As April ends, its rainy weather hopefully leaving with it, it’s time for streaming services such asHBO Maxto change their catalogs. Some of their movie and show contracts are ending, meaning they will beremoved from the service, but others are just beginning, getting added to HBO Max throughout the month of May. They might not allcome on the first day, but there’s still a lot of new material they are adding for you to enjoy.
Old classics and new favorites alike await you this month, including newHBO original seriessuch asThe StaircaseandThe Time Traveler’s Wife.The Staircaseis based on a true crime docuseries of the same name, following writer Michael Peterson who was convicted of murdering his wife when she was found dead at the bottom of their staircase.The Time Traveler’s Wifeis based on a novel of the same name, which is a sci-fi love story complicated by time travel. As we await their release, consider checking out the best movies on HBO Max that you canstream right now.
The thrillerOldis a recent M. Night Shyamalan movie. A family trip to a tropical resort goes wrong when they are trapped on a beach along with several other parties. However, the beach isn’t normal — it rapidly accelerates their aging. Any attempt to escape turns out to be fruitless as they pass out and wake up once more on the beach. As everyone starts to die, whether from aging or from attacking each other out of anger and fear, the need to escape grows more and more imperative with each passing hour. An often horrifying and melancholicmovie about getting older,Oldwas one of the oddest and most exciting films of 2021.
7The Matrix: Resurrections
The Matrix: Resurrectionsis now returning to the streaming service, having originally premiered for one month at the same time it was released in theaters. Neo was repaired after his sacrifice for peace and had his memories suppressed as the machines attempted to control a new version of the Matrix. However, his career as a computer programmer leads to him accidentally rediscovering the Matrix, and as he starts to recover his memories, finds out it’s been many years since he was last there, and he has to try and save this new Matrix once again. The most recent and likely last ofthe severalMatrixmovieswas arguably the most anticipated film of the year.
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6The Color Purple
Academy Award nomineeThe Color Purpleis awoman’s coming of agestory based on a book of the same name. Celie Harris Johnson has her kids taken away from her by her father, who then marries her off to another man she doesn’t like, who abuses her. Throughout her life with him, she meets several other women who all live their lives differently, trying to influence her and get her out of the abusive situation she is caught in. Through them, she learns about things she never thought possible before, and slowly begins to gain the courage to stand up for herself.The Color Purpleis one of the more beloved and notable films of all time, and frequently considered one ofSteven Spielberg’s best films.
5Bottle Rocket
Bottle Rocketis a crime comedy film following friends Digan and Anthony. They develop a 75-year plan, hoping to pull off several heists and then meet up with another criminal to make money for themselves. However, the problem arises that neither of them, nor any of the help they sometimes receive, is any good at heists. Through a series of mishaps and failures, the two friends experience many hardships, but in the end, their friendship keeps them together. When they do finally meet up with the other criminal they know, things don’t go in their favor. Wes Anderson’s first is somewhat different and less polished than his others, but still one of the best, unique indie films of the ’90s.
4The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Another coming of age story,The Perks of Being a Wallflowerfollows the life of Charlie as he starts his freshman year of high school after being discharged from a mental health institution. He quickly finds friends in siblings Sam and Patrick, and he’s the happiest he’s ever been. That is, until he upsets some other friends in their group and is isolated for a while, falling back into his depression. As he struggles through school and fighting his longtime depression, some repressed memories begin to make themselves known, adding to his difficulties.The Perks of Being a Wallflowertenderly captureswhat it’s like to have anxiety, and was influential in a new era of teenage coming-of-age films.
3Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Dayis a sequel to the firstTerminator, still following Skynet and its attempt to put an end to the resistance before it begins. Sarah Connor is incarcerated for her trying to prevent the prophesied Judgment day when Skynet will gain sentience, and her son, the future resistance leader, believes she is insane. It proves to be real however when he is cornered by two robots — the T-1000 sent to kill him, and the reprogrammed T-800 sent by the resistance to protect him.
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With the T-800 now in his control, he has to find a way to survive, which means trying to stop the T-1000 for good. Usually considered the best of the manyTerminatormovies, James Cameron’s action masterpiece set a new gold standard for special effects and action blockbusters.
2An Autumn Afternoon
In the dramaAn Autumn Afternoon, Shuhei Hirayama is the widowed patriarch of his family. He has three children, and his eldest son is already married and moved out. This leaves behind his daughter and youngest son, who stay with him to look after him. As he spends time with old friends he learns about their lives and the lives of others they meet, slowly realizing he must stop being selfish and arrange a marriage for his daughter before she becomes too old and lives the rest of her life out alone.An Autumn Afternoonis one of eight Yasujiro Ozu masterpieces coming to HBO Max in May, and is a welcome, patient alternative to the more action-packed and quicker modern films.
1Assassins
The documentaryAssassinsfollows the story of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam. He was the brother of North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, and was killed in the middle of a crowded Malaysian airport by two young women, who were seemingly tricked into thinking they were participating in a prank show. It is believed to be actually set up by Kim Jong-un, and the young women took the fall after his assistants tricked them. The documentary questions all the possible angles of the case and really delves deep into that fateful moment. It’s an extremely fascinating, heavy documentary with as much tension as any fiction thriller.
