It’s a big TV week with Emmy nominations newly announced. But HBO Max still has plenty to keep movie lovers satisfied. This week, you can check out one of the best DC movies ever made, a horror classic and a stellar comedy from the early 2000s.
Here are the three best movies on HBO Max this week.
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“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm”
Anyone who considers themselves even a passive Batman fan owes it to themselves to check out “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” a big-screen feature-length adventure in the universe of the widely acclaimed “Batman: The Animated Series.” The film, starring the iconic Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill Batman/Joker pairing, depicts the Dark Knight attempting to solve a mystery in the present as he confronts a figure from his past: Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), a woman whom Bruce Wayne once loved enough to consider hanging up the cape and cowl early in his career.
Directors Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, as well as a screenwriting crew of Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko and Michael Reaves, demonstrate a phenomenal understanding of Batman in this film that balances the character’s darker elements with his romanticism. One scene involving the Bruce visiting his parents’ graves is, in particular, one of the finest and most emotional moments this character has ever had on screen.
“Evil Dead II”
Friday sees the release of a new “Evil Dead” film, with Sébastien Vaniček stepping in as the third consecutive director to put their spin on Sam Raimi’s iconic franchise. These films have remained consistently strong since the beginning, but Raimi’s initial two features still stand out as the greatest “cabin in the woods” horror movies ever made. Introducing a more heavy comic presence in the second (without losing any of the horror cruelty) is icing on the cake. This Bruce Campbell-starring splatterfest is scary, mean and oh so fun.
“Legally Blonde”
Whatever you thought of the Prime Video prequel series “Elle,” it’s always a good time to circle back to “Legally Blonde.” Robert Luketic’s feature, written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith and based on Amanda Brown’s novel of the same name, is a hilarious and thoughtful comedy about a woman (Reese Witherspoon) who proves naysayers wrong by rising the legal ranks at Harvard. It’s one of Witherspoon’s best performances (if not her best), and one of the best comedies of the 2000s.
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