HBO Max is a treasure trove of movies, and it can be hard to sift through them all to find the winners.
That’s why Watch With Us keeps you posted with lists of the underrated movies you should be watching on the platform.
The movies we’ve selected for you this month star Patrick Stewart, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and many more powerhouse stars.
The HBO Max movies range from drama to dark comedy, but they all have a strong emotional core and exquisite performances. Check them out below.
‘Mickey 17’ (2025)
This movie from director Bong Joon Ho didn’t get the critical acclaim of Parasite or Okja — it holds a 77 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes to Parasite’s 99 — and its box office numbers were mediocre at best. However, we loved this bizarre sci-fi flick about “expendable” space explorer Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson).
While trying to escape from a loan shark, Mickey and his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) join a mission to colonize a new planet led by narcissistic politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo). But because he has few transferable skills, Mickey is only qualified to be an “Expendable” — his job is to undergo fatal missions, only to be “reprinted” as a clone afterwards. When a mix-up leads to two versions of Mickey running around the spacecraft, each one fights for their right to survive — until they come to understand the threat their mission poses to the intelligent creatures already living on the planet. Mickey 17 is funny, smart and unexpected, with that special Bong Joon Ho flair.
‘Logan’ (2017)
You don’t have to be an X-Men fan to appreciate Logan. This action movie from A Complete Unknown director James Mangold has plenty of blood, guts and superpowers, but it feels more like a Western than a traditional comic book story. It follows Logan, formerly known as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), in a dystopian near-future where his powers are fading and he and his former mentor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) are barely hanging on to their lives.
Logan and Charles discover a young girl, Laura (Dafne Keene of His Dark Materials), who was cloned based on Logan’s DNA. The corporation that created Laura is trying to track her down, and it’s up to Logan to help her escape to freedom. What follows is a reluctant father-daughter story about love, trauma and legacy.
At the time, Jackman intended Logan to be his last performance as Wolverine, although he ended up coming back to portray a different version of the character in Deadpool & Wolverine. Logan was a worthy, albeit tragic, farewell to the clawed, gruff hero. Meanwhile, Keen brings a fascinating ferocity to Laura with every snarl and slice of her claws, while still imbuing her with a heartbreaking vulnerability. Both performances are worth a watch.
‘Disobedience’ (2018)
Though it’s much more grounded than Logan or Mickey 17, Disobedience also invites viewers into a world they may not be familiar with — an Orthodox Jewish community in London. Ronit Kruschka (Rachel Weisz) returns to this community after her father’s death, despite having lived a secular life in New York for many years. She soon reconnects with her former friend Esti Kuperman (Rachel McAdams), and the two are forced to reckon with their strong emotional and romantic connection.
Disobedience is a beautiful and powerful story about defying societal expectations and the right to fight for the life you want. Weisz and McAdams are both luminous in their roles, as is Alessandro Nivola as Dovid, Esti’s husband. The film’s quiet intensity and emotional nuance make it a must-watch for fans of character-driven dramas.
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