A new month brings a new slate of movies onto HBO Max, the premier streaming destination for cinema of all eras and genres. Several fantastic additions have made their way onto HBO Max’s library, amongst them are some of the best films of the 90s, featuring a collection of some of our biggest movie stars; ranging from Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington to Matt Damon and Adam Sandler. Elsewhere, there is a laugh-out-loud John Cusack comedy and a taught legal thriller that gets better and more effective with age. Read below to see some of the highlights from this month’s latest additions.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
A troubled, but incredibly gifted young man (Matt Damon) from the rough streets of south Boston is given a life-changing opportunity on the condition that he attends sessions with a therapist who is actually willing to challenge him (Robin Williams). Damon and Ben Affleck ascended to Hollywood’s A list for writing the Oscar-winning screenplay of this film, as well as starring in it, giving what remains among the best performances of their careers. Robin Williams is also excellent here and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor with his heartstring-tugging turn.
Jerry Maguire (1996)
Director: Cameron Crowe
Cast: Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Jonathan Lipnicki, Kelly Preston
“Show me the money.” “You complete me.” “You had me at hello.” You’ve heard all these lines before, now see the movie where they came from. Tom Cruise stars as Jerry Maguire, a hot-shot sports agent who has a major epiphany about his career and decides to write a mission statement about the perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and his desire to work with fewer clients in order to foster a more caring personal relationship with them. Naturally, after the release of this statement, Jerry is fired from his esteemed agency and is thrust into working for himself with one client, the aging NFL running back Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Dorothy (Renée Zellweger), a young single mother, as the only staff member to join him on his mission. Cameron Crowe wrote and directed this uplifting romantic drama, which is anchored by an excellent Tom Cruise performance that really should have won the megastar a much-deserved Oscar.
RockNRolla (2008)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Gerard Butler, Idris Elba, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell
Guy Ritchie assembles an all-star cast for this underrated London-set crime comedy. A corrupt Russian businessman orchestrates a crooked real estate deal, leading to millions of pounds being up for grabs and the entirety of London’s underworld going into a frenzy in order to get their hands on it. Gerard Butler leads the film as the head of a small-time gang of crooks known as the Wild Bunch who are hoping to fill their pockets with the Russian’s money. The film features a wide cast of characters and storylines that coincide in dramatic and hilarious fashion.
The Wedding Singer (1998)
Director: Frank Coraci
Cast: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Allen Covert, Christine Taylor, Matthew Glave
Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) is a local New Jersey-based wedding singer who is engaged to be married, which has been his dream since he was a child. He meets and befriends Julia (Drew Barrymore), a new waitress at the reception hall where he works. She is engaged herself, though her fiancee has yet to commit to a date for the wedding. Robbie agrees to sing on her big day but soon after, Robbie has his heart broken after being left at the altar on his own wedding day and declares he will never sing at a wedding again. He still agrees to help Julia plan her wedding though, causing their friendship to blossom and deepening their relationship. Will Robbie and Julia realize that they were destined to be with each other? I guess you’ll need to watch to find out! Sandler and Barrymore share electric chemistry in their first collaboration together in this 80s-set comedy that features a great soundtrack and hilarious cast of Sandler’s usual supporting players.
Malcolm X (1992)
Director: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Delroy Lindo, and Spike Lee
Spike Lee directs this epic biopic of the famous civil rights leader Malcolm X that charts the legendary figure’s rise from a street tough to one of the most revered and respected men of the 20th century. Denzel Washington gives a towering performance as Malcolm X with what will surely go down as one of the best works of his esteemed and iconic career.
Michael Clayton (2007)
Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, and Tom Wilkinson
George Clooney stars as the eponymous Michael Clayton, a “fixer” for a prestigious New York City law firm who is brought in to handle the situation after one of the firm’s top lawyers suffers a nervous breakdown. Clooney is excellent in the lead role, as are the rest of the cast members, while Tony Gilroy expertly directs his thrilling script.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
Director: Steve Pink
Cast: John Cusack, Rob Cordry, Craig Robinson, Sebastian Stan, and Chevy Chase
Three estranged and depressed middle-aged friends (John Cusack, Rob Cordry, and Craig Robinson) reunite for a vacation at the ski resort they all enjoyed in their youth. After a night of heavy drinking in the suite's hot tub, they wake up to find that they have traveled back in time to 1986, assuming the appearance of their younger selves. When a cryptic repairman (Chevy Chase) warns them not to change anything from their past at risk of changing the future, the group realizes that they must perfectly re-enact the events that took place in 1986. The film has several hilariously inappropriate sequences as we see the middle-aged men act as a group of debauched teenagers. A hysterical comedy that has some heart to it.