Looking for a movie to watch during the purgatory between Christmas and the New Year? Then you’ve come to the right place.
This weekend serves as the bridge between the Christmas festivities and New Year’s Day, with many people still at home visiting family and seeking some entertainment.
Thankfully, if you’ve got HBO Max, you don’t have to look far. The streamer added a ton of new movies in December, and we think one could be your perfect weekend viewing.
Watch With Us has picked three of the best recently added HBO Max movies.
‘One Battle After Another’ (2025)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic adaptation of the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon has been the movie title on everyone’s lips this awards season, positioned as a top contender for taking home Best Picture gold at the upcoming Academy Awards. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as former revolutionary Bob Ferguson, who finds his radical past has come back to haunt him when his daughter is kidnapped by a long-forgotten nemesis.
Thrilling, paranoid and surprisingly hilarious, One Battle After Another is the perfect marriage of thought-provoking drama, high-stakes crime thriller, poignant drama and laugh-out-loud comedy. The movie has a little bit of everything and it pulls it all off beautifully, to the extent that it’s topped a number of “best of the year” lists, such as Rolling Stone, IndieWire and The Guardian. While being a highly entertaining indictment of our current moment in history, it’s also a moving story about a father and daughter that holds hope in its heart.
‘Atomic Blonde’ (2017)
With the imminent collapse of the Berlin Wall, Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron), the most elite agent in MI6, races to find a crucial document that is about to be smuggled into the West. Broughton travels to the heart of Berlin to search for the priceless dossier and goes up against a ruthless espionage ring, but despite her arsenal of deadly skills, she finds herself surrounded by enemies that are closing in on her. Broughton meets up with David Percival (James McAvoy), an embedded station agent who helps her fight her way through the mission.
Director David Leitch (John Wick) gives Atomic Blonde a nostalgic, ’80s-inspired style and compelling Cold War atmosphere that make up for some weaker screenwriting decisions. Led by a simmering and sensual performance from Theron, the film features gorgeous, neon-tinged cinematography, kinetic fight sequences and balls-to-the-walls spy thriller action that makes the movie genuinely unmissable if you love ultra-violent action flicks.
‘Night and Day’ (1946)
This black-and-white romantic musical stars Cary Grant as real-life songwriter Cole Porter, who leaves to serve in World War I after his first stage show fails. But when he’s injured during battle, he ends up in a hospital where he meets a nurse named Linda Lee (Alexis Smith), and they begin to fall for each other. However, after Cole is discharged, he leaves Linda and returns to New York and resumes writing music. And though he eventually marries her, their courtship comes with its share of troubles.
It’s the weekend before Christmas, but if you’re a movie lover stuck at home, it feels like Christmas is happening right now. Why? Well, there’s a slew of high-profile movies debuting that are definitely worth your time. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, […]
It’s hard to go wrong with a movie starring the ever-charming Grant (North by Northwest, To Catch a Thief), and with the music of Cole Porter, Night and Day makes for a very sweet and entertaining viewing experience. While not the greatest exploration of one of America’s greatest musical talents, Night and Day is a charming, infectious, and romantic slice of classic Hollywood.