Max to Add 26 New Movies On Thursday – Here’s the 3 Best

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, plans to add 26 new movies tomorrow (Thursday, August 1). Here’s the 3 best, in my humble opinion:

Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice, director Tim Burton’s 1988 wild, inventive and crazy comedy starring Michael Keaton as a ghost hired by the former (and formerly alive) residents of a house to scare away the new residents. Only Burton (and Keaton, or perhaps Johnny Depp) could have pulled this farce off but it’s a brilliant, hysterical and taut 92 minutes. The great ensemble cast includes Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Winona Ryder and Dick Cavett (!). Note that the new Beetlejuice film (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice), starring Keaton, Ryder and other original cast members, is scheduled to open in theaters on September 4, 2024.

Taken (2008)
Liam Neeson plays a former CIA officer with a “particular set of skills” who puts them to good use when his teenaged daughter (Maggie Grace) is kidnapped by human traffickers in France. The plot is a worn movie trope but Neeson, a former boxer in real life, manages to turn it into a thrilling ride with splendid athletic work in the action scenes. Kudos, too, to director Pierre Morel.

Pretty Woman (1990)
Richard Gere stars as a rich businessman in Beverly Hills who has an accidental encounter with the proverbial hooker with the heart of gold (Julia Roberts) and impulsively pays to spend the rest of the week with her. The romantic comedy, directed by Garry Marshall, is an entertaining albeit morally twisted tale of love conquering all set in the go-go financial world of the late 1980s/early 1990s. Give Gere and Roberts most of the credit; their chemistry is palpable, and Roberts’ charming performance made her an A-list star overnight.

Complete List of New Movies Coming to Max on Thursday, August 1

3 Days to Kill (2014)
A Bigger Splash (2016)
Amelie (2001)
Arthur (2011)
Beetlejuice (1988)

Blackthorn (2011)
Brick Mansions (2014)
Down Terrace (2010)
Forever My Girl (2018)
Frontera (2014)

Grown Ups (2010)
Grown Ups 2 (2013)
Hercules (2014)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
No Place on Earth (2013)
Pathology (2008)
Pretty Woman (1990)
Rio (2011)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Taken (2009)
The Good Doctor (2012)

The Perfect Host (2010)
The Two Faces of January (2014)
Two Lovers (2009)
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.

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