Casual movies and shows are alright when you’re just hanging out with your friends and family. But when you’re looking for an experience, you want to watch something that’ll grip your attention and keep you on the edge of your seat.
Here we have compiled ten of our favorite movies and shows on Max that live in our minds rent-free. If you don’t have Max, there’s a new offer on Grande Internet that gives you a free Max subscription for 12 months with gig speeds—you may need higher speeds to stream in the highest quality allowed by your plan anyway.
But we digress. Here are ten of the most gripping movies and shows available to stream on Max right now.
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Barry
Barry is a dark comedy series about an ex-US Marine and Afghanistan veteran turned hitman who finds new meaning in life as an actor when he’s sent to kill a target at an acting class. The series follows the title character, played flawlessly by Bill Hader, as he struggles to tie loose ends from his old life and start a new one with his new friends.
The show has gained broad acclaim among critics and general audiences alike for its intricate balance of drama, violence, and humor. Standing at a 98% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4 rating on IMDb, Barry is arguably the most gripping dark comedy series since Breaking Bad.
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Dunkirk
The other World War 2 Christopher Nolan film depicts the evacuation of Allied troops that were trapped by German forces on the beaches of Dunkirk. Regarded by some as Nolan’s best film to date, Dunkirk was a critical and commercial success, grossing higher than any other World War II film at the time and scoring 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards, three of which it won.
Nolan finds yet another way to play with time and our minds in Dunkirk. The spectacular story told through three timelines is as emotionally gripping as it is visually satisfying. American audiences can stream Dunkirk on Max.
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Avatar: The Way of Water
With 13 years in the making, Avatar: The Way of Water is just as ground-breaking as its 2009 prequel, both visually and technically. James Cameron rigged up two Sony Venice cinema cameras to achieve something no one has ever before: underwater performance capture. Avatar’s underwater sequences are arguably the most accurate CGI water simulations ever created.
The run-of-the-mill story has left some critics cold, but audiences don’t mind a thin plot when there is brim with stunning detail, itching to have every single frame admired. To no one’s surprise, The Way of Water won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects just as the original Avatar did in 2009. While we wait impatiently for Avatar 3, we have the assurance that we can watch The Way of Water on Max at any time.
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Dune
Dune is a sci-fi epic that explores the fate of a desert planet and its mysterious and highly sought-after psychotropic substance known as “spice”. Being called “the next Star Wars” by some, the movie series focuses on young Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto of House Atreides, who must lead a rebellion against a tyrannical empire.
Dune is a two-part adaptation of the classic novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert. The movie features a stellar cast, convincing visuals, and a memorable soundtrack scored by the widely recognized composer Hans Zimmer. The trailer for Dune: Part Two has us convinced it’s going to be just as captivating as Part One, which we can always watch on Max.
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Game of Thrones
Despite its unconventional storytelling methods, Game of Thrones is globally the most-watched TV show of all time. Based on the bestselling books by George R.R. Martin, the fantasy saga depicts the power struggles, politics, wars, and betrayals among noble families crossing swords for the Iron Throne of Westeros after the death of the undisputed ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. All the while a supernatural threat, known as the White Walkers, looms beyond the Wall preparing to strike as a 30-year winter arrives.
GOT quickly gets audiences invested in its rich and complex world with detailed geography, history, culture, religions, and power struggles. The world is made more bewitching with fantastical elements including dragons, humanoid races, magic, and lore. All eight seasons of Game of Thrones are now streaming on Max.
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Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty is a dark comedy animated series that follows the adventures of a mad scientist (Rick) and his grandson (Morty), who travel across the universe and parallel realities getting into trouble and causing chaos along the way. The show’s quirky humor with deep philosophical implications at first primarily attracted fans of the sci-fi genre, but Rick and Morty had become a household name by 2018 before the show was renewed for 70 more episodes after Season 3.
Die-hard Rick and Morty fans have little faith in the upcoming season 7 after the departure of co-creator Justin Roiland. But the show owes most of its defining qualities to Dan Harmon from its cosmic nihilism and meta-humor to thought-provoking existential themes and quirky yet relatable characters. We’re eager to see what Dan Harmon and the rest of the team do with the new season as we rewatch seasons 1 to 6 on Max.
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Edge of Tomorrow
From Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day to Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs, there is no shortage of movies where the same day repeats over and over again—but there’s nothing quite like Edge of Tomorrow. The Earth is invaded by a race of aliens that seems impossible to defeat. When Major William Cage (played by Tom Cruise) kills a particularly peculiar-looking alien individual, its blood spills on him, killing him and giving him the ability to reverse time and restart the day every time he is killed.
Returning to the start with lessons on survival after dying makes the audience think of video games, and the movie plays like one too. The premise allows for interesting character development, fun action sequences, and creative comedic moments as the audience puts themselves in William’s shoes, contemplating what they would do. The looping joyride on unadulterated fun is available to rewatch on Max.
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District 9
When we think of movies with revolutionary visual effects, District 9 does not stand out. It didn’t use any new VFX technologies like Terminator 2 or Jurrasic Park nor did it blow away audiences with its visuals like Avatar or the Matrix. But the way it used visual effects in its storytelling changed filmmaking forever.
District 9 is a documentary-style movie that follows a bureaucrat who gets involved in the struggles of a friendly alien race stranded in a slum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The alien characters are completely computer-generated, but instead of making CGI the focus of the film, it treats the aliens as unimportant background elements.
Unlike other CGI movies, it never forces the viewer to look at the CGI by placing it in the center of every frame and making it a spectacle separate from the background. The movie feels like a genuine documentary following the main character in a world where these weird creatures are so ordinary that the documentary crew doesn’t even focus on them.
The entire movie looks like hand-held footage and there are no big cinematic sequences. You get lost in the story, forgetting that it’s a film as you stream it on Max.
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Euphoria
With its raw themes of addiction, sexuality, violence, trauma, and identity, Euphoria is anything but a typical high school drama for teens. Based on an Israeli TV show of the same name, Euphoria follows a group of teenagers including Rue Bennett (played by Zendaya) and Jules Vaughn (played by Hunter Schafer) as they struggle with toxic relationships, substance abuse disorder, mental illness, toxic masculinity, and other issues rarely explored in teen dramas.
The show is highly praised among critics and general audiences alike for its realistic portrayal of adolescence and its use of dynamic and colorful cinematography to capture the emotional realism of the characters. The two seasons and both special episodes have Certified Fresh ratings of 80%+ on Rotten Tomatoes. The HBO Original series is available to stream on Max.
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The Suicide Squad
Directed by James Gunn as a reboot of Suicide Squad (2016), The Suicide Squad (2021) was exactly the blast of brutal action, over-the-top characters, and ceaseless fun that the DCEU and the rest of the superhero movie industry needed. The movie is breathlessly hilarious from the first few minutes and gradually evolves into a thrilling adventure that audiences easily get invested in.
The Suicide Squad breathes new life into some of the most beloved characters from the original movie, such as Harley Quinn and Amanda Waller, while introducing classic characters such as Bloodsport and Peacemaker in Gunn’s signature style. Despite its huge roster of characters including Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, and Javelin, the movie gives each one appropriate screen time and justifies their inclusion. The Suicide Squad is always fun to watch whether you stream it for the first time or the fifth on Max.
Conclusion
Max has a collection of movies and TV shows that gets you invested from the first few minutes and keeps you gripped till the end. If you don’t have Max and happen to be also looking for high-speed internet service, check out the latest offers from Grande Communications Customer Service that include a free Max subscription for 12 months.