3 underrated (HBO) Max movies you should watch this weekend (November 1-3)

Halloween is over, and you don’t want to watch another scary movie ever again. I can’t blame you; after watching new horror movies like Smile 2 and classics like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, I need a bit of a breather.

Thankfully, this list will help you start your November off strong and relatively blood-free. Whether you’re craving laughs, romance, or action-packed thrills, there’s bound to be something on this list to entertain you this weekend.

We also have guides to 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+.

Infernal Affairs (2002)

Chances are, you’ve probably seen The Departed, Martin Scorsese‘s Oscar-winning crime thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, and Matt Damon. You might even be a fan; it was pretty popular with critics and audiences in 2006, and finally got Scorsese his long-overdue Oscar for Best Director. But as good as it is, The Departed just doesn’t hold a candle to the original, 2002’s Infernal Affairs.

Yes, that’s right, The Departed is a remake, and it copies the basic plot of Infernal Affairs albeit with some changes and a whole lot of Bawstan accents. A Hong Kong triad member, Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau) enrolls in a police academy to operate as a mole in the city’s police force. At the same time, expelled cop Chan Wing-yan (a terrific Tony Leung) is sent undercover to infiltrate the same gang Lau is a member of.

What follows is a tense game of cat and mouse where both men question their allegiances and try to avert getting caught. Their paths will inevitably cross, which results in a gut-punch of an ending that is still effective in 2024. After the credits roll, you might want to take a deep breath and tell yourself, “It’s only a movie.”

Infernal Affairs is streaming on Max.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

I’m not a huge fan of rom-coms, especially ones that rely on the genre’s tropes too heavily to wring as many smiles, and tears, as possible. Bridget Jones’s Diary isn’t one of those rom-coms; it has a sarcastic vibe that’s British to the core, and thanks to a game cast, is actually pretty funny.

Renee Zellweger has her best role ever as Bridget, a young, chain-smoking, diet-obsessed Londoner trying to find love and self-happiness in a city filled with men  who are either lousy or unavailable. One of those is Daniel, (Hugh Grant), her new boss, whom she’s can’t resist falling for after a round of flirty sexting. But Bridget soon discovers another potential suitor waiting in the wings — Mark (Colin Firth), who is cursed with a boring fiancée and an unfortunate wardrobe of ugly Christmas sweaters.

Miramax

Adapted from Helen Fielding’s bestselling novel, Bridget Jones’s Diary succeeds because it doesn’t make its heroine an utter joke. She’s messy and says the wrong thing occasionally, but she’s also intelligent and compassionate, two qualities that shine throughout the film. Zellweger is charming even when she’s dressed in a too-tight Playboy bunny costume, and both Grant and Firth will make you want to immigrate to Britain to find your own cynical yet dashingly attractive paramour. Some words of caution: ignore the two unnecessary, mediocre sequels. They stink!

Bridget Jones’s Diary is streaming on Max.

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

Sometimes, a movie isn’t as good as you’d want it to be, but it’s just good enough to entertain you. Dinner for Schmucks is one of those films. Paul Rudd stars as Tim Conrad, an ambitious executive eager to move up the corporate ladder. His boss likes him enough to invite him to a most unusual dinner … yes, a dinner for schmucks. Tim is tasked with finding a new schmuck to bring to dinner where he or she will be mocked by the rest of the dinner party, all of whom wield some power one way or another.

Tim literally runs into a great candidate: Barry Speck (The Office‘s Steve Carrell), who looks weird and acts even weirder. For example, one of Barry’s hobbies is creating “Mousterpieces,” dioramas consisting of taxidermy and mice arranged to mimic famous artworks. So yes, Barry is seemingly a perfect schmuck to bring to the dinner table.

Paramount Pictures

But as Tim gradually discovers, Barry is also a genuinely nice guy, and he begins to regret participating in such a mean endeavor. You can guess where the movie goes from there, and while the ending is over-the-top, it doesn’t diminish the likable chemistry Rudd and Carrell have with one another. It’s no masterpiece, sorry, mousterpiece, but Dinner for Schmucks gets the job done. Just don’t ask for seconds.

Dinner for Schmucks is streaming on Max.