Three underrated movies on HBO Max that you should check out this weekend (February 7-9).

      This weekend marks one of the rare occasions when sports overshadow the arts. Super Bowl LIX is set to take place on Sunday, February 9, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles competing for the title of champions. An estimated 115 million viewers are expected to tune in to watch the Super Bowl, and the audience will likely be larger when considering the gatherings that form around a single television for the Big Game.

      The Super Bowl will kick off Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. ET. In the meantime, what should you watch? Max offers an impressive array of esteemed dramas, laugh-out-loud comedies, action-packed thrillers, and spine-chilling horrors. Although the Max homepage is a valuable source, many hidden gems can be found within each genre. Below are three lesser-known films that can be just as rewarding as the more prominent titles.

      We also provide guides for the finest movies available on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, and Disney+.

      **Love & Basketball (2000)**

      New Line Cinema

      As the title suggests, *Love & Basketball* revolves around romance and basketball. While it may seem like the plot of a Lifetime movie, this film stands apart from typical made-for-television fare. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, it offers a sincere and engaging portrayal of a relationship that evolves from childhood into adulthood.

      Childhood friends Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) share a deep passion for basketball. Quincy aims to follow in the professional footsteps of his father, Zeke (Dennis Haysbert), while Monica has to carve her path, as there was no women's professional basketball league in the U.S. at the time. As they grow into teenagers and young adults, Monica and Quincy experience the ups and downs of love. Will they both be willing to set aside their dreams for the sake of their relationship?

      You can stream *Love & Basketball* on Max.

      **Final Destination 2 (2003)**

      *Final Destination 2* features a premonition of a catastrophic crash, triggered by a truck transporting logs.

      After a 14-year break, the *Final Destination* series will return in 2025 with *Final Destination Bloodlines*. These films track a group of individuals who evade death after one member has a premonition and warns them of an impending catastrophe. The survivors essentially “cheat” death, but Death returns to claim each of them in gruesome ways.

      While *Final Destination 2* may not be the top film in the series, its opening premonition is arguably the highlight. College student Kimberly Corman (A. J. Cook) experiences a vision of a horrific car accident on the highway caused by a log truck. Unfortunately for Kimberly and the other survivors, their troubles have just begun.

      You can stream *Final Destination 2* on Max.

      **Triple 9 (2016)**

      Open Road Films

      *Triple 9* is an ideal "Dumpuary" film, providing an enjoyable crime thriller with a talented cast. While it may not reach the heights of *Heat*, it falls more into the category of *Den of Thieves*, which isn't necessarily unfavorable.

      The movie follows an Atlanta heist crew, including corrupt officers Marcus Belmont (Anthony Mackie) and Franco Rodriguez (Clifton Collins Jr.), along with former SEALs Michael Atwood (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Russell Welch (Norman Reedus), and Russell's brother Gabe (Aaron Paul), as they successfully execute a robbery in broad daylight.

      Dissatisfied with the outcome, their crime boss, Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet), instructs them to rob the Department of Homeland Security. With no alternatives, the crew devises a Triple 9 scenario, signaling an "officer down" situation, targeting Marcus’s new partner, Chris Allen (Casey Affleck). However, deceit from all sides threatens to derail their plans.

      You can stream *Triple 9* on Max.