There’s no better way to escape the cold weather than with a good film and HBO Max has you covered with arguably the strongest library of films of all the streaming services. With everything from comedy and horror to action and drama, there is always something good to watch on the streamer. And for the month of February, HBO Max has added several films that celebrate black history, as well as enough options to keep romance in the air in the Valentine’s spirit. Take a look below to see some of our highlights of this month’s additions.
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Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Director: Shaka King
Cast: LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback
This film is based on the true story of how William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), an FBI informant, infiltrated the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, leading to the betrayal and downfall of the young chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). Led by a pair of fantastic performances from two of the best actors working today, Judas and the Black Messiah plays out like a gripping crime thriller whilst still paying an appropriate amount of reverence for the activists and the sacrifices they made in the fight for equality, thanks to Shaka King’s assured direction. Kaluuya won a much-deserved Oscar for his performance as the iconic Hampton, cementing himself as one of the most exciting and vital thespians of his generation.
42 (2013)
Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, T.R. Knight, Alan Tudyk, Harrison Ford
The life of sports legend Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player to be permitted to play in the whites-only major league during the time of segregation in the United States, is brought to the screen through a scintillating and star-making performance by Chadwick Boseman. Writer and director Brian Helgeland does an admirable job of telling the icon’s story, as he is able to portray both Robinson’s struggles in breaking this societal barrier and also showing his pure, undeniable talent for the game of baseball. The film also has a strong, late-career performance from Harrison Ford as the Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, but 42 is likely to always be best remembered for Boseman’s excellent central performance that is one of the highlights of his all-too-short career.
War of the Worlds (2005)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Tim Robbins, Justin Chatwin, Miranda Otto
Hollywood giants Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise reunited for this decisively mid-2000s retelling of the classic alien invasion tale War of the Worlds. Cruise stars as Ray Ferrier, a divorced father trying to do right by his two estranged children (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) as an alien threat decimates the world and brings humanity to its knees. War of the Worlds is far darker than what audiences had come to expect from a Spielberg blockbuster, with the filmmaker refusing to shy away from the trauma and desperation that the characters endure, while also evoking imagery from 9/11 in the unforgettable sequence of the aliens’ initial attack. The product: a thrilling and sometimes disturbing science fiction epic.
Superbad (2007)
Director: Greg Mottola
Cast: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Emma Stone, Seth Rogen
A trio of high school friends attempts to get alcohol for a huge party in order to have sex and become popular before leaving for college. Childhood pals Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg worked on this hilarious and endlessly quotable screenplay while they were growing up for years before it was finally made and became a seminal classic in the coming-of-age genre. In Superbad, Jonah Hill gives one of the funniest leading performances ever put on film, which instantly made him a star and defined much of his career going forward. Michael Cera’s awkward presence is used to perfection here and Christopher Mintz-Plasse was immortalized as Fogel – also known as McLovin. A hilarious and endlessly rewatchable riot that holds up better than a crude teen comedy has any right to.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as Harry and Sally, who start out hating each other, before becoming friends and inevitably falling in love in this charming and hilarious romantic comedy. Nora Ephron’s screenplay for When Harry Met Sally is one for the ages, packed with witty dialogue and astutely observed musings on modern love and relationships, while Rob Reiner deftly handles the film’s direction as the story takes place over several years. It's a timeless and endlessly rewatchable film that redefined the rom-com genre for years to come.
Bull Durham (1988)
Director: Ron Shelton
Cast: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins
Every summer, Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) has an affair with a player from her local minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. As she goes through the process of making her decision on which player she’ll take under her wing, she comes across a young pitcher named Ebby Calvin Laloosh (Tim Robbins) who has major league potential, and Crash Davis (Kevin Costner), a veteran catcher tasked with channeling Laloosh’s talent. And so begins a summer-long steamy love triangle built on sex and baseball. Costner and Sarandon share dynamite chemistry in this laugh-out-loud comedy.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks and Harvey Keitel
Arguably the most anti-Valentine’s Day film ever made, Martin Scorsese’s brooding examination of loneliness and instability is as prescient today as it was when it came out almost 50 years ago. Robert De Niro cemented himself as one of the greatest screen actors of all time with his immortal performance as Travis Bickle, a mentally disturbed Vietnam War veteran who works nights as a taxi driver trawling through the depravity-laden streets of 1970s New York City. As Travis tries to make himself into a hero, in a world he perceives to be a cesspool, he pushes himself towards an inevitably shocking and violent conclusion. Taxi Driver is a gripping and provocative picture that should be seen by all film fans.
