By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, is adding 110 new movies on Tuesday, August 1. Here are the four best, in my humble opinion:
1. Annie Hall (1977)
Woody Allen’s comedy masterpiece is based loosely on the actor/director’s romance with Diane Keaton, who plays the title character. The film, which captured the 1978 Academy Award for Best Picture, combines Woody’s comic brilliance with an insightful take on relationships and human foibles. Such a great movie.
2. Fargo (1996)
The Oscar-winning film from the Coen Brothers stars William H. Macy and Frances McDormand (wife to Joel Coen) who both turn in career performances as a bumpkin car salesman and pregnant police chief respectively. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stomare are equal parts funny and creepy as two kidnappers who bungle the job. This is comedy as black as a 6 a.m. 7-Eleven coffee and no film buff should wait another day before seeing it. Brilliant, brilliant stuff from all involved. You betcha!
3. American Gangster (2007)
The crime drama from director Ridley Scott stars Denzel Washington as real-life Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe as the cop who brings him down. Denzel is at his charismatic best as the crime boss; you can’t take his eyes off him. And Crowe is equally good as the randy but relentless detective. (And there are few directors better than Ridley Scott.) Masterful work all around.
4. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
This movie is an uproarious and timeless comedic gem that delivers non-stop laughs from start to finish. Leslie Nielsen’s iconic portrayal of the bumbling Detective Frank Drebin is a masterclass in physical comedy and deadpan humor. With its clever puns, absurd gags, and slapstick antics, the film brilliantly parodies the crime thriller genre, leaving audiences in stitches throughout.
Here is the complete list of new movies that will be added to Max on Tuesday, August 1:
A Hologram for the King (2016)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
A Royal Affair (2012)
Agent Cody Banks (2003)
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004)
American Gangster (2007)
Amsterdam (2022)
Angel of Mine (2019)
Animal Kingdom (2010)
Annie Hall (1977)
Antitrust (2001)
Before Midnight (2013)
Best Man Down (2013)
Beyond the Reach (2015)
Blown Away (1994)
Body of Lies (2008)
Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Chernobyl Diaries (2012)
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
De-Lovely (2004)
Deadfall (2012)
Death Wish II (1982)
Death Wish 3 (1985)
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987)
F/X (1986)
F/X 2: The Deadly Art of Illusion (1991)
Fame (2009)
Fargo (1996)
Flash of Genius (2008)
Good News (1947)
I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
Ice Station Zebra (1968)
Infinitely Polar Bear (2015)
Inside Job (2010)
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
Kill Your Darlings (2013)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Kingpin (1996)
Leaving Las Vegas (1996)
Love Is Strange (2014)
Maggie’s Plan (2016)
Miss Congeniality (2000)
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms (2021)
My Scientology Movie (2015)
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
Night Catches Us (2010)
Night Moves (1975)
Ocean’s Eight (2018)
Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)
Ocean’s Twelve (2004)
Our Family Wedding (2010)
Out of Time (2003)
Restless (2011)
Ronin (1998)
Rubber (2010)
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
Shattered (1991)
Soul Plane (2004)
Spaceballs (1987)
Spawn (1997)
Stage Fright (1950)
Stan & Ollie (2018)
Star 80 (1983)
Stealing Harvard (2002)
Take Shelter (2011)
The Age of Adaline (2015)
The Amityville Horror (1979)
The Amityville Horror (2005)
The Assistant (2020)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
The Bronze (2015)
The Comedian (2016)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
The Exception (2017)
The Fluffy Movie (2014)
The Getaway (1972)
The Good Lie (2014)
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
The Hollars (2016)
The Hunted (2003)
The Illusionist (2010)
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Killer Elite (1975)
The Mean Season (1985)
The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
The Omega Man (1971)
The Phantom (1996)
The Prince & Me (2004)
The Seagull (2018)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
The Wash (2001)
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
This Is Elvis (1981)
Till the End of Time (1946)
Torpedo Run (1958)
Transcendence (2014)
Travels with My Aunt (1972)
Twister (1996)
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994)
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
