It's no secret that HBO Max has arguably the best library of movies and TV shows of any streaming service. Unlike some others, HBO Max is chock full of a mix of blockbuster new releases, wildly popular films, and also stone-cold classics, with very little to no filler in between. But that can sometimes make choosing what to watch a difficult task, so in the interest of making things easier, we've put together a list of seven titles you should prioritize this month. Below, we've listed the best new movies on HBO Max for the month of June 2021. These range from Oscar-winning dramas to classic Westerns to genuine new releases that are playing in theaters right now, so there's a mix of everything.
Check out our list of the best new movies to watch on HBO Max in June below.
The Aviator
Available on: June 1st
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: John Logan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, John C. Reilly, Kate Beckinsale, Alan Alda, and Jude Law
If you want to watch one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances and one of Martin Scorsese’s most epic films and a true technical marvel, then check out The Aviator. This sprawling biopic of the legendary Howard Hughes covers a lot of ground, but in contrast to other cradle-to-grave biopics, Scorsese grounds this entire film with one theme: cinema. While Hughes was known for his aviation pioneering, he was also a successful film producer and director, and the film not only covers this period of Hughes’ life but Scorsese and cinematographer Robert Richardson present each era the exact way it would look had it been filmed with period-appropriate cameras. The colors and film stock are incredible, and it never takes away from the story at hand as DiCaprio (admittedly a smidge too young for the part) gives it his all as the film covers Hughes’ severe OCD and mental illness.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Available on: June 1st
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, and Peter George
Cast: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, and Tracy Reed
Well Dr. Strangelove is just simply one of the best films ever made. Released in 1964, iconic filmmaker Stanley Kubrick’s black-and-white satire tackles the Cold War from the perspective of the men making the big decisions. As fears of a nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia grow, an unhinged Air Force general orders a nuclear attack on Russia. The crux of the movie is set in the war room, where the President, advisors, and others attempt to prevent the bomb from actually being dropped. This movie is as smart as it is dark.
Matchstick Men
Available on: June 1st
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Ted Griffin and Nicholas Griffin
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman, and Bruce McGill
Ridley Scott works so quickly that sometimes a film of his will fly by, failing to make too much of an impression. That was certainly the case with his 2003 con artist movie Matchstick Men, which is now streaming on HBO Max and is well worth checking out. Nicolas Cage, not too long after his Best Actor Oscar win, plays a con artist with severe tourette’s syndrome and OCD who runs cons with his partner, played by Sam Rockwell. Their schemes are thrown for a loop when a young girl comes into their life claiming to be Cage’s daughter, whom he did not know existed. The film is a little like Ocean’s Eleven but with a deeper emotional hook.
Presumed Innocent
Available on: June 1st
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Writers: Frank Pierson and Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, and Greta Schacchi
If you haven’t seen Presumed Innocent, I implore you to prioritize it in your queue immediately. This 1990 legal thriller not only features one of Harrison Ford’s best performances, but is also just a tremendously engrossing and entertaining thrill-ride all its own. Ford plays a prosecutor whose life is thrown for a loop when his mistress winds up dead, and he’s fingered for the crime. The brilliance of the film – as directed by legendary All the President’s Men and Klute filmmaker Alan J. Pakula – is that you, the viewer, are not let in on whether Ford’s character is guilty or innocent at the onset. So as you follow the protagonist your judgment shifts wildly with each new revelation. Ford is phenomenal here, proving he’s more than just a charismatic action hero.
Wedding Crashers
Available on: June 1st
Director: David Dobkin
Writers: Steve Faber and Bob Fisher
Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken, Isla Fischer, and Bradley Cooper
If you’re in the mood for something on the silly side but with a nice heart at its center, the 2005 hit comedy Wedding Crashers might hit the spot. A combination of a bro-comedy and a romantic comedy, the film stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as two friends who crash a wedding, only to fall for two women at the event. Their interaction leads to them being invited to the family’s home immediately after the wedding, and their lies begin to catch up with them as they develop true feelings for these women they’ve mislead. Rachel McAdams is endearing, Isla Fischer is feisty, and Bradley Cooper is perfect as a Grade A jackass. Less profane than something like Old School, Wedding Crashers still hits that funny spot while offering something a bit more to chew on.
In the Heights
Available on: June 11th
Director: Jon M. Chu
Writer: Quiara Alegría Hudes
Cast: Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Jimmy Smits
If you choose to watch In the Heights at home on HBO Max, good luck staying seated on your couch. The film adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway musical is explosive, propulsive, melodramatic, and jaw-dropping from a frame-to-frame level. Director Jon M. Chu blends his previously honed skills with jaw-dropping dance set pieces and ensemble cast-building with the absolute apex of his career, the Mission: Impossible - Fallout of movie musical craft and imagination. Anthony Ramos, an absolute movie star, centers the picture with emotion, verve, and nerve, but no matter where you look, you will find a performer taking their opportunity to be electric onscreen, from Stephanie Beatriz's exquisite physical comedy to Olga Merediz's earth-scorchingly emotional solo song. You're gonna get up at one point, be it to clap, dance, or scream. The film is just too heightened not to. - Gregory Lawrence
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Available on: June 12th
Director: Judd Apatow
Writers: Steve Carell and Judd Apatow
Cast: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Romany Malco, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Jane Lynch
It’s hard to imagine anyone hasn’t seen The 40-Year-Old Virgin, but this landmark comedy still holds up tremendously well over 15 years after its release. Based on an idea by Steve Carell, the story revolves around a 40-year-old man who accidentally outs that he’s a virgin to his co-workers, only for them to make it their mission to help him lose his virginity. The comedy comes from how terrible all these men are at relationships and sex, and Carell is pitch-perfect in the lead role. Judd Apatow really set the tone for an entire subgenre of comedy with this film, as many of the scenes were loosely improvised. But as raunchy as the movie gets, it also has a big heart in the form of Carell’s relationship with a woman played by Catherine Keener, as well as an all-timer finale sequence.