HBO Max Recommendations

[dookeyXXX]

SPIELBERG
I saw The Fablemans this past Monday.
It’s Steven Spielberg’s latest film and a fictionalized autobiography of his formative years growing up in Arizona. It got me thinking of not only all of his films I’ve seen over the years (as well as all the ones I haven’t), but also how much of the events portrayed in The Fablemans were real or just how close they were to reality.
That’s how I stumbled upon this solid documentary, which is pretty much a career retrospective up to 2017.
The clutch is that Spielberg talks about his films, his family, and career along with augmented interviews and commentary from his contemporaries (Lucas, Scorsese, DePalma, Coppola) as well as folks he has worked with over the years.
Lottsa cool insight on his films and his filmmaking style. And it makes me want to go see The Fablemans again. It also makes me regret not having seen Saving Private Ryan on the Big Screen. And makes we want to see Lawrence of Arabia again, too.
If you love movies and grew up on Spielberg’s seminal films like ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and appreciate the likes of Schindler’s List, then this is totally worth watching.
It certainly gives me a new appreciation for his work.

[toast2266]

AMSTERDAM
...

Watched it last night. Liked it. I think the general gist of some of the criticisms is accurate, albeit overblown, the script felt a little distracted at times, and deniro was phoning it in. But ultimately it was engaging throughout the runtime and a fun watch. And yeah, a crazy story to the extent that it's historically accurate.

[dookeyXXX]

Watched it last night. Liked it. I think the general gist of some of the criticisms is accurate, albeit overblown, the script felt a little distracted at times, and deniro was phoning it in. But ultimately it was engaging throughout the runtime and a fun watch. And yeah, a crazy story to the extent that it's historically accurate.

Consider checking out See How They Run.
It, too, is a fun ensemble piece that while better reviewed than Amsterdam, still kinda flew under the radar when it was in theaters.

[dookeyXXX]

SEE HOW THEY RUN
Evoking Hitchcock by way of DePalma (albeit without the latter’s twisted sexual tension and hyper violence), Woody Allen by way of Wes Anderson, and embracing Agatha Christie with both reverence and tongue-in-cheek, this is a deliciously delightful romp that is a film lover's wet dream.
It's a slick and snarky whodunnit brimming with a wonderful ensemble cast, punchy dialogue, a fantastic score, and lots of cinematic chicanery.
Above all else, it's just a fun film.

RIYL
Knives Out; Bullet Train; Amsterdam

[Supermoon]

I think I liked Amsterdam better than See How They Run. The middle of SHTR dragged a bit, and I literally fell asleep for a quick minute in the middle when I was watching it. The ending paid it all off, though.

I like myself a good who-done-it, so I'm happy all the Agatha Christie-type movies are getting made.

[toast2266]

Yeah, watched See How They Run a few weeks ago. Enjoyed it, although thought knives out was the better recent entry in the genre. But I'll watch anything with Sam Rockwell in it, and per usual, he didn't disappoint. Saoirse Ronan was great too, aside from the fact that her name is hard to type.

[dookeyXXX]

Yeah, watched See How They Run a few weeks ago. Enjoyed it, although thought knives out was the better recent entry in the genre. But I'll watch anything with Sam Rockwell in it, and per usual, he didn't disappoint. Saoirse Ronan was great too, aside from the fact that her name is hard to type.

Chances sound good that you will dig the new Knives Out then. Drops on NF 12/23

[Dantheman]

Remembered another one. Made for Love was a good watch.

http://youtu.be/lvWgNSLIULw

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Yeah, watched See How They Run a few weeks ago. Enjoyed it, although thought knives out was the better recent entry in the genre. But I'll watch anything with Sam Rockwell in it, and per usual, he didn't disappoint. Saoirse Ronan was great too, aside from the fact that her name is hard to type.

Yeah, Sam Rockwell is great in anything


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[AK47bp]

Remembered another one. Made for Love was a good watch.

http://youtu.be/lvWgNSLIULw

Ray Romano is great in that.


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[dookeyXXX]

That's a family favorite in my house. I grew up watching that one in the 80s. Read the manga series in the 90s. Outstanding story and beautifully animated. Disney redubbed it at some point, and they actually did a really great job with it. Great cast including Patrick Stewart, Edward James Olmos, Uma Thurman, Shia Labeouf, and Mark Hamill. Didn't know it was on HBO though! That's rad. We have it on home video. Highly recommended if you haven't seen this one already.

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I went on a mini-anime binge during my 7-day free trial.

I really enjoyed THE CAT RETURNS.
Unlike the version of Nausicaa (Japanese language w/subtitles), the version on HBOMax is the English dub. Not my first choice to watch, but it’s the only version I could find streaming without renting or purchasing.
Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the dubbing. It was kinda fun trying to guess the voices (Peter Boyle!!’).
As for the story? It’s a cool fairy tale like fantasy that borrows elements of Pinocchio, Alice In Wonderland, and Androcles , yet still manages to create an original feeling tale of love and identity and friendship. The animation is cool, the action fun, and the entire affair is wonderfully enjoyable.

[MontuckyFried]

I went on a mini-anime binge during my 7-day free trial.

I really enjoyed THE CAT RETURNS.
Unlike the version of Nausicaa (Japanese language w/subtitles), the version on HBOMax is the English dub. Not my first choice to watch, but it’s the only version I could find streaming without renting or purchasing.
Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the dubbing. It was kinda fun trying to guess the voices (Peter Boyle!!’).
As for the story? It’s a cool fairy tale like fantasy that borrows elements of Pinocchio, Alice In Wonderland, and Androcles , yet still manages to create an original feeling tale of love and identity and friendship. The animation is cool, the action fun, and the entire affair is wonderfully enjoyable.

If you liked that, make sure to also check out Whisper of the Heart. The Cat Returns is actually the sequel to that one. A completely different kind of story, but still gorgeous. Very chill. I think you might like it.

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[dookeyXXX]

If you liked that, make sure to also check out Whisper of the Heart. The Cat Returns is actually the sequel to that one. A completely different kind of story, but still gorgeous. Very chill. I think you might like it.

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Yeah, I had WotH on my list, but brain-farted and didn’t watch it before my free trial ran out.
I “stupidly” watched Howl’s Moving Castle, which is avail via NF DVD, instead (WotH is only avail via HBOMax…doh!!!)

[jerlane]

Remembered another one. Made for Love was a good watch.

http://youtu.be/lvWgNSLIULw

I’m searching for that on HBO and nothing is coming up. No longer available?

[Supermoon]

I’m searching for that on HBO and nothing is coming up. No longer available?

I think they just pulled a bunch of shows off of the platform for some reason. So I imagine this is one of them?

https://ew.com/tv/westworld-pulled-h...platform-fast/

[Dantheman]

Looks like you're correct. Removed from HBO Max this month as part of a large content purge by Warner Discovery so they can sell the rights to the shows to third-party ad-supported streaming services.

https://deadline.com/2022/12/raised-...ns-1235199433/

[Lvovsky]

Add to that season 1 of Westworld, and season 1 of True Detective. Those 2 are both in my top 5 for tv shows. Subsequent seasons are... less great.

Sharp Objects had similar good qualities as True Detective S1

[AK47bp]

Big Little Lies was good


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[dookeyXXX]

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

This is a quietly smoldering film, one which understatedly revels in multiple layers of complexity.
It’s at times a devilishly dark and fractured fairy tale, an anti-war film masquerading as a swervedriving comedic drama, and a scathing indictment of how routine can kill one’s mental—particularly philosophical—growth. It’s also a movie about loneliness, isolation, and the dissolution of friendship. Or perhaps it’s just a quirky yarn about two blokes living on an island off the coast of Ireland who enjoy a pint or four every afternoon around 2. The joy of this film is that you can make of it what you want. At times absurdist and other times achingly poignant, it moves along at a gentle pace, slowly building tension and a sense of gruesome entropy, but never wasting well-timed comedic inserts either.

[neckdeep]

I think they just pulled a bunch of shows off of the platform for some reason.

The reason is simple: Netflix. All the streaming services were chasing after Netflix and Netflix fell flat on its face, started losing subscribers and was forced to concede it had evaporated hundreds of billions of dollars producing a library of generic programming no one cares about. HBO is tightening its belt and chopping shows because now all the streaming services suddenly do not want to become the next Netflix. Expect a lot less quantity going forward.

[PB]

I'll lose some quantity, but I draw the line at. losing quality.

[Woodsy]

George Harrison doc series is damn good
better than that Let it be crap last year.

[Dantheman]

100 Foot Wave is a great docuseries about Garrett McNamara pioneering big wave surfing at Nazare.

[toast2266]

Lots of new top tier movies popped up for the new year. The Menu, the John Wick trilogy, Cabin in the Woods, American Hustle, and others. Good to see some freshening of the catalog.

[dookeyXXX]

Lots of new top tier movies popped up for the new year. The Menu, the John Wick trilogy, Cabin in the Woods, American Hustle, and others. Good to see some freshening of the catalog.

THE MENU is solid entertainment…
The plot fits together like a well-made cassoulet that’ll make you smile when all the savory elements come together. The cast is stellar, making good with largely stock characterizations (douchey tech bros, the washed-up actor, the self-righteous critic and her pandering editor, etc.), but there are some rich turns from Nicholas Hoult, Ralph Fiennes, and Anya Taylor-Joy tucked in between the amuse bouche and dessert.
Totally worth making a reservation for.

PS
This would make a great pairing with Flux Gourmet, Triangle of Sadness, or Don’t Worry Darling.