HBO is the primary destination for movie fans. It’s been that way since 1972, when the company first launched, and it remains true in 2025.
Max is no different. As HBO’s and WB’s dedicated streamer, it has access to a library full of classic shows like The Sopranos and movies like Batman.
There’s so much content that it’s often hard to figure out what to watch over the weekend. Watch With Us has selected three underrated movies that are worth your time and attention.
So if you’re in the mood for a terrific war drama, an Adam Sandler comedy or a quiet drama set in Brooklyn, then this list is for you.
‘A Private War’ (2018)Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) is an American photojournalist who isn’t afraid of getting injured to get the shot she wants. That’s clear early on when she loses an eye while on an assignment in Sri Lanka. But there’s only so much war one person can take, and Marie’s PTSD threatens to derail her career and her personal life. Can she get the help she needs to cover an important assignment? And even if she does, can she escape death one more time to snap that one perfect shot?
A Private War is a biopic about a subject who is almost too interesting to be true. But Marie Colvin was a real person, and her passion for her work is what makes the movie so fascinating to watch. Pike portrays her as a rational woman who sometimes does irrational things for her art, and her story is both inspirational and cautionary. It’s a terrific performance that wasn’t really recognized at the time, and it deserves more attention and praise all these years later.
A Private War is streaming on Max.
‘Funny People’ (2009)George Simmons (Adam Sandler) is a Hollywood movie star who finds out he has cancer. Convinced he’s going to die, he decides to return to his first love — stand-up comedy. He meets and quickly befriends Ira (Seth Rogen), who is still looking for his big break. Together, the two men will help each other achieve their dreams, but will an unexpected development, plus George’s attempts to win his ex-wife Laura (Leslie Mann) back, get in their way?
Funny People is Sandler in serious mode, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s not as weird —or good — as Punch-Drunk Love or Uncut Gems, but it’s far better than Spaceman. Sandler and Rogen are a good comedic duo, and their scenes together are some of the movie’s best. Funny People wasn’t a huge success when it was first released in 2009, but it’s richer and better than most people give it credit for.
Funny People is streaming on Max.
‘Little Men’ (2016)
When 13-year-old introvert Jake (Theo Taplitz) moves into a Brooklyn brownstone his dad recently inherited, he gradually befriends fellow tenant Tony (Michael Barbieri), who shares Jake’s age but little else. The two boys become inseparable, but when Jake’s dad, Brian (Greg Kinnear), increases the rent and pressures Tony’s mom to either pay or leave, their relationship becomes strained. Can Jake convince his father to let Tony and his family stay, or will he lose the only friend he’s ever had if Tony leaves?
Little Men is a quiet drama that focuses on the small, everyday problems of New Yorkers just trying to get by. Brian isn’t a villain — he has to increase the building’s rent to fund his son’s education. It’s rare for a movie to focus on the friendship between two teenage boys without devolving into sophomoric humor, but Little Men is a special kind of movie. Rather than go for cheap laughs or obvious insights, the film is more concerned about the complexities of human behavior rather than making any grand statement.
Little Men is streaming on Max.
