One of the best things about Max is the deep library of films at your fingertips. Warner Bros. Pictures has nearly a century’s worth of titles to draw upon, but Max is also able to borrow a few films from other studios to make it even more enticing for cinema lovers. Regardless, there are always a few new films on Max that tend to fall between the cracks. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the three underrated movies on Max that you need to watch in September.
This month’s pics include an action comedy with very prominent leads, a horror anthology that flew under the radar, and a genre-bending crime comedy that marks the only adaptation to date of a Thomas Pynchon novel.
Knight and Day (2010)
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz co-headline director James Mangold’s action comed, Knight and Day, which was not well-received at the time of its release. But there’s some great action sequences in this flick, and the leads have an appealing chemistry with each other. Diaz plays June Havens, an ordinary woman who is just trying to get to her sister’s wedding. But because June had a random encounter with secret agent Roy Miller (Cruise), his enemies, including John Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard), mistakenly believe that she’s working with him.
Suddenly, June’s life is turned upside down as Roy is forced to reunite with her and explain his true mission. He’s been framed by Fitzgerald for a serious crime. And if Roy can’t clear his name, then he and June won’t ever be able to stop running for their lives.
Watch Knight and Day on Max.
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Halloween has rules, and you defy them at your peril in Trick ‘r Treat, the directorial debut of Michael Dougherty. This horror anthology features a handful of stories that take place in a small town, and an enigmatic trick-or-treater called Sam (Quinn Lord) who appears every time that someone steps out of line on his favorite holiday.
Brian Cox, Anna Paquin, and Dylan Baker are among the more recognizable names in the cast. Because the stories in the film are so episodic, Trick ‘r Treat breezes right through its 82 minute runtime. However, it’s perfect for a bite-sized horror fix ahead of Halloween next month.
Watch Trick ‘r Treat on Max.
Inherent Vice (2014)
Paul Thomas Anderson films tend to go to some wild places, and that’s especially true for his adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice. Joker 2‘s Joaquin Phoenix stars as Larry “Doc” Sportello, a private investigator in 1970 who is constantly in over his head. Throughout the film, Doc is also harassed by the LAPD’s Lieutenant Christian F. “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin), a man who is always certain that Doc knows more than he’s telling.
Doc’s ex-girlfriend, Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston), claims that her rich new lover, Michael Z. “Mickey” Wolfmann (Eric Roberts), is the target of a kidnapping plot. Meanwhile, Hope Harlingen (Jena Malone) just wants Doc to find her husband, Coy Harlingen (Owen Wilson), because she doesn’t believe that he’s really dead. Unraveling these cases may be beyond Doc’s skill set, but he does have a knack for constantly placing himself in greater jeopardy as he looks for answers.
Watch Inherent Vice on Max.
