Two months ago, HBO Max consolidated with WarnerMedia’s other streaming services, Cinemax and Discovery+, and relaunched as simply Max (we’re still confused by the change also, and yes, it’s still a search engine nightmare). And with that official launch came a plethora of great movies and TV series, with something to offer for everyone.
As the summer approaches its end, this continues to hold true. There are several great and beloved titles coming to the service in August, whether you’re a lover of classic cinema, blockbusters, or enjoyable genre fare. Here are some of the best titles coming to Max in August 2023.
Before Midnight (Aug. 1)
In the indie film circle, few trilogies and romances are as beloved as Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. Each installment is set and filmed between a nine-year interval and tracks three different time periods in a blossoming romance between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy). While the first two installments, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, are still absent from Max, the trilogy capper, Before Midnight, will arrive on Aug. 1.
Much like its predecessors, the film is effectively an extended conversation, as now married couple and parents Celine and Jesse spend a single day on a vacation in Greece discussing contrasting notions of love, time, and age. Unlike the first two installments, which were uplifting depictions of a blossoming relationship, Midnight forces the characters to reconcile their youthful ideals with their current reality and their bitterness towards growing older. It’s easily the saddest of the trilogy, but it’s no less rewarding.
Fargo (Aug. 1)
Few directors are more beloved today than Joel and Ethan Coen, and Fargo, their 1996 crime comedy, is one of their most loved for good reason. The film focuses on financially struggling car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), who hires two thugs to kidnap his wife, intending to collect the ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. However, this being a Coen brothers film, things go wrong, and blood is shed. Pregnant Minnesota cop Marge Gunderson (the great Frances McDormand) starts to piece things together while Jerry is forced to desperately cover his tracks.
Like most of the Coens’ other films, this is a shockingly violent film, but it’s also hilarious, as Jerry and the thugs are so out of their depth that their incompetence becomes hilarious. And the film’s exploration of “Minnesota niceness” is regularly played for laughs but in a way that feels loving and affectionate (the Coens grew up in the Midwest). The simple decency and happiness of Marge Gunderson provides a welcome counterbalance to all the bloodshed. Fargo received seven Oscar nominations, winning Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress, and it will be available on Max starting Aug. 1.
The Iron Giant (Aug. 1)
Despite flopping in theaters, Brad Bird’s animated gem, The Iron Giant, has spent years growing in esteem to the point where it’s now rightfully seen as an outright classic of animation. Set in the 1950s, during the height of Cold War paranoia, the film focuses on a young boy, Hogarth (Eli Marienthal), who discovers and befriends a giant alien robot (Vin Diesel). Due to paranoia of government officials and the US military, who believe the robot is a threat, Hogarth is soon forced to protect his newfound friend.
Like Brad Bird’s other animated features, it’s the rare kid’s film that tackles difficult subject matter without ever once talking down to its audience. With beautiful animation and stellar voice-acting, the film is a touching allegory of tolerance and existentialism, as the titular Giant learns that despite seemingly being created to be an instrument of war, he is still free to decide his own destiny. Start collecting extra tissues now (the ending will inevitably bring on the waterworks), as The Iron Giant hits Max on Aug. 1.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1-5 and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (Aug. 1)
One of the most iconic horror franchises of all time, Wes Craven’s beloved Nightmare on Elm Street series will be available on streaming in its almost entirety (barring the execrable Freddy’s Dead) on Aug. 1. If it weren’t for the influence of Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a former child killer seeking revenge on his targets inside their dreams, it’s hard to imagine that the supernatural horror genre would be nearly as prominent as it is today, given how the films seamlessly and inventively blended reality and fantasy filtered through horror.
All the films, even the lesser ones, are worth watching to one degree or another, and obviously, the classic original stands heads and shoulders above them all. But also memorable is the third installment, Dream Warriors, which included several of the franchise’s best kills and transitioned Freddy into the now iconic serial killer/practical joker he’s now recognized as. And Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, a wickedly clever spinoff with franchise deconstruction and meta-commentary that preceded Craven’s Scream franchise, is a delight as well.
Avatar (Aug. 17)
With The Way of Water already on streaming, the film that kickstarted James Cameron’s modern fantasy saga is finally coming to Max in August. The story is well-executed, if familiar – in the future, marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is recruited by the military to travel to the alien planet of Pandora and infiltrate the Na’vi tribe, as the US government plans to harvest a rare mineral growing underneath their home.
However, as with James Cameron’s other films, it’s the technical prowess that’s the main attraction here. This is simply one of the most visually breathtaking films ever made, with attention to detail and imaginative world-building that rivals Peter Jackson’s recreation of Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings. And the action sequences are some of the most carefully crafted and exhilarating Cameron has ever pulled off, which is no small feat. The reigning champ of the worldwide box office hits Max on Aug. 17.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
