If a banner month at the box office has had you spending too much money on movie tickets, HBO Max has plenty to satisfy your cinematic needs this weekend. There’s a lot to watch on the film-filled streaming service, including a fantastic horror film, a fist-pumping action flick and a movie that, like “Backrooms,” was miraculously inspired by social media posts.
Here are the three best movies to watch on HBO Max this weekend.
“Midsommar”
In 2018, Ari Aster made his feature directorial debut with “Hereditary,” a movie destined to become one of the most influential horror movies of the decade. The impact of Aster’s brand of horror filmmaking can be felt across the horror genre, with Curry Barker citing the writer/director as an inspiration point for “Obsession.”
A year later, Aster would follow “Hereditary” with “Midsommar,” a similarly bold and assured horror feature that further solidified him as a definitive voice in the space (despite not making a straight-up horror movie since). It also cemented Florence Pugh as a capital-M movie star, showing her acting chops in full force in one of the decade’s strongest horror performances.
“The Rock”
Michael Bay has had a pretty rocky career as a filmmaker, alternating between all-timer action movies and flicks so bad that they’re best left forgotten. Watching movies like “The Rock,” however, make it undeniable that this action director can indeed have the juice.
The film stars Nicolas Cage as an FBI chemical weapons expert who works with works with an imprisoned MI6 agent (Sean Connery) to break into Alcatraz and foil a plot by a group of Force Recon Marines (led by Ed Harris). It’s goofy, it’s intense and it’s an unbelievably fun ride.
“Zola”
Do you want to see another movie based on internet posts like “Backrooms”? Did “I Love Boosters” make you yearn for more Taylour Paige? Have “Euphoria” and “Disclosure Day” gotten you in a Colman Domingo mood? Then Janicza Bravo’s “Zola” has you covered.
Bravo wrote the film alongside Jeremy O. Harris, adapting a lengthy thread of 148 Tweets from A’Ziah “Zola” King (played by Paige in the film) and a resulting Rolling Stone article by David Kushner. “Zola” follows the wild true story of the titular part-time stripper’s whirlwind friendship and subsequent falling out with Stefani (Riley Keough).
“Y’all wanna hear a story about why me & this b—h fell out?” Zola asks. “It’s kind of long but full of suspense.”
That it was.
