The 25 Best Movies on HBO Right Now (December 2020)

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020): Best '80s Nostalgia in Superhero Form

Since the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on movie launches in 2020, Warner Bros. decided to release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max the same day it hits theaters. This superhero follow-up pits Wonder Woman against one of her oldest foes, The Cheetah, and a villainous businessman named Max Lord. All of the action takes place during the 1980s, so expect lots of nostalgic neon and shoulder pads.

Let Them All Talk (2020): Steven Soderbergh and Meryl Streep Together Again

Let Them All Talk is the latest from Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Here, he once again teams up with Meryl Streep (the pair recently collaborated on the film The Laundromat), who plays a famous author struggling to write her next book. She decides to go on a cruise with two old friends (Candice Bergen and Dianne Wiest), her nephew (Lucas Hedges), and her young literary agent (Gemma Chan). The vacation turns into a journey of self-discovery as old wounds are reopened. Many of Soderbergh's films are known for their visual style and snappy dialogue. This is one to keep an eye out for.

Demolition Man (1993): Best Use of Taco Bell in a Film

Demolition Man is a 1990s, cult-classic, sci-fi-action film starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. When supercop John Spartan (Stallone) and criminal Simon Phoenix (Snipes) are both convicted of a crime, they're placed in suspended animation and thawed out 36 years later in a pacifistic utopian version of Los Angeles.

Phoenix resumes his crime spree, naturally, and Spartan must team up with the LAPD of the future to stop him. The film is over-the-top and often detrimentally goofy, but it's also funny and satirical. Some of its jokes still exist as internet memes decades later. And with a sequel reportedly in the works, now's a good time to revisit it.

Between The World And Me (2020): A Timely Adaptation of the Best-Selling Book

Based on the critically-acclaimed best-selling book from Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me is a powerful look at what it's like growing up as a Black man in America. Coates frames his book as a letter to his teenage son, and it's as relevant now as it was when it was first published in 2015. The HBO film is part stage adaptation, part animation, and part documentary. It features appearances by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, and many more.

Superintelligence (2020): A Funny Defense of the Human Race

Melissa McCarthy's latest comedy debuted on HBO in late November. Directed by her real-life spouse Ben Falcone, Superintelligence is about an exceedingly average woman named Carol Peters and the powerful artificial intelligence that studies her. Dubbing itself "Superintelligence," the A.I. turns Carol into a test subject to determine if humanity is worth keeping around. Oh, and it looks and sounds an awful lot like James Corden. While some critics say it's not McCarthy's best work, it's a lightweight comedy well suited to a streaming binge.

Magic Mike (2012): Best Girls' Night Flick

Mike (Channing Tatum) is a handyman and roofer by day and a male stripper by night. But he secretly wants to start his own furniture-making business. He takes a 19-year-old kid, Adam (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing at the all-male revue he works for in Tampa, Florida. But, Adam's recklessness soon endangers Mike's ambitions and his relationship with the kid's sister.

OK, it sounds a bit hokey, but Magic Mike is a surprisingly fun film thanks to some spirited performances from its stars. Matthew McConaughey practically steals the picture alone. If you're looking for a good film to watch with your best girlfriends, this is a top choice.

Us (2019): Jordan Peele's Second Inventive Horror Flick

Director Jordan Peele followed up his 2017 horror megahit Get Out with another gem. Us tells the story of the Wilson family, whose perfectly normal beach vacation takes a turn when their doppelgangers show up in their driveway. Wearing red jumpsuits and armed with scissors, the creepy doubles attack the family and hold them hostage. Finding out where the monsters come from and what they want is part of the fun of this funny, allegorical film.

Cats (2019): Best Movie Train Wreck to Enjoy With Friends

Yes, the 2019 version of Cats is, by all accounts, a disaster. It swept the Razzies that year, "winning" a total of six awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Supporting Actor and Actress, Worst On-Screen Combo, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Director. There's allegedly a cut of the film in which all of the singings felines are anatomically correct. But, even a horrible film can be fun with the right attitude. Grab some friends and enjoy the fever dream visuals, unintentional creepiness, and overall outlandishness.

John Lewis: Good Trouble (2020): A Worthy Tribute to an Inspiring Activist

John Lewis, who died earlier this year, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district for more than 30 years. He was one of the "Big Six" leaders who organized the 1963 March on Washington, and he led the first Selma march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Good Trouble is a worthy tribute to the activist, documenting his life and his struggles for equality.

The Invisible Man (2020): Best New Horror Adaptation

Leigh Whannell's The Invisible Man is the latest film adaptation of H. G. Wells' classic novel. In the book, the Invisible Man is a scientist driven to insanity and violence by his experiments. He wants to start a "Reign of Terror" against all of England. In the film, the Invisible Man is still a scientist, but his goal is much smaller. He uses his newfound power to stalk his ex-girlfriend, Cecilia (Elizabeth Moss). The film's themes feel timely in the Me Too era, and Moss delivers a great performance, as always. If you're looking for a spooky popcorn flick, you could do a lot worse.

Just Mercy (2020): Best Cathartic Courtroom Drama

Just Mercy is the biographical story of lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and the historic case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx). McMillian was given a death sentence in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a lack of evidence and a faulty witness. The film follows Bryan for years as he maneuvers the legal and political worlds to fight for justice for McMillian.

Both Jordan and Foxx are wonderful actors, and they give quietly engrossing performances. The courtroom scenes are tense and emotional, and the ending is cathartic.

David Byrne’s American Utopia: Best Musical for '80s Fans

American Utopia is an adaptation of the Broadway show and music album of the same name created by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and Brian Eno. The show features songs from this latest album along with older hits like "Once in a Lifetime" and "Burning Down the House." After the Broadway show earned rave reviews, director Spike Lee decided to direct a film version, and it's a brainy, playful expression of art.

The Matrix Trilogy (1999-2003): A Groundbreaking Sci-Fi Trilogy

All three Matrix movies are on HBO, so now's a good time to catch up if you haven't seen this classic sci-fi action series. The fourth entry is on its way, after all.

The franchise takes place in a dystopian future in which humanity unknowingly lives inside a simulated reality while intelligent machines use their bodies as an energy source. When a computer programmer called Neo (Keanu Reeves) discovers this, he joins a rebellion led by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss). The films were heavily influenced by Japanese animation, martial arts films, and Hong Kong action cinema, and they helped popularize the "bullet time" visual effect that's still used in movies and video games today.

Jojo Rabbit (2019): A Touching Comedy About ... Hitler?

Director Taika Waititi brings his usual blend of humor and pathos to Jojo Rabbit, a surprisingly touching World War II satire about a young boy named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) and his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Waititi). Blindly loyal to the Third Reich, Jojo's childish zealotry is shaken when he discovers his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their home. Although the film is set in Nazi Germany, it's less of a war film and more a story about growing up, falling in love, and reexamining one's beliefs. And there are a few laughs (and tears) along the way.

Enter the Dragon (1973): The Best Bruce Lee Flick

Martial arts legend Bruce Lee's final film is also arguably his best. He plays a martial arts expert who helps capture a drug dealer whose gang is responsible for his sister's death. To do this, he enters a kung fu competition. While the plot is a bit goofy, the film is never boring, and the action still holds up decades later.

Hairspray (2007): A Charming Remake of a Campy Classic

Hairspray is a star-studded remake of the 1988 John Waters film of the same name (it's also a hit Broadway musical). It chronicles the adventures of an overweight teen named Tracy Turnblad who dreams of being a dancer on a TV show during the 1960s. It's as charmingly campy as its source material, while also tackling serious social issues like segregation. Give this movie a chance if you're looking for a cheerful good time.

Galaxy Quest (1999): Best Star Trek Spoof

By Grabthar's Hammer! Galaxy Quest is a sci-fi satire that affectionately pokes fun at Star Trek and its fandom. When aliens kidnap the stars of a 1970s sci-fi TV show because they believe the cast's heroics are real, the actors must find a way to help overthrow a solar system's oppressive regime and restore peace to the galaxy. Sci-fi fans with a self-deprecating sense of humor will find a lot to like here, as the humor still holds up, and actors like Alan Rickman, Tony Shaloub, and Sigourney Weaver are always extremely watchable.

BlacKkKlansman (2018): Most Satisfyingly Resolved Crime Drama

Following in the footsteps of classics like Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman is essential viewing. It's based on the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first African-American police detective in Colorado Springs, CO, who would, against all odds, go on to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

The movie teams up Stallworth with his white partner (Adam Driver) who handles the in-person KKK confrontations, so as not to give up the ruse, and builds slowly with ample imagery from America's racist past (and present) thanks, in part, to an amazing appearance by Harry Belafonte. The final act features an inevitably violent and satisfying crescendo.

Midnight Run (1988): An Underrated Comedy Classic

Midnight Run is often overlooked when looking at the best comedies of the 1980s, but it's absolutely worth a watch. Robert De Niro plays burnt out bounty hunter Jack Walsh. Walsh is tasked with retrieving a former Mafia accountant, Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas (Charles Grodin).

What's supposed to be a simple "midnight run" is anything but, as the Mafia, the FBI, and a rival bounty hunter all pursue the pair for their own agendas. As Walsh and Mardukas travel across the country, they even form a strange friendship. The chemistry and wordplay between De Niro and Grodin are wonderful in this film, and they help elevate it above the usual buddy action movie formula.

Alien (1979): Most Gripping Horror Flick

Alien is famous for so many reasons. Routinely cited as one of the scariest, most gripping horror films of all time, it's on the shortlist of director Ridley Scott's best work. The alien designs are notorious, the cast was intentionally unprepared for the traumatic chest-bursting scene to get a more honest and visceral reaction, and so much more.

Stripping all that away, you get Dan O'Bannon's story of a commercial space freighter diverted by the ship's computer to investigate a distress beacon, where crewmember Kane (John Hurt) finds the most insidious aliens ever committed to film—then Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the rest of the crew scramble to keep it from murdering everyone aboard.

The Wedding Singer (1998): Best Adam Sandler Film

Arguably Adam Sandler's most feel-good film, The Wedding Singer features the comedian as struggling 1980s musician Robbie Hart. Well-known on the wedding circuit, his life falls apart when his fiancee leaves him at the altar. Drew Barrymore is Julia, a waitress at many of the weddings he performs at. The two become friends, then fall in love and realize they're with the wrong partners.

The Wedding Singer is a heartfelt and funny love letter to the 1980s, and Sandler's original songs are hilarious earworms you'll be humming for hours afterward.

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (2007): One of the Best Sci-Fi Films of All Time

Initially misunderstood by both critics and viewers when it premiered in 1982, Blade Runner is now considered one of the best science-fiction films of all time. Set in a dystopian version of Los Angeles, it tells the story of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), the eponymous Blade Runner, who's tasked with hunting down rogue synthetic humans called "replicants."

Loosely based on Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner has influenced countless sci-fi projects since its release, and it helped define the cyberpunk subgenre. It's received numerous re-releases and director's cuts over the years. This must-watch version is The Final Cut, a 25th-anniversary remaster.

Kung Fu Panda (2008): Best Animated Martial Arts Flick

The highest-grossing animated film of the year when it released in 2008, Kung Fu Panda also happens to be one of actor Jack Black's most charismatic roles.

When a warrior named Tai Lung (Ian McShane) threatens his village, lazy and clumsy noodle shop worker Po (Black) learns to become a Kung Fu master so he can save his people. While that plot isn't exactly original, it's an entertaining time thanks to some dazzling DreamWorks animation and a talented celebrity-laden cast that includes Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Lucy Liu.

Yesterday (2019): Best Emotional Payoff

If you're a fan of The Beatles (and honestly, who isn't), this movie is for you. Yesterday approaches the subject with love and humor. Struggling musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) wakes up one day to discover that no one on earth has any memory of The Beatles or their music. After a short moral struggle, he starts releasing the Fab 4's catalog as his own and, not surprisingly, becomes the biggest musical star on the planet.

Featuring a large dose of Ed Sheeran as himself, the star who discovers and promotes Malik, the movie is charming in all the right ways with some surprisingly emotional payoffs.