Some movie studios are a bit like indie record labels: just seeing their logo is a guarantee of a good, and sometimes very strange, time. That's certainly the case with indie powerhouse A24, which just signed a so-called Pay 1 output deal with Max.
In plain English, this means that when new A24 films are ready in theaters, they will be available to stream for a limited time on one of – if not – the best streaming services. A24 had a similar deal with Showtime, but that has now ended and Max will become the new streaming home of its films.
In addition to new releases, Max will also be able to stream A24's existing hits, which total more than 100 films – let's say our list of the best Max films becomes a lot of longer. And that means there are some absolutely fantastic films for you to enjoy, including some of my all-time favorites. Here are seven to get you started.
Everything everywhere at once
There will be more ideas in just a few minutes Everything everywhere at once than many films manage in their entire running time, and it's so densely packed that it deserves multiple rewatches. It's a genre-busting time-travel film ostensibly about a woman worried about her tax returns, but it quickly spirals into a multiverse-spanning adventure with googly eyes, hot dog fingers, and a visual gag about something going where something of that magnitude really goes . is not designed to go. Michelle Yeoh is great in the lead role, but Jamie Lee Curtis comes very close to stealing the whole thing. It's one of the most entertaining films we've ever seen – no wonder it was one of the biggest Oscar winners of 2023.
Lady Bird
Barbie writer and director Greta Gerwig may deserve all the money, but Lady Bird is the film that really made her reputation. Her first solo credit production is a smart, poignant and beautifully observed story of a 17-year-old girl on the brink of adulthood and trying to understand everything that comes with it, including her relationship with her mother. Saoirse Ronan is astonishing and the film is both laugh-out-loud funny and hide-behind-your-fingers awkward, sometimes at the same time. It's a glorious, smart and heartwarming coming of age film.
Eighth grade
Is there anything Bo Burnham can't do? His film about growing up extremely online isn't quite a five-star film, but it's still an extraordinary film, a teen film that's unflinchingly honest in its portrayal of someone at war with the noise in his head. It has a whopping 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, with NME praised the depiction of “the terrible awkwardness of adolescence” and the Herald Sun saying that “this extraordinarily moving portrait of a lonely teenage girl is unlike anything we've seen before”.
Marcel The Shell with shoes on
I cried the whole time. Marcel is, as described, a shell with shoes on, and in this long version of their little adventures we discover how they ended up caring for their grandmother in a large and empty house. That turns into a road movie that makes a number of well-deserved attempts to draw attention to influencer culture. While not immune to uplifting road movie tropes, the clever script, funny jokes and most importantly, Marcel makes this a joyful and surprisingly poignant adventure. If you see just one movie with a talking shell this year…
Moonlight
This five-star film covers three periods in one man's life: as a troubled boy who is taken under the wing of the local drug dealer; as a teenager in love; and as a man struggling to reconcile the different parts of his identity. It's one of the best films, but it's often very bleak and sometimes difficult to watch. Regardless, it's an extraordinary film that draws parallels to Richard Linklater's Youth and features some absolutely stellar performances from the trio of Alex Hibbert, Ashton Saunders and Trevante Rhodes as the three different versions of the same man. It's a beautiful looking film, a powerful drama and a film that isn't afraid to mix genres to incredible effect.
Nazon
This beautifully sad film is really very special. Paul Mescal (Normal People) is Calum, a divorced father who takes his daughter on holiday sometime in the 1990s. Not much happens, but what does happen is quietly devastating and will stick in your mind long after the credits roll. The BBC called it a “subtle, piercing, little wonder of a movie”; other critics have used words like “enchanting”. Give it the full five stars, Empire magazine said it is “a deftly orchestrated, empathetic and honest character study. It is beautifully executed and captured with heart and ingenuity”.
Ex Machina
Written and directed by Alex Garland, Ex Machina is smarter than your average mainstream sci-fi film and asks some interesting questions about artificial intelligence and what makes people truly human. It's anchored by a stellar performance from Alicia Vikander as Ava, an artificial human who passes the Turing Test, and by Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb, the programmer who discovers the darkness beneath the shiny surface everyone is sold to. It's one of the best science fiction films out there.