Optimus Prime was no match for the Ghost with the Most, as Transformers One was defeated at the box office by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which continued to rule the roost in its third weekend. But for many, streaming is still the go-to destination for quality weekend entertainment.
If that’s you, and you subscribe to Max, then you’re reading the right list. I’ve selected three underrated movies that are sure to keep you engaged for a good two hours. If not, I’ll punish myself by watching Madame Web again.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Out of Time (2003)
Denzel Washington is now one of the most respected actors currently working today, but he’s also underrated as an ideal noir hero. In films like Devil in the Blue Dress, he displays an easy charm and everyman quality that lends itself to the genre. That’s especially apparent in the now-forgotten thriller Out of Time, Carl Franklin’s 2003 movie that doesn’t get enough love nowadays.
Washington stars as Matt Lee Whitlock, a police chief in a small Florida town who gets sucked into a web of deception. His current girlfriend, Ann (Sanaa Lathan), is in an abusive marriage, and to make matters worse, she has cancer. She needs money for an experimental treatment overseas, so Matt steals some a lot of cash from an unrelated drug bust to help her out.
But when Ann and her husband turn up dead, and Matt discovers Ann never had cancer, he uncovers a plot that draws in both him and his ex-wife Alex (Eva Mendes). Will they make it out alive? Or will they run … out of time?
Out of Time is streaming on Max.
Bad Education (2020)
COVID-19 wrecked havoc on a lot of movies, and Bad Education was one of them. A potential Oscar-bait film, it was released quietly on HBO Max in April 2020 and was lost amid the chatter about the understandably growing concerns about the still-spreading pandemic. That’s a shame, because it features a dynamic Allison Janney and a never-better Hugh Jackman, who has since gone back to comic book movies like Deadpool & Wolverine.
Jackman plays Frank Tassone, a real-life Long Island school superintendent. He’s under pressure as a school reporter is close to finding out he and his assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin (Janney) have embezzled millions of dollars to fund their personal expenses. As the noose tightens around Frank’s neck, he’s desperate to hide the truth in any way he can without resorting to violence.
The outcome is never in doubt, but it’s massively entertaining to see Jackman, one of our most suave actors, play a sleazy man slowly undone by his desperate need to be liked by everyone. It’s a terrific, slippery performance, all palm sweat and bad hair gel, and it makes you wish he’d ditch the superhero spandex and play roles more like this one.
Bad Education is streaming on Max.
Bernard and Doris (2006)
Certain actors shouldn’t be in the same movie. I like them individually, but the prospect of Meryl Streep and The Rock occupying the same cinematic space just seems wrong to me. But sometimes, two actors on different wavelengths can make a movie more interesting than it actually is. That’s the case with Bernard and Doris, a 2006 true-crime HBO movie that paired the very American, very smoky actress Susan Sarandon with Ralph Fiennes, whose crisp Irish accent and sharp features frequently clashes with Sarandon’s Bette Davis eyes.
They star as the titular duo Bernard Lafferty and Doris Duke, a real-life butler and heiress whose close relationship caused tongues to wag and suspicions to be raised. Doris is very rich, and Bernard is close enough to her that he can control who she has access to, including her family and lawyers. But is Bernard in it for the money or does he actually love the eccentric Doris, who at one point was the wealthiest woman in the world?
Bernard and Doris leaves it to the viewer to decide, but there’s no doubt that Sarandon and Fiennes make for an irresistible pair. You can understand why Doris is drawn to Bernard, and why Bernard is super protective of his relationship with Doris.
Bernard and Doris is streaming on Max.
