By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman

Max, formerly known as HBO Max, plans to remove 118 films from its streaming lineup on Wednesday (May 31). Here are four you should try to watch before they’re gone:

No Country For Old Men
The Coen Brothers’ flawless neo-western stars Josh Brolin as a good old boy who stumbles upon a jackpot of money but is then pursued by a ruthless, coin-flipping killer, played deliciously by Javier Bardem. (And let’s not overlook the commanding performance of Tommy Lee Jones as the weather-beaten sheriff.) Joel and Ethan Coen have conspired to make cinema brilliance over the years with films such as Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Miller’s Crossing. But there may be no better Coen Brothers film than No Country For Old Men. If you haven’t seen it, take off that barbeque apron and start streaming.

Cool Hand Luke
The 1967 drama stars Paul Newman as a 1960s rebel without a cause whose unwillingness to conform lands him in a Florida prison camp. This is Newman at the peak of his powers as he commands the screen (and his fellow prisoners) with symbolic gestures done only to thwart ‘the man.’ (This was the Vietnam era, folks.) The strong supporting cast includes George Kennedy as a beefy fellow prisoner who is won over by Newman’s pluck, Strother ‘What We Have Here Is Failure to Communicate’ Martin as the camp warden, and Jo Van Fleet as Newman’s mother. (Trivia: Van Fleet played the mom to James Dean in East of Eden; Newman auditioned to play Dean’s brother in the film but didn’t get the role.)

The Wrestler
The brilliant 2008 drama stars Mickey Rourke as a washed-up professional wrestler who tries to reconcile with his rebellious daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Wrestler is a brutally honest and realistic portrayal of an athlete who will do anything to regain his previous success, even at the expense of his physical and emotional well-being. Rourke has never been better, capturing an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

After Hours
The 1985 comedy/drama from director Martin Scorsese stars Griffin Dunne as an uninspired computer data entry worker who yearns for excitement in his life and, unfortunately for him, gets more than he can handle during a wild after-dark journey in a nightmarish Manhattan. Along the way, Dunne’s worker-bee is enticed, and sometimes entrapped, in bars, diners and matchbox apartments by the likes of Rosanna Arquette, Catherine O’Hara, Teri Garr, Cheech and Chong and John Heard. After Hours will make you laugh, sometimes cringe, and definitely make you think twice before deciding to head out on your own for a nighttime spin around the block.

Here is the complete list of movies that will be leaving Max on Wednesday, May 31:

3:10 to Yuma (1957)
42nd Street (1933)
Adam’s Rib (1949)
After Hours (1985)
Antlers (2021)

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
Bee Movie (2007)
Ben Is Back (2018)
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Boomerang (1992

Borat (2006)
Brigsby Bear (2017)
Butterfield 8 (1960)
Catch That Kid (2004)
City Hall (1996)

Cold Pursuit (2019)
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Contact (1997)
The Cookout (2004)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Dark Passage (1947)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Dead Ringers (1988)
Delivery Man (2013)
East of Eden (1955)

Empire of the Sun (1987)
F9: The Fast Saga (2021)
The Firm (1993)
First Blood (1982)
Flying Leathernecks (1951)

Free Willy (1993)
The French Dispatch (2021)
Gaslight (1944)
Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

The Great Race (1965)
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
A Guy Thing (2003)
Gypsy (1962)
Halloween Kills (2021)

Harper (1966)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Hook (1991)
I’ll See You in My Dreams (2015)
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

Inception (2010)
Key Largo (1948)
Killers (2010)
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Land of the Pharaohs (1955)

The Last Movie Star (2018)
The Last Rafter (2021)
The Letter (1940)
A Lion Is in the Streets (1953)
Lizzie (2018)

The Man with Two Brains (1983)
McQueen (2018)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Mister Roberts (1955)

Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter (1968)
National Velvet (1945)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Notorious (2009)
Now, Voyager (1942)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Papillon (1973)
Pat and Mike (1952)
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Practical Magic (1998)

The Prescription (2019)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Rambo III (1988)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Red Sonja (1985)
Red Eye (2005)
Religulous (2008)
The Reluctant Debutante (1958)
Ride Along (2014)

Rio Bravo (1959)
Rush Hour (1998)
Safe in Hell (1931)
Scarecrow (1973)
The Sea of Grass (1947)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
A Star Is Born (2018)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Storm Warning (1951)
The Strawberry Blonde (1941)
Street Kings (2008)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
They Were Expendable (1945)
This Boy’s Life (1993)
Time Freak (2018)
Total Recall (1990)

Transporter 3 (2008)
Two Weeks Notice (2002)
War (2007)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

What Happens in Vegas (2008)
The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
Win Win (2011)
Without a Trace (2002)
Without Love (1945)
The Wrestler (2008)
xXx (2002)
xXx: State of the Union (2005)

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman