3 underrated HBO Max movies you should watch this weekend (June 20-22)
Fans of documentaries will notice several high-profile ones on the HBO homepage. One of the latest offerings is Surviving Ohio State, an in-depth look into the Ohio State sexual abuse scandal that went unnoticed for two decades. The other docuseries involves Karen Read's murder case, which is fresh in the news after the stunning verdict.
Documentaries are not the only projects on HBO Max. There is an abundance of underrated movies ready to stream with the click of a button. One of those movies is Cleaner, a new action thriller about a former soldier thrust into a hostage situation. Stream Cleaner and two more movies below.
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We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Cleaner (2025)
Die Hard on/in a (blank) is one of the most successful action movie templates. Die Hard on a bus is Speed, Die Hard on a plane is Air Force One, and Die Hard on a ship is Under Siege. Let's add Die Hard in a London skyscraper, Cleaner, to the canon. Daisy Ridley stars as Joey Locke, a former soldier who escaped her London household with her brother (Matthew Tuck) after years of abuse.
Joey now works as a window cleaner at One Canada Square, the third-tallest building in the UK. On the day Michael accompanies her to work, environmental extremists, led by Marcus Blake (Clive Owen), interrupt an energy company's gala and take the guests as hostages. Unbeknownst to Joey, Michael is stuck in the building. It's time for the window cleaner to channel her inner John McClane and save the day.
Stream Cleaner on Max.
Dredd (2012)
One of the mysteries surrounding Dredd is the involvement of writer Alex Garland. Did he take over for Pete Travis and direct the movie? After over a decade of rumors, Garland finally came clean this year to GQ, admitting to 'ghost-directing' the sci-fi action film. Knowing Garland's filmmaking style now, it's clear the Ex Machina director stepped in and improved Dredd.
Based on the Judge Dredd comic strip, Dredd introduces audiences to Mega City One, an overcrowded and violent metropolis on the East Coast. Nearly 20,000 crimes are reported daily. The only semblance of the law exists with the judges — cops who are judge, jury, and executioner. The most prominent judge is Dredd (Karl Urban). The famed judge and a rookie judge (Olivia Thirlby) must restore order to a 200-story high-rise apartment run by drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). With terrific special effects and gritty action, Garland might be the best sci-fi filmmaker currently in Hollywood.
Stream Dredd on Max.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
Love Lies Bleeding has the vibes of Natural Born Killers and a Coen Brothers neo-noir. Set in 1989, the romantic thriller chronicles the lesbian relationship between Lou (Kristen Stewart), a hermit-like gym owner, and Jackie (Katy O'Brian), a bodybuilder preparing for a competition in Las Vegas.
The two sleep together and fall in love. Lou even supplies Jackie with steroids to compete at a higher level. Things take a sinister turn after Lou and Jackie are caught in a murder conspiracy that requires a cover-up. We'll stop there to avoid spoilers. Expect blood, sex, and violence in this brutal and effective thriller.
Stream Love Lies Bleeding on Max.
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That was really interesting, and that came out of Covid for us.' The Legacy of 28 Days Later In the 22 years since Boyle's genre-redefining movie, zombie storytelling has changed dramatically, thanks in large part to screenwriter Garland's vision for fast-moving Infected. (In interviews, Garland has revealed he drew inspiration from the zombie dogs in the Resident Evil video games.) Subsequent movies like World War Z , Zombieland , and Train to Busan all borrowed liberally from 28 Days Later . But while Boyle is proud of his influence on the zombie film landscape, he's mostly abstained from watching any of those movies himself. 'I've tended to stay away from them,' the director says. 'I always thought it was useful that Alex was an expert and I wasn't. That was a good dynamic in the way we'd approach the films. You have to be careful about either being too reverential or too avoidant. They're both equally dangerous instincts.' 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