Movies

What to Stream Vol 1: Mad Max: Fury Road, Speed, The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Welcome to What to Stream, our weekly recommendation for movies , , , and HBO Max. Today's theme: action.

Happy Thursday! Since my dad said I recommend too many sad and slow movies that “normal people” wouldn't like, today's recommendations are three thrilling, non-stop action movies featuring some stellar car chases. This was originally published in my weekly newsletter that helps readers know what to stream.

💌 Sign up for our weekly email newsletter with movie recommendations available to stream.


ADVERTISEMENT


In movie news: The Oscars were this Sunday and… they got weird. Nomadland led the field with 3 awards including Picture, Actress for , and Best Director for Chloé Zhao — she's the first woman of color and second woman ever to win the award. Here are my full thoughts.

Enjoy the beautiful weekend!


Mad Max: Fury Road ?

▶ Streaming on HBO Max

Mad Max: Fury Road finds us further into the post-apocalyptic wasteland where the original took place where a tyrannical ruler called Immortan Joe has taken four women as his prisoner wives. With the help of warrior Furiosa (Charlize Theron), wannabe soldier Nux (), and a drifter named Max (Tom Hardy) they escape but quickly find themselves hotly pursued by an army. Here's the trailer.

Why it's great: Mad Max: Fury Road is one of my favorite Best Picture nominees of all time for its pure audaciousness. It is the fourth installment of a cult 80s post-apocalyptic action series that spent nearly a decade in development hell — yet, it feels like a fully realized magnum opus of an action movie. 

From the opening shot, it immerses you in George Miller's carefully crafted world and then immediately slams on the pedal and goes. Miller utilizes every cinematic tool available to him to take over your senses and completely control your perception of what is happening on screen giving you no choice but to get lost. 120 mins.


ADVERTISEMENT


Speed ?

▶︎ Streaming on HBO Max

One bus. One bomb. 50 mph. One Keanu. Speed follows police officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) who, along with passenger Annie (Sandra Bullock) has to prevent a mad bomber from blowing up a bus and killing those aboard by keeping it traveling at 50 mph. Here's the trailer. 

Why it's great: Speed is the quintessential 90s action flick filled with corny dialogue, ridiculous stunts, a hilariously thin plot, and Keanu Reeves — but these are all the reasons it works so well. 

Fueled by Keanu doing the thing that makes Keanu Keanu, Speed is an irresistibly fun and fast-paced action-thriller that is literally all gas, no brakes. Before the end, you'll find yourself cheering for our heroes and saying “okay, we'll have to base it on sex then.” 115 mins. 


ADVERTISEMENT


The Mitchells vs. The Machines ?

▶ Streaming on Netflix (starting tomorrow)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines follows the eponymous Mitchells, your run-of-the-mill dysfunctional family on a road trip to bring daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson) across the country to film school. During their trip, however, Mark Bowman (Eric Andre) a tech tycoon reminiscent of another Mark, unintentionally unleashes a robot apocalypse led by a Siri-like smart assistant called Pal (Olivia Colman). Finding themselves as the last humans left to save the planet, the Mitchells have to do something they've never done well: work together. Here's the trailer. 

Why it's great: Produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller — best known for The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse — The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a colorful and hilarious assault on the senses that functions perfectly as an action movie, family movie, comedy, and audacious exercise in animation.

Like the pair's other films, The Mitchells constantly challenges and subverts what an animated movie can be while still being completely reverent and masterful. Basically, they punch you in the face with graphics and color and then put you in a chokehold with profound explorations of real issues we find in our relationships. However, unlike some other studios *cough* Pixar *cough* The Mitchells vs. the Machines is unapologetically for kids and it's all the better for it. 113 minutes. Full review.


? P.S. You can see every movie I've ever recommended right here.
I'm also a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes! You can find new movie reviews here and here

Karl Delossantos

Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.

Leave a Comment
Published by
Karl Delossantos

Recent Posts

No Other Land is the most important documentary of our time | movie review

No Other Land follows a Palestinian activist as he documents the destruction of his community… Read More

1 month ago

Surreal dramedy The Life of Chuck ponders life and death | TIFF 2024

TIFF 2024 | The Life of Chuck follows an enigmatic man starting as a surrealist… Read More

2 months ago

Diabolically fun horror Heretic will make you believe | TIFF 2024

A pair of young Mormon missionaries find themselves at the center of a sinister plot… Read More

2 months ago

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield charm and fall in love in We Live In Time | TIFF 2024

Moving back and forth in their history, We Live In Time follows a couple through… Read More

2 months ago

Strange Darling, a thriller to die for | movie review

While it begins as a cat-and-mouse thriller, Strange Darling evolves (and genre-bends) into a psychological… Read More

2 months ago

Dìdi is a love letter to an Asian-American childhood | movie review

Dìdi is an autobiographical romp through the life of a shy 13-year-old Taiwanese-American as he… Read More

3 months ago