Meteor

Meteor is currently streaming in Australia on HBO Max and JustWatch TV, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube TV, and it earns its premise rather than just borrowing genre trappings. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. With 173 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Watch it for Sean Connery — the performance elevates material that could easily tip into self-seriousness. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on HBO Max.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Meteor is worth clearing space for. Meteor treats its concept seriously enough to follow it all the way through. After a collision with a comet, a nearly 8km wide piece of the asteroid "Orpheus" is heading towards Earth. If it hits, it will cause an incredible catastrophe that will probably extinguish mankind. To stop the meteor, NASA wants to use the illegal nuclear weapon satellite "Hercules," but discovers soon that it doesn't have enough firepower. Sean Connery and Natalie Wood lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1979. The world-building is meticulous enough to sustain multiple rewatches, with details early on that only make sense later. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Meteor is satisfying on multiple levels — something to watch and something to think about after. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Sean Connery grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Once you are in, you will want to talk about it.