From Criterion Collection favorites to Warner Bros.’ biggest blockbusters, we name the must-see movies that aren’t just Batman vehicles. This month, we’re recommending Kubrick’s 2001, the Studio Ghibli movies, Akira Kurosawa’s underrated best movie, George Clooney and Al Pacino movies you never saw, plus one of Spike Lee’s best movies ever.
From Criterion Collection favorites to Warner Bros.’ biggest blockbusters
In recent years, the streaming giant that is Netflix has shifted away from licensed movies, new and old, to become a monolithic hub of original content. In turn, room opened up in the click-and-watch galaxy for a service for film fans. Enter: HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s amalgamation of Warner Bros. titles, Turner Classic Movie gems, the Criterion Collection, and HBO’s own licensed library.
There are a lot of movies on the platform, and more than just a slew of Batman vehicles and LEGO-themed adventures. Where to start? Knowing that 1600-plus titles will always offer something for everyone, the Polygon team has rounded up a few of the best movies to start with, no matter what your tastes.
In 2010, George Clooney starred as an aging assassin ready to hang up his scope. Very few people saw the movie, and based on the movie’s “D-” Cinemascore in exit polls, those who did were caught off guard. Instead of a slick, Bourne-esque espionage thriller, The American was a Euro-mood piece in which photographer-turned-director Anton Corbijn descended deeper and deeper into Clooney’s ice-cold gaze. Set in Rome, the film is steamy and noir-ish, finding exhillariation in the assassin’s attempts to complete one last job with as little emotion as possible. But for all the seriousness and atmosphere, there’s still a pulpy, page-turner quality to the film’s second half — think of the whole packaeg as Bond for the art house crowd. —Matt Patches
The Don Bluth classic that everyone assumed would go to Disney Plus — since it’s owned by the Walt Disney Company’s newly acquired 20th Century Studios — is actually on HBO Max! But let’s be clear: Anastasia is not a Disney Princess. Anastasia tells a fictionalized version of the Russian Revolution, in which it was not communism but a necromancer who threw over the imperial regime, and follows the youngest Romanov princess as she rediscovers who she is. Animation fans should come for the sweeping ballgowns and musical coming-of-age story and stay for the hottest animated guy in existence: con man Dimitri, voiced by John Cusack. There’s also a talking bat! —Petrana Radulovic
Joel and Ethan Coen’s first movie, the sharp neo-noir Blood Simple, is a much more straight-faced genre exercise than their more playful and satirical later films, from Fargo and The Big Lebowski to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. But it has a distinctive and personal dark-comedy streak, and it’s still terrific. Initially just the story of a jealous, jilted husband (Dan Hedaya), a cheating wife (Frances McDormand), and a private detective (M. Emmet Walsh), Blood Simple piles up the twists as everyone goes for the backstab, the cover-up, or the safe full of money. Arguably, this is the world’s wryest movie about the importance of communication in relationships — particularly communicating things like “I am afraid you have murdered someone, and I would like to talk about it.” —Tasha Robinson
A true indie horror from 1962, well before indie horror was an immense and thriving subgenre, Herk Harvey’s dreamy oddity Carnival of Souls reveals its Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge bona fides early on, as a Kansas woman (Candace Hilligoss) impossibly survives an accident with no memory of how she did so, and abruptly goes on to make a new life as a church organist in Utah. That intro may seem a bit disjointed, but it’s clear enough why, as phantasms start to haunt her and her life begins to seem unreal. Carnival feels more than a little like an old-school Twilight Zone episode, but its spectacular, unreal imagery (shot at an abandoned theme park) elevates it into something haunting and immersive, and Hilligoss’ performance really brings across the story’s nightmare qualities and thrilling sense of dread. —TR
Detective Pikachu manages to capture what we love most about the world of Pokémon. It’s not the battles or cool moves — it’s that these little creatures live alongside humans and can be their best friends. The plot of the movie is straightforward, with a twist most people saw coming, but it’s full of heart and the very essence of the Pokémon world. Ryan Reynolds voices the frantic Pikachu, who accompanies Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) on his quest to find his father. Kathryn Newton plays determined reporter Lucy, whose partner Pokémon is a delightfully confused Psyduck. —PR
Warren Beatty directs and stars in this adaptation of Chester Gould’s famous comic strip, and takes its elements to the next level. Every color pops, the villains are covered in prosthetics that make them look as though they’d jumped off the page, and the characters sing songs written by Stephen Sondheim. As Tracy, clad in his trademark yellow fedora and coat, pursues gangster Alphonse “Big Boy” Caprice (Al Pacino), he comes across such figures as Breathless Mahoney (Madonna), a singer and a key witness to Caprice’s crimes; Flattop (William Forsythe), a hitman who literally has a flat top to his head; and Pruneface (R. G. Armstrong), a crime boss whose face is nothing but wrinkles. The whole movie is similarly outsized and colorful — and unforgettable for it. —Karen Han
Before David Lynch was a stay-at-home weatherman, before he changed the face of television with Twin Peaks or gave the world a bunch of cringe-inducing, profane Dennis Hopper catchphrases with Blue Velvet, he launched his film career with 1977’s staggeringly surreal Eraserhead, a labor of love made over the course of years, whenever Lynch was able to put together money to work on it.
