I have been happy with the service I get from buying electronics from Costco if you are a member. I also like that they don't have a million choices to pick from. They don't sell Mac but I'm sure you can get something cheap. Warranty/service has always been worth the cost to me from my experience as a frequent user so if you do go the refurb route with mac consider going through a legit vendor rather than a craigslist/ebay deal.
idk if chromebooks are good for watching movies, but ive heard theyre cheap but good for student types who mostly need them for casual browsing, so they might be worth checking out? theyre cheap mostly, which makes them easy to replace if/when they get worn out
Man I’m in the market for a good gaming laptop rn but I don’t know anything. There’s so many opinions out there and who knows which ones are “sponsored” by various companies anyways. Good luck to the both of us man.