Best Max movies: the 22 finest films to stream in October 2024

When Marvel and Disney briefly removed James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy 3, DC swooped in and gave him a writing/directing gig on this quasi-sequel to 2016’s mediocre Suicide Squad. Confusingly, it was titled The Suicide Squad but in this case the definite article was entirely justified. Given free rein to keep or discard characters and continuity as he pleased, Gunn shaped a hilariously funny, frequently rude tale of memorably amoral supervillains on a mission to eliminate a giant pink starfish. DC were so impressed that they allowed Gunn to make spin-off series Peacemaker (one of the best Max shows), and then hired him to co-manage all their future movie and TV output.

After the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) became widely accepted as the benchmark for superhero movies, many people forgot how radical – and brilliant – Christopher Nolan’s Batman film trilogy was. Crafting a dark-and-moody Gotham City nearly two decades before Robert Pattinson got soaked in The Batman, Nolan’s decision to ground the Caped Crusader in a believable world proved a masterstroke. Always a mainstay on our list of the best Max movies, Batman Begins remains one of cinema’s great origin stories, while follow-up The Dark Knight is an ambitious crime thriller that would probably have won numerous major awards if its protagonist didn’t dress up as a giant bat. The Dark Knight Rises isn’t quite the closer the trilogy deserves, but the series still stands up as the pinnacle of DC storytelling on the big screen. See where each film placed in our Christopher Nolan movies ranked and best Batman movies pieces.

Not even Spider-Man can compete with the Caped Crusader when it comes to big screen reinventions. This movie doubles down on the Dark Knight’s reputation as the World’s Greatest Detective, with a labyrinthine, noir-ish mystery that borrows as much from Seven as the Dark Knight's previous screen outings. Robert Pattinson is a suitably angsty Bruce Wayne, while Paul Dano’s chilling reinvention of classic villain the Riddler adds extra edge. Learn more about the Dark Knight's cinematic history in our guide on how to watch the Batman movies in order. And if you want even more, you won't want to miss The Penguin.

While action blockbusters aren’t traditionally regarded as art, the ingeniously choreographed stuntwork of Fury Road ensured even the most highbrow critics had to give the fourth Mad Max movie its due. After a lengthy and troubled production (excellently documented in author Kyle Buchanan’s Blood, Sweat & Chrome), director George Miller built an entire movie around a single madcap chase across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Although the movie bears the character’s name, Tom Hardy’s Max is relegated to a monosyllabic supporting player, leaving a magnificent Charlize Theron to take the lead as the heroic Imperator Furiosa.

Few were calling out for Roald Dahl’s legendary chocolatier to be given his own origin story musical, but the creative team behind the brilliant Paddington movies conjured up a suitably tasty concoction. While not quite as endearing as the Peruvian bear’s adventures in London, Wonka uses similar feelgood ingredients to explain how the eponymous hero went from idealistic dreamer to the most famous candyman in the world. Dune star Timothée Chalamet is excellent as Willy Wonka, delivering the witty songs (written by the Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon) in style, while finding the right levels of wide-eyed wonder. A-list support comes from Olivia Colman as the villainous owner of a boarding house, and Hugh Grant as a very cynical Oompa-Loompa.

From Transformers and GI Joe to The Lego Movie, Hollywood has been taking inspiration from kids’ toyboxes for years. Never, however, have we seen anything quite like Barbie, a movie that’s simultaneously a multi-million-dollar commercial for a doll, and a witty, sophisticated examination of 21st century feminism. Margot Robbie is brilliant as the classic, stereotypical Barbie who goes through something of an existential crisis when she realizes she’s actually a child's plaything. Desperate to get her life back on track she takes a trip to the real world but – unfortunately for her – longtime boyfriend Ken (a similarly excellent Ryan Gosling) also hitches a ride, becoming a plastic embodiment of toxic masculinity along the way. Director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women) navigates the movie’s many tonal shifts with fun, style and a smart satirical eye. Indeed, having dominated the global box-office in 2023, the impressively self-aware Barbie is destined to be the subject of academic essays for years to come.

By the mid-’90s, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink had earned the Coen brothers both critical acclaim and cult appeal. It was this snowy 1996 crime drama, however, that made the rest of the world take notice of Joel and Ethan’s unique talents, winning two Oscars (for Best Screenplay, and for Frances McDormand’s performance as police chief Marge Gunderson) in the process. Setting the story in their native Midwest, the Coens bring a tale of double-crossing, murder, extreme incompetence and snow to the unsuspecting small town of Brainerd, Minnesota. A memorable ensemble cast including William H Macy, Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare make the most of the brothers’ witty, twisty script, but McDormand is the undoubted standout as the brilliant, eternally upbeat and very pregnant Marge. The movie has also spawned five (at present) seasons of the brilliant Fargo TV spin-off, one of the best Hulu TV shows.

The ideal companion piece to Elvis, this biopic (from Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette director Sofia Coppola) shifts the focus to Presley’s wife, Priscilla. Based on Priscilla Presley’s memoir Elvis and Me, the movie follows her journey from a teen besotted with a much older guy (who just happens to be the most famous man in the world), through their difficult marriage and painful divorce. Cailee Spaeny (Alien: Romulus) delivers a star-making turn as Priscilla, who finds that living with the king of rock 'n' roll is not all it’s cracked up to be. Meanwhile, Euphoria and Saltburn's Jacob Elordi shows the darker sides of Elvis in a similarly excellent performance as Priscilla’s famous husband.

Although Michael Douglas spent much of the ’80s and ’90s in chiselled leading man mode, the 21st century has seen him morph into one of Hollywood’s finest character actors. His multi-award-winning performance as legendary pianist Liberace – a man who didn’t believe in understatement – in Behind the Candelabra is one of the undoubted highlights of his long career. The star gets A-list support from Matt Damon as Liberace’s boyfriend, a younger man who finds himself trapped in a bizarre, acrimonious hell when the musician tries to mould him in his own image. Douglas’s Traffic director Steven Soderbergh tells the story in typically accomplished style.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of those rare movie series where everything – and everyone – came together in the right place at the right time. How different history could have been had New Line not trusted director Peter Jackson’s vision, and allowed him to film all three movies back-to-back in his native New Zealand – the perfect real-world stand-in for J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. In Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, Jackson found the ideal co-writers to translate J.R.R. Tolkien’s sprawling novels to the screen, while the visual effects geniuses at Weta discovered many groundbreaking ways to make a magical world feel real. Jackson also found the right performers for every iconic role, from Gandalf to Gollum, Elrond to Eowyn. Without The Lord of the Rings, there’d be no The Witcher, no Game of Thrones, and certainly no The Rings of Power, which will forever be judged against what Jackson achieved two decades ago.

If you're new to Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away is an excellent place to start and it is my personal favourite out of them all (so far!). Here, a young girl finds herself at an abandoned amusement park inhabited by supernatural beings. But it's not fun and games, as she learns she must work to free her parents who have been turned into pigs. Though it does have some weird moments (not a bad thing, to be clear!) and some disturbing imagery, it is a fantastical and fun movie that needs to be seen to be believed. It's always hard to fully define a Ghibli movie, but what I will say is it's very worth your time.

While The Conjuring recycled plenty of old tricks to unleash its cacophony of frights, Hereditary always felt like a genuinely groundbreaking addition to the horror genre. Debut writer/director Ari Aster keeps the focus extremely tight, as an ordinary family deal with the death of a matriarch, bringing family demons – both figurative and supernatural – painfully to the fore. It's an intense, unrelenting watch, as Aster ensures his cast (led by Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne) bare plenty of emotions on screen. It’s also a masterclass in delivering powerful scares, packed with moments that – once seen – can’t be unseen.

I Saw the TV Glow remains my favourite film of 2024 so far. I know, I still need to get through October, and I'll no doubt have a lot of horror to devour over the coming weeks. But for now, I can tell you why you absolutely need to watch this movie. And if you need further convincing, check out this heartfelt piece from my colleague Rowan Davies. If you're anything like me, when you love something, you love it intensely. That's what happens when two teenagers bond over a supernatural TV series called The Pink Opaque. But soon enough, their mutual obsession with the show reveals a much bigger truth. Is everything really as it seems?

Are you a fan of folklore, especially the creepy kind? If so, The Witch is the perfect horror movie for you. It's an unnerving slow burn that will make you deeply uncomfortable, yet unable to look away. A strange sensation but one that many horror fans, like myself, love to experience! Anya Taylor-Joy shines as Thomasin, and this movie marks her feature film debut. She has since gone on to impress me again and again in movies such as The Menu and Last Night in Soho, but you shouldn't miss her first major appearance in Eggers' unnerving horror movie.

I'm fussy when it comes to romance but I cry every time I watch A Star is Born. This version, led by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, marks the fourth time this movie has been adapted but it's no less brilliant than its predecessors. Here, we follow an alcoholic musician who discovers and falls in love with a young singer named Ally. What follows is a deep and emotional portrait of fame, addiction and love, elevated by two great central performances. You will need tissues for this one but I can't recommend it enough. Oh, and the soundtrack is great too!

It’s no accident that Casablanca regularly features on lists of the greatest movies of all time, because this wartime classic is proof that they really don’t make them like they used to. Humphrey Bogart is the bar owner whose life is turned upside down when an old flame (played by Ingrid Bergman) arrives in town with her new husband (Paul Henreid), a key figure in the resistance in Europe. Both a love story for the ages and a cunning piece of 1940s propaganda – the importance of sacrifice in wartime is a major theme – Casablanca is much imitated but never bettered. Endlessly quotable and exquisitely acted, if you haven’t seen it you must remember this: put it on your best Max movies watchlist immediately.

The highly-anticipated sequel to the 2021 movie Dune is the second of the two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune. Dune: Part Two continues right where the first movie left off and follows the story of Paul Atreides who joins the Fremen people to fight against the evil House Harkonnen. Denis Villeneuve has done incredible things with his adaptation of Herbert's epic story. The cinematography is truly stunning, the atmosphere sinister, dramatic and filled with wonder and the script should keep fans of the book very happy. Performances from all of the cast are incredible too, especially Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Zendaya as Chani, a Fremen warrior, and Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Paul's Bene Gesserit mother. Whether you're already a fan of Dune or you're new to the sprawling sci-fi saga, movie lovers are going to enjoy Dune: Part Two immensely. It's a long way off, but if you love the sequel, you'll be glad to hear that a prequel series about the Bene Gesserit called Dune: Prophecy is set to arrive on Max later this year.

Nearly a decade ahead of Star Wars – and a year before humans walked on the Moon – Stanley Kubrick expanded the possibilities of big-screen space travel. Where science fiction had traditionally been the preserve of schlocky B-movies, the legendary director assembled a spectacular vision of a future where beautiful ships glide elegantly through space to a score of classical music – and, at key moments, dead silence. But beyond the hardware, this big-screen riff on Arthur C Clarke's short story ‘The Sentinel’ asks huge philosophical questions about the origins of our species, and where we might be going next. Just don't ask us to ever remove 2001: A Space Odyssey from our best Max movies guide. In the words of HAL 9000: we're afraid we can't do that.

Here's a rare example of when a sequel outdoes the original. While there's some debate around which is actually better, the critics decided Aliens deserved a slightly higher Rotten Tomatoes score. As for what I think, well, you can never really beat the original but the sequel is just as good and both deserve their classic status. Here, Ripley heads back to the planet LV-426 after being in stasis for 57 years, where she encounters the Alien Queen and her offspring. The result is scary, thrilling and well worth your time.

The 1980s was Hollywood’s ultimate era of violence and excess, and mainstream cinema doesn’t come more violent and excessive than RoboCop. Director Paul Verhoeven’s first US film is also a state-of-the-art sci-fi classic, a super-smart satire on capitalism and 20th century America masquerading as a big, dumb action movie. Peter Weller plays the ordinary cop who, after being fatally wounded by a sadistic gang, is transformed into the eponymous cyborg police officer. What follows is a classic tale of revenge wrapped up in witty one-liners, memorable villains, and lots and lots of blood. The less fun 2014 reboot, starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson, is available on Max, too.

There were few arguments when Parasite won Best Picture at the 2020 Oscars. After all, the South Korean movie – the first ever non-English language winner of the prestigious prize – is the sort of film that sears itself onto your brain from the first time you see it. On one level it’s the story of a down-on-their-luck family who con their way into working for a rich household, but there’s much more to it than that. Writer/director Bong Joon-ho (The Host, Snowpiercer, Okja) crafts an ingenious social satire about the haves and the have-nots in modern society, and keeps your sympathies shifting as you try to decide who the real parasites are. It also manages to be extremely funny while packing an emotional punch when it needs to.

Alex Garland seems to be quite a divisive filmmaker. I seem to be in the minority because I really loved his A24 movie Men, which often makes people raise their eyebrow when I admit to it. Ex Machina, on the other hand, is a lot more palatable and I think it can appeal to a much wider audience. Lovers of a good sci-fi thriller won't want to miss this one, where Domhnall Gleeson follows in his father's footsteps to deliver memorable performances. Here, he plays a programmer who is invited by his CEO to administer the Turing test to an intelligent humanoid robot named Ava. What could possibly go wrong?