3 Underrated (HBO) Max Movies to Watch This Weekend (September 20-22)

The Transformers are conquering the multiplex cinema again. But this time they are more animated than ever before. Transformers One eschews live-action and animation to tell the origin story of Optimus Prime and his merry band of transforming machines. This should appeal to die-hard 80s fans or prepubescent boys who like to watch things explode.

If you’re not in that demographic, then have no fear! Streaming is always an option, and Max has some of the best movies and TV shows available. The three films below may not have won any Oscars, but they’re guaranteed to make you laugh, think, or give you goosebumps, depending on which film you’re watching.

Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)

Ignore the terrible title; Wild mountain thyme is one of the best romantic films of the last five years and deserves far more love and attention than it receives today. Based on the play Outside Mullingarstarring Emily Blunt (A Colt for all occasions) and Jamie Dornan (The case) stars as Rosemary and Anthony, two childhood friends who grew up next to each other in the Irish countryside. Both are introverts and prefer to be alone, but when Anthony’s father threatens to disinherit him for his loner nature, Anthony plucks up his courage and begins a romance with Rosemary.

Moonstruck Maestro John Patrick Shanley directs and adapts his own play, and one can see the parallels between his Oscar-winning hit and this film. Both feature slightly odd protagonists, each with their own wacky family to support them in their shared quest for love. Blunt and Dornan have real chemistry together, and the Irish countryside is suitably green and stunning. The ending involves a revelation that comes out of nowhere, and it’s up to you to decide what the hell it means. (That’s a good thing.)

Wild mountain thyme will be streamed on Max.

The Cold Samurai (1967)

The Samurai is a deceptively simple film, but it’s rich in subtext, mood and boredom. It’s also a cool film; you can feel the birth of Leon: The Professional and John Wick in its lonely protagonist, whose only friend is a little bird in a cage. But there’s a reason Jef Costello (Alain Delon, who died just last month) lives a lonely life: he’s a professional assassin, and if you get too close to him, you could lose your life.

After taking out his last target, Jef must flee from both the police and the mysterious person who hired him. The only good thing in his life is Valérie (Cathy Rosier), a pianist who saw him leaving the crime scene and did not identify him to the police. Does Jef trust her enough to let her live? Or will his old instinct to push everyone away send her underground?

The Samurai will be streamed on Max.

Leviathan (1989)

The popularity of The Great White Shark And Foreigner in the 1970s spawned a number of imitators, none of which are nearly as good as these groundbreaking classics. But that doesn’t mean they are all bad. There are some, like 1989’s Leviathanwhich are quite entertaining in a cheesy sort of way and are ideal for streaming if you want to watch something loud and mindless.

A science fiction horror film set in a deep sea station. The film is about a group of submarine miners who discover an abandoned Soviet ship on the sea floor. Two of the miners become ill, and in a plot twist that was absolutely not copied from Foreignerthey both die and their bodies mutate into a deadly creature that kills them one by one. Leviathan isn’t original, but it’s fun, the pace is surprisingly brisk, and the effects are, well, effective.

Leviathan will be streamed on Max.