to the Russell Simmons allegations and centered on Drew Dixon. Oprah and Harpo withdrew and Apple TV+ pulled out days before Sundance; HBO Max picked it up after critics responded strongly to the premiere.

The Hunting Ground 2015

Their earlier film on campus sexual assault. Its reputation opened doors, and it's where Ziering first crossed paths with Rose McGowan.

The Invisible War 2012

Their Academy Award-nominated doc on assault in the military, cited as the through-line of their organic, subject-first method.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion 1970

Kirby Dick's pick for the last great thing he saw: Elio Petri's Italian film on fascism and police power, which he found staggering.