Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling — it’s one of the downsides to having a near-endless library of movies and shows at our disposal in this world of streams. Am I in the mood for a lighthearted rom-com like The Big Sick or a gut-busting comedy like Major League? Or perhaps I’m in the mood for a sci-fi escape like Star Trek Beyond or putting my thinking cap on for a cultural drama like One Night in Miami.
These are all big questions, but whatever you’re in the mood for, we’ve made it our business to hunt down the Amazon Prime movies with the best ratings and critical acclaim so you can find them more easily.
These are the best movies streaming on Amazon Prime right now. This list is updated weekly, so be sure to check back often.
Prefer something else? We’ve also put together guides to the best shows on Amazon Prime, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Netflix, and the best movies on Disney+.
One Night in Miami (2021)
In actress Regina King’s excellent directorial debut, she takes Kemp Powers’ screenplay of his own stage play and turns it into a riveting drama. One Night in Miami is a fictionalized ponderance of a real-life meeting that happened in Miami Beach in 1964 in which famous friends Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), who earlier that night just beat Sonny Liston for the world championship, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben -Adir), singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and football star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) gathered to enjoy each other’s company, debate, and discuss their roles in affecting change in Black America. Each star holds their own portraying such cultural heavyweights, and the film mixes beautifully-shot sequences of their individual lives and achievements with fly-on-the-wall ensemble scenes that give you a sense of what it might have been like being in the room with these icons.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr
Director: Regina King
Rating: R
Runtime: 114 minutes
Herself (2020)
Get ready for a tear-jerker of a drama that’s full of both pain and beautiful redemption in this Amazon Original film that won the Human Rights Film Award at last year’s Dublin International Film Festival. Actress Clare Dunne, who co-wrote the film with Shameless U.K. writer Malcolm Campbell, is Sandra, a mother of two in Dublin who, after escaping her abusive husband, finds herself on the cusp of homelessness. Told with care and often intense reality by The Iron Lady director Phyllida Lloyd, Sandra eschews Ireland’s bureaucratic social housing system and decides to try to build her own house DIY-style — all she needs is a bit of land. As Sandra’s friends and strangers alike pitch in to help rebuild (literally) her life, it’s hard not to get swept up in this touchingly unique story.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Clare Dunne, Ruby Rose O’Hara, Molly McCann,
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Rating: R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Major League (1989)
Those of a certain age will tell you that when they hear the song Wild Thing by ’60s garage rock band The Troggs, the image of Charlie Sheen in a Cleveland Indians uniform on a pitcher’s mound immediately comes to mind. An ’80s sports comedy in line with classics of the era such as Caddyshack, Bull Durham, and Wildcats, Major League helped create the team-of-losers-beats-the-odds template that would inform generations of comedies after it. It’s elementary: The greedy owner (Margaret Whitton) of the bottom-dwelling Cleveland Indians wants the team to tank so she can move it to Florida. To do this, she fills the roster with flunkees, including a convict (Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn), an aging has-been (Tom Berenger’s Jake Taylor), and a voodoo-practicing Cuban who performs sacrifices in the locker room. Sure, the formula is predictable, but when the team learns of the plot against them, it’s worth it to watch them rally to victory.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Genre: Comedy, Sports
Stars: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes
Director: David S. Ward
Rating: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
Face/Off (1997)
FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) wants to take down his nemesis, criminal mastermind Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) so bad he’ll do just about anything. See, Troy’s responsible for the death of Archer’s son and has a plan in the works to subject Los Angeles to a biological bomb planted somewhere in the city. When the FBI finally catches Troy, he won’t talk and time is ticking, so what’s the next best solution? How about the old switcheroo? In a complex surgery, Troy’s face is implanted on Archer so he can get to Troy’s brother in prison — and he knows where the bomb is. Things get complicated when the faceless Troy wakes up and forces a doctor to give him Archer’s face. From there, Archer and Troy, er, face-off, in a fierce grudge match filled with explosions, gun battles, and clever quips that only Cage and Travolta could pull off.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-fi
Stars: Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon
Director: John Woo
Rating: R
Runtime: 138 minutes
Arachnophobia (1990)
While it didn’t quite do for spiders what Jaws did for sharks (like they needed any help), Arachnophobia is more than capable of jolting viewers with just the right amount of heebie-jeebies and comedy to make for a fun movie night. When a deadly new species of spider accidentally makes it from the Amazon to small-town California, it cross-breeds with the native spiders and starts making its way through the town. In an astonishing turn of bad luck, Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels), a young doctor, has just moved his family to the town. Ross, by the way, is petrified of spiders, which is great, because their dusty old barn in the yard happens to be the town’s spider HQ. As townsfolk begin to die and the infestation spreads, Ross, with the help of a local exterminator (John Goodman in what could have been a practice run for The Big Lebowski‘s Walter Sobchak) and an entomologist (Julian Sands), must take down the eight-legged freaks. Director Frank Marshall’s brilliant use of shadows, close-up photography, and spring-action arachnids will have you looking over your shoulder for creepers for days.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Fantasy
Stars: Jeff Daniels, John Goodman, Julian Sands
Director: Frank Marshall
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 109 minutes
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
The third film in the new, new reboot of the Star Trek motion picture franchise, and the first not helmed by J.J. Abrams (he had since switched focus to the Star Wars films), Star Trek Beyond is considered by some to be the best of the bunch. In this installment, Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Bones (Karl Urban), and the rest of the Enterprise crew find themselves stranded on an inhospitable planet after the ship is ripped to shreds by a swarm of tiny alien ships. Idris Elba is menacing as the alien leader Krall, who’s got beef with the Federation and seeks to destroy it with the help of a super-weapon in Kirk’s possession. Beyond has all the eye-candy special effects action of the two previous Trek films, plus the now finely-honed banter between Kirk and crew. But the standout performance goes to relative newcomer Sofia Boutella (Atomic Blond, Hotel Artemis), whose scavenger-warrior Jaylah (with iconic tribal face markings) chews up the fight scenes with impressive acrobatics and martial arts. Popcorn not included.
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi
Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho
Director: Justin Lin
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 122 minutes
The Truman Show (1998)
There are times in each of our lives where we’ve felt like the events and people around us are often so surreal that they would make amazing fodder for our own personal reality TV show. But what would you do if you discovered that your life was, in fact, that show, and everyone in the world knew it but you? Mind. Blown. This is exactly what happens to mild-mannered Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), the nicest man you’ve ever met, born and raised in the idyllic world of Seahaven Island, which turns out to be an elaborate set filled with actors cast to play every role imaginable in Truman’s life — parents, friends, teachers, neighbors — all there to help play out each season of The Truman Show. But as Truman gets older, he starts to see the cracks in the facade and starts questioning his existence, while the “show’s” creator, Christof (Ed Harris, in an Oscar-nominated role), struggles to keep Truman from finding his freedom.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi
Stars: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney
Director: Peter Weir
Rating: PG
Runtime: 102 minutes
The Town (2010)
The film that solidified Ben Affleck’s status as a serious Hollywood director (even before his Argo landed him a best picture Oscar in 2012), The Town is, on the surface, a gritty, violent and intense crime procedural filled with shootouts and car chases. But underneath is real human drama that painfully details that the life we so desperately want is made or broken by the choices we make. Affleck stars as Doug MacRay, the leader of a Boston gang of skilled bank robbers. After a heist goes off the rails, the gang’s volatile and unpredictable point man, Jem (Jeremy Renner), breaks protocol and takes a hostage, Claire (Rebecca Hall), who they later release. With the FBI (led by Jon Hamm) on their trail, Doug tracks down Claire, who happens to live in their neighborhood, and set out to meet her and find out what she knows. Things get complicated when Doug and Clair fall for each other and Doug starts to imagine a life outside “the life” with Claire. Problem is, Jem doesn’t see it that way.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Crime, Drama, Suspense
Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Jon Hamm
Director: Ben Affleck
Rating: R
Runtime: 124 minutes
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
What would a best-of list be without one of the best films, and comedies, of the last 100 years — according to the American Film Institute. Co-written, produced, and directed by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove stars Peter Sellers in multiple roles (for which he earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination), as he often played in his films. A Cold War black satire of the highest order, the film, which depicts the haywire that ensues after deranged U.S. General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) launches a nuclear attack on the Soviets behind the President’s (Sellers) back, opened to some controversy in 1964 with many filmgoers wondering if something so outlandish could actually happen (turns out it could). With bomber planes on route and no way for the President or the boobs in the Pentagon to recall them, the film is a beautifully-paced race to avert nuclear annihilation, not even with the help of the wacky Dr. Strangelove himself. A must-see film for dark comedy fans or fans of Sellers alone.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Drama, Action
Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Rating: PG
Runtime: 95 minutes
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
One of only three movies on this list to hit 100% freshness on Rotten Tomatoes, The Sons of Katie Elder still holds up as a classic, gritty, Western revenge story, and stars the epitome of the genre, John Wayne. The premise is beautiful in its simplicity: The good-for-nothing Elder brothers — John, an infamous gunslinger (Wayne), Tom, a washed-up gambler (Rat Packer Dean Martin), hardware merchant Matt (Earl Halliman), and youngest son Bud (Michael Anderson, Jr.) return after years to their hometown of Clearwater, Texas, to attend their mother’s funeral. But the boys find that the family ranch has been swindled in a dodgy card game by ambitious entrepreneur Morgan Hastings (James Gregory), after which their father was murdered. The Elders set out to find those responsible, but the Hastings own the town, and after a setup sees the boys framed for killing the Sherriff and Matt dead in a bloody ambush, the stage is set for some classic six-shooter payback.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Genre: Western, Action, Drama
Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Dennis Hopper
Director: Henry Hathaway
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 122 minutes
Sound of Metal (2020)
Sound of Metal doesn’t mess around, getting straight to the intense and terrifying moments that Ruben (Riz Ahmed), a drummer in a heavy metal duo with his girlfriend (the wonderful Olivia Cooke), starts to lose his hearing. It’s the little things we take for granted that director/screenwriter Darius Marder zeroes in on in the film’s opening minutes — the excruciating silence of a blender, the subtle drip of percolating coffee, or the shushing spray of a showerhead — all gone. But Sound of Metal isn’t about deafness, it’s a story about change and the journey we must take to embrace it, as Ruben enters a facility to help him learn to live with his deafness while also avoiding a relapse into his old life of drug abuse. It’s a beautiful film about life-changing loss and redemption and shouldn’t be missed.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Riz AhmedOlivia CookePaul Raci
Director: Darius Marder
Rating: R
Runtime: 120 minutes
I’m Your Woman (2020)
Premiering in October at this year’s virtual edition of AFI Fest, this gritty 1970s-era crime drama features Mrs. Maisel as you’ve never seen her before. The marvelous Rachel Brosnahan trades swing dresses and handbags for bellbottoms and handguns in I’m Your Woman, playing Jean, the bored suburban housewife of Eddie (Bill Heck), a hustler and thief with some shady associates. Jean learns just how shady when Eddie shows up one night with an infant, declaring “he’s our baby,” and then disappears a couple of days later, triggering a series of events that has Jean terrified, confused, and on the run from gun-toting henchmen. Jean’s only respite from the madness is Cal (British-Nigerian actor Arinzé Kene), who shepherds Jean and baby to a safe house where his wife Teri (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and father Art (Frankie Faison) teach her how to navigate her new life on the lam. Dripping with ’70s style, loud wardrobe choices, boat-sized cars, and a groovy Motown soundtrack, I’m Your Woman is a great way to time-warp out of your daily grind.
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
Genre: Crime, Drama
Stars: Rachel Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Arinzé Kene
Director: Julia Hart
Rating: R
Runtime: 120 minutes
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
There are very few performers in the world who can switch gears so expertly as Sacha Baron Cohen. Comedian, actor, and activist, in the last two years, Cohen has navigated the roles of famous Israeli spy Eli Cohen in The Spy and American “Yippy” activist Abby Hoffman in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (both on Netflix). But perhaps his greatest role of all is Borat. Cohen’s clueless reporter from Kazakhstan is back for another go at America in this sequel to 2006’s Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. After spending 14 years in prison, Borat is released not only to find that he has a daughter, Tutar (Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova), but that he must return to the U.S. to redeem the reputation of his homeland by gifting the feral Tutar to Mike Pence. Along the way, Cohen, of course, resumes his pranking of Trump-era America, but with his cover mostly blown from the first film, much of the task lands on the brilliant Bakalova, who delivers some bewilderingly-awkward situations and poignant political skewering.
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Sache Baron CohenMaria Bakalova, Rudy Giuliani
Director: Jason Woliner
Rating: R
Runtime: 96 minutes
The King’s Speech (2010)
If you’ve been glued to Netflix for the latest season of The Crown, keep the royal-watching going with this Best Picture winner. A powerhouse at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011, with a whopping 12 nominations, The King’s Speech landed its star, Colin Firth, his first Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Prince Albert (“Bertie”) of York, during the period before and after his ascension to the throne as King George VI. In case you haven’t been following the lives of mid-century British royals, upon the death of King George V in 1936, Bertie’s older brother Edward was briefly crowned king, only to abdicate the throne later that year to marry a divorced American woman (a big no-no). A reluctant Prince Albert is thrust into the position and as Britain, and the rest of the world, head into the Second World War in 1939, the king must address all the Commonwealth nations in a radio broadcast. But Bertie has long-suffered from a crippling stammer, brilliantly acted by Firth in scenes so painful to watch, you instantly feel for the struggling monarch. Luckily, however, Bertie meets Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a speech therapist, whose non-medical methods seem to break through the king’s affliction. While much of The King’s Speech culminates in the now-famous address (“Forget everything else and just say it to me,” Lionel assures Bertie as he begins), it’s the relationship and bond between King and commoner that makes the film so compelling.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter
Director: Tom Hooper
Rating: R
Runtime: 118 minutes
The Hurt Locker (2009)
With the juggernauts that were the Avengers movies taking up so much of our cinematic headspace over the last decade-plus, it’s hard to remember Jeremy Renner playing anyone other than sharpshooting archer Hawkeye. Consider this a reminder that before he ever picked up that bow with a seemingly bottomless quiver, Renner earned himself a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his brilliant portrayal of Staff Sgt. William James, the head of a bomb-disposal unit in Baghdad during the Iraq War. James is slightly unhinged and is getting a reputation as a bit of a loose cannon, a trend that isn’t doing much to reassure his unit, which includes Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie, also pre-Avenger) and Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), whose job it is to guard James while he brazenly tinkers with IEDs (improvised explosive devices) to disarm them. Does James have a death wish? Is it possible that he’s actually enjoying this? This six-time Oscar-winning film (including Best Picture and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow) is a wire-cutting look at the psychological complexities of war and the damage it can do, beyond blowing things to smithereens.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Guy Pearce
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Rating: R
Runtime: 130 minutes
Bombshell (2019)
Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie earned Oscar nominations last year for their roles as Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and fictional Fox News employee Kayla Pospisil, respectively, in this riveting drama about the takedown of their sleazy boss, Roger Ailes (John Lithgow). Bombshell tracks the real-life scandal set in motion when former Fox and Friends host Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) files a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, which throws the network into chaos as the minions scramble to take sides. Kelly eventually joins Carlson’s cause, working on the inside to uncover other fellow victims of the media mogul, including the young Pospisil, in an effort to put an end to the network’s misogynistic culture. A corporate thriller of the highest order, Bombshell‘s stacked cast delivers stellar performances across the board.
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Genre: Drama, Suspense
Stars: Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robie, John Lithgow
Director: Jay Roach
Rating: R
Runtime: 208 minutes
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
A classic Christmas movie with an iconic James Stewart performance, It’s a Wonderful Life follows George Bailey (Stewart), a banker in the town of Bedford Falls who is preparing to throw himself off a bridge. An angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) appears to save George, and takes him on a journey through the most important moments in George’s life, showing him all the good things he’s done for other people despite the costs to himself. It’s a Wonderful Life is a charming story about perseverance in the face of an often cruel universe, and the value of relationships.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction
Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Director: Frank Capra
Rating: PG
Runtime: 135 minutes
Knives Out (2019)
Writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) gives the classic Agatha Christie-style murder mystery a modern spin in this tale about a famous crime novelist whose unexpected death one night after a family gathering makes everyone a suspect. Daniel Craig portrays the brilliant, debonair detective Benoit Blanc, whose investigation brings the depths of the family’s dysfunction to light and leaves you guessing who will ultimately emerge as the culprit of the film’s heinous crime. The film’s ensemble cast makes a great mystery even better, with memorable performances from every actor involved, resulting in a modern mystery masterpiece.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Genre: Mystery
Stars: Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Stanfield, Daniel Craig
Director: Rian Johnson
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 130 minutes
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — 4K (2000)
When director Ang Lee’s gorgeous Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon came to theaters 20 years ago, it blew audiences away with its exhilarating martial arts scenes. Like nothing Western audiences had ever seen before, they featured gravity-defying fight sequences that had their participants literally floating across rooftops, running straight up fortress walls, and squaring off in epic sword battles while swaying in the canopy of a bamboo forest — stunts largely performed by the actors themselves. But at the heart of Crouching Tiger is a story of forbidden love and secret desires told during a time when giving in to either could threaten your honor and your life. Chow Yun Fat stars as legendary swordsman Li Mu Bai, who has lived a long life of devoted service at the expense of his own happiness, namely his love for fellow warrior Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). When Li’s famed sword, the Green Destiny, is stolen by a mysterious masked thief with rare skills that Li recognizes all too well, he and Shu Lien set out to retrieve it and expose the intruder. Also central to the film’s complexities is Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of a prominent governor, who is to be married off against her will. But let’s just say her will is strong.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance, Martial Arts
Stars: Michelle YeohChow Yun FatZhang Ziyi, Chen Chang, Pei-Pei Cheng
Director: Ang Lee
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 120 minutes
Almost Famous (2000)
Want to know what it’s like to hit the road with the coolest band in 1970s America, while you cross the country in a tour bus singing “Tiny Dancer” at the top of your lungs? Just click below. This iconic scene in Cameron Crowe’s Oscar-winning film is one of many nostalgia-drenched moments based on Crowe’s real-life experiences as a teenaged writer for Rolling Stone, and his time on the road with legendary rockers like the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. But Almost Famous is also a beautiful coming-of-age story that follows Crowe’s baby-faced version of himself, William Miller (Patrick Fugit), a kid trying to make a name for himself as a music journalist as he’s sucked into the rock ‘n’ roll inner circle of Stillwater, a band on the verge of the big-time. Inside that circle, William is smitten by enigmatic groupie-leader Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), but she’s in love (or thinks she is) with Stillwater’s “guitarist with mystique,” Russell (Billy Crudup), and that can’t end well. But as William and Russell develop a real friendship, William risks crossing personal and professional lines and must choose which side he wants to be on.
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Adventure
Stars: Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee, Billy CrudupFrances McDormandKate Hudson
Director: Cameron Crowe
Rating: R
Runtime: 122 minutes
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
If you’re a fan of Oscar-nominated director Gus Van Sant’s work on films such as Good Will Hunting, Milk, and My Own Private Idaho, why not take a look back at the film that put him, and arguably actor Matt Dillon, on the map. Drugstore Cowboy is a spiraling outlaws-on-the-run film that follows the lives of two drug-addicted couples living fix to fix as they drift across the country robbing drug stores. Dillion is Bob Hughes, a young man desperately trying to get on the straight and narrow, but who is caught up in the life with the only family he has, his girlfriend Diane (Road House‘s Kelly Lynch), best friend Rick (James Le Gros), and his girlfriend Nadine (relative newcomer Heather Graham). As the late film critic Roger Ebert wrote in his original 1989 review, “this is not a movie about bad people, but about sick people,” a notion that rings true as the desperate crew’s camaraderie, however misplaced, coupled with Bob’s earnest and often funny narration, endures the audience to the gang, making it impossible for you not to root for them.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Genre: Drama, Crime
Stars: Matt DillonKelly LynchJames Le Gros, Heather Graham
Director: Gus Van Sant
Rating: R
Runtime: 101 minutes
Funny Girl — 4K UHD (1968)
Funny Girl is quite literally the movie that made Barbara Streisand a star, It was her feature film debut, and she won an Oscar for Best Actress when she reprised her role from the Broadway original. It’s fitting that Streisand was playing a real Broadway and film star, Fanny Brice, in a story that spanned several years. Omar Sharif co-starred in the film as Nick Arnstein, Fanny’s lover-turned-husband. Funny Girl opts for a nonlinear approach to Fanny and Nick’s tumultuous relationship by starting near the end and going back to the very beginning. Funny Girl nails both its comedic moments and its dramatic scenes with ease. It’s a film that has withstood the test of time, and it still holds up decades after its initial release. “Hello gorgeous,” indeed.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Genre: Comedy, Musical, Drama
Stars: Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford
Director: William Wyler
Rating: G
Runtime: 144 minutes
Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond is almost over, but his first adventure as the legendary spy is still among the best 007 movies to date. Casino Royale was a hard reset for the franchise, which stripped out the camp with a grounded look at Bond’s early escapades. Assigned to pursue a target during a high-stakes tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. Bond forms a sizzling physical and emotional connection with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), his partner for the case. Vesper is the Bond girl he really loved, which ratchets up the intensity when both of their lives are threatened. This is where Bond truly begins.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen
Director: Martin Campbell
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 144 minutes
Chi-Raq (2015)
Aristophanes’ classic Greek comedy Lysistrata gets a modern update in this 2015 film directed by Spike Lee. The film follows a group of women who decide to withhold sex from their partners until they agree to curb the gang violence plaguing their Chicago neighborhood. Told in a mixture of music and verse, the film stars Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Teyonah Parris, Jennifer Hudson, Angela Bassett, John Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Teyonah Parris, Jennifer Hudson
Director: Spike Lee
Rating: R
Runtime: 118 minutes
I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
James Baldwin was one of the most influential writers of the late 20th century, penning numerous essays and acclaimed novels addressing issues of race at a time when racial friction seemed to be boiling over in America. Working from an unfinished Baldwin manuscript, director Raoul Peck has created I Am Not Your Negro, a documentary examining Baldwin’s views and how they apply not only to the tumults of the ’60s but to modern America as well. Samuel L. Jackson narrates, infusing the material with a husky weariness. I Am Not Your Negro leaves one with the impression that Baldwin’s work has never been finished, and never been more important.
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
Genre: Documentary
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Raoul Peck
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 93 minutes
Watch on Amazon Prime
Train to Busan (2016)
This South Korean horror movie follows a group of passengers aboard a high-speed train from Seoul to Busan as the outbreak of a deadly virus begins turning people into ferocious, flesh-hungry creatures, and those aboard the train must find a way to survive. One of the tensest, frantic zombie films ever made, director Yeon Sang-ho’s adventure focuses on a small group of people aboard the train as they’re forced to overcome their differences in order to keep themselves and their loved ones alive. The movie broke several box-office records both within South Korea and internationally, and it also spawned a 2020 sequel.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Genre: Horror, Action
Stars: Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok, Jung Yu-mi
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: R
Runtime: 118 minutes
The Vast of Night (2020)
This nostalgic throwback to classic sci-fi thrillers follows a young switchboard operator and a radio DJ whose discovery of a mysterious audio frequency sets off a series of discoveries that lead them deep into the unknown. The Amazon Studios film is the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson and has earned high praise from critics and streaming audiences alike for its suspenseful, low-budget spin on the genre.
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Genre: Sci-Fi, Mystery
Stars: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz
Director: Andrew Patterson
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 89 minutes
Rocketman (2019)
Part musical fantasy, part biopic of legendary musician Elton John, Rocketman casts Taron Egerton as the inimitable performer and chronicles John’s evolution from a small-town prodigy to an international superstar. Filled with fantastic musical interludes based on some of John’s most popular songs and performed by Egerton, the film also features Jamie Bell as John’s longtime lyricist and writing partner Bernie Taupin, and Richard Madden as John’s first manager, John Reid.
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Genre: Musical, Drama
Stars: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Rating: R
Runtime: 121 minutes
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
One of the most unexpectedly unique horror films of the last decade, Drew Goddard’s The Cabin the Woods took the typical story of a group of teenagers tormented by sinister forces while staying in a remote cabin in an entirely new direction. Goddard and co-writer Joss Whedon toyed with and twisted the conventions of the genre in ways that no one saw coming, and the result was a film that’s as funny as it is terrifying and packed with hidden elements that demand multiple viewings. If you haven’t seen The Cabin in the Woods yet, it’s best that you know as little as possible going into this film — but if you have seen it, there’s a good chance you’ll end up watching it many times over.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Horror
Stars: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins
Director: Drew Goddard
Rating: R
Runtime: 95 minutes
Fast Color (2019)
Three generations of women with powerful abilities come together in this sci-fi thriller that explores racism and generational divides against the backdrop of a thrilling story about a woman pursued by sinister forces due to the power she wields. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, and Saniyya Sidney star in the film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney
Director: Julia Hart
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 100 minutes
The Avengers (2012)
It might seem strange given the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there was a time when no one thought a movie like The Avengers was possible. In 2012, Marvel Studios brought together the stars and supporting cast of multiple solo superhero films for a massive team-up that broke just about every box-office record possible and redefined “cinematic universe” for Hollywood. After Asgardian trickster Loki primes Earth for an invasion by an alien armada, it’s up to Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye to save the day. More than just an early installment of the MCU, The Avengers was a game-changer for the entire superhero genre.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johanson
Director: Joss Whedon
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 142 minutes
Honey Boy (2019)
Shia LaBeouf’s debut script is directed by Alma Har’el and follows the life of child actor Otis Lort as he rises through young success to self-destructive Hollywood star. Navigating fame and his abusive, alcoholic father proves to be next to impossible as their contentious relationship crumbles across the course of a decade. LaBeouf also stars in this semiautobiographical tale that draws from his experience with his father.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges
Director: Alma Har’el
Rating: R
Runtime: 93 minutes
Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018)
The sixth installment in the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, Fallout shows that the old series can still outpace younger ones when it comes to frenetic action and jaw-dropping spectacle. The film opens with secret agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), part of the Impossible Missions Force, attempting to secure some stolen plutonium cores. When the mission goes sideways, the cores fall into the hands of a terrorist group, forcing the IMF to hunt its members down. Their failure draws the ire of CIA Director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett), who deploys the assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) to follow Hunt’s trail. With a gripping plot and some awe-inspiring stunts, Fallout is top-notch espionage action.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Genre: Action & Adventure
Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhymes, Simon Pegg
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 147 minutes
Watch on Amazon Prime
High Life (2019)
From award-winning French filmmaker Claire Denis, High Life is described as an erotic sci-fi horror film, but it really defies classification. It’s difficult to explain High Life in just a few words but we’ll try. Juliette Binoche stars as Dr. Dibs, overseer of a damned space mission that is sending criminals to attempt to extract energy from a black hole. Along the way, Dibs performs sexual experiments on the criminals that lead to their deaths. Ultimately, murderer Monte (Robert Pattinson) is left alone with his daughter, trying to survive and thrive as they hurtle toward certain death.
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Genre: Science Fiction
Stars: Robert Pattinson, André Benjamin, Mia Goth
Director: Claire Denis
Rating: R
Runtime: 110
Eighth Grade (2018)
As delightfully awkward as it is heartfelt and earnest, Eighth Grade is one of the more honest and true-to-life coming-of-age stories you’ll see. The directorial debut of comedian and actor Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade treats the terrors of growing up with a subtler touch, centering on 13-year-old Kayla (the revelatory Elsie Fisher) as she makes her way through the last week of middle school. Eighth Grade is a movie about middle school that stars real middle schoolers, which makes it funnier, more interesting, and vastly more cringe-inducing. If you ever went to a middle school pool party, Eighth Grade is for you.
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson
Director: Bo Burnham
Rating: R
Runtime: 94 minutes
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Facing displacement from the home his grandfather built as a result of gentrification in his San Francisco neighborhood, Jimmie and his best friend, Mort, set out on a mission to reclaim the house before it is irreversibly changed. Their odyssey tests their friendship and forces them to question where they belong in the place they’ve always called home. A poignant, often intense journey, this film was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Jimmie Falls, Tichina Arnold, Mike Epps
Director: Joe Talbot
Rating: R
Runtime: 120 minutes
Fighting With My Family (2019)
A comedy based on the true story of WWE wrestler Paige, Fighting with my Family delivers on the story of a real-life wrestling family. Written and directed by Stephen Merchant, the film stars Florence Pugh alongside a strong cast that includes Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn, and others. Pugh and her brother (played by Jack Lowden) try out for the WWE and, when only one of them makes the cut, Pugh is forced to face the world of professional wrestling alone. It may have a bit of an underdog storyline that’s often used in sports, but there’s a sincerity and a truth behind this story that makes it special.
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Florence Pugh, Lena Headey
Director: Stephen Merchant
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 107 minutes
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
In the soft shadows of The Gaslight Cafe, folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) croons that he “wouldn’t mind the hanging.” Leave it to the Coen Brothers to oblige him. Two of America’s most mercurial filmmakers, the Coens have approached both grim tragedy and madcap comedy in their films, sometimes at the same time. Inside Llewyn Davis falls on the bleaker end of the spectrum, following Davis as he attempts to get his music career on track in the wake of his musical partner’s suicide. His finances are not the only part of his life falling apart; his former lover, Jean (Carey Mulligan), pregnant with a child that is likely his, wants nothing to do with him. Davis’ struggle, set against the frost-glazed backdrop of New York, is a tragic one. But the film is not without humor, black though it may be. The characters surrounding Llewyn are as vibrant as he is cold, particularly Justin Timberlake as Jane’s new boyfriend (although Isaac’s future Star Wars nemesis also has a memorable musical cameo).
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Oscar Isaac, John Goodman, Carey Mulligan
Director: Ethan & Joel Coen
Rating: R
Runtime: 105 minutes
Watch on Amazon Prime
The Handmaiden (2016)
From Korean director Park Chan-wook, award-winning director of Oldboy, The Handmaiden is an intense, pulse-pounding crime drama set in the early 1900s during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The film follows two women — a young Japanese lady on a secluded estate, and the Korean woman who is hired as her new handmaiden. Little does the former know, though, that the latter is conspiring with a con man to defraud the woman out of her inheritance.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong
Director: Park Chan-wook
Rating: NR
Runtime: 145 minutes
You Were Never Really Here (2017)
This Amazon Original was nominated for four 2019 Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature and Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix). Phoenix stars as a traumatized veteran who harnesses his trauma into hunting down missing girls for a living. However, as his nightmares begin to overtake him and he continues to get in over his head, he begins to uncover a conspiracy that threatens to destroy or save him, depending on the paths he takes.
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Genre: Mystery & Suspense
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, John Doman
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Rating: R
Runtime: 89 minutes
Midsommar (2019)
Called an “operatic breakup movie” by director Ari Aster, Midsommar proves to be exactly that and more in this suspenseful film. It centers around an American couple with serious relationship issues who travel with friends to a midsummer festival. It gets significantly more violent and unsettling from there, with the setting of a remote Swedish village serving as the backdrop for a cult with less-than-admirable intentions, to put it lightly. It was a hit in summer 2019 and, if you’re up for a nearly 2.5-hour movie where the scares consistently and constantly creep up on you, it won’t take long to understand why.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Genre: Horror
Stars: Florence Pugh, Liv Mjönes, Jack Reynor
Director: Ari Aster
Rating: R
Runtime: 140 minutes
Cold War (2018)
Paweł Pawlikowski’s gorgeous historical drama Cold War follows Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Zula (Joanna Kulig), a music director and singer respectively, who meet and fall in love in Poland after the end of World War II. As the years drag on and the Soviet grip over Eastern Europe tightens, the two drift across borders, in and out of each other’s lives. Their turbulent romance, set against a backdrop of paranoia and repression, is messy but moving. Filmed in stark black and white, Cold War is a beautiful film full of masterfully composed shots.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Rating: R
Runtime: 89 minutes
The Big Sick (2017)
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani and comedy writer Emily V. Gordon adapted their real-life love story for film in The Big Sick, a charming romantic comedy that was one of Digital Trends’ favorite movies of 2019 and helped score Nanjiani and Gordon their own Apple TV+ show. The movie begins with Kumail (playing a loosely fictionalized version of himself) struggling to build a stand-up career, mining his Pakistani background for material. After a run-in with a heckler named Emily (Zoe Kazan) turns into a one-night-stand and eventually a relationship, the two start to run into troubles. For starters, Kumail’s parents want him to settle down with a Pakistani woman, leading them to break up. Making things even more complicated, an infection leaves Emily in a coma. While visiting Emily in the hospital, Kumail meets her parents, Terry (Ray Romano) and Beth (Holly Hunter), learning more about them and Emily as he processes his own feelings.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Stars: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter
Director: Michael Showalter
Rating: R
Runtime: 119 minutes
Watch on Amazon Prime
The Lighthouse (2019)
Director Robert Eggers was initially moved to adapt Edgar Allan Poe’s The Light-House as a film, but The Lighthouse ultimately went in its own direction as one of 2019’s most unusual movies. Filmed entirely in black-and-white, The Lighthouse takes place in the late 19th century, as Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) finds himself stationed with the mercurial Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe). Alone and stranded on the remote island, Winslow and Wake battle both each other and the onset of insanity. Pattinson and Dafoe’s confrontations and performances are riveting, but it’s the movie’s surprises that will keep viewers talking long after the film comes to an end.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe
Director: Robert Eggers
Rating: R
Runtime: 109 minutes
The Farewell (2019)
In China, the name of this movie is “Don’t Tell Her.” The Farewell‘s American title doesn’t entirely capture the premise of the movie in the same way, but the core message is similar. Awkwafina stars as Billi Wang, a Chinese-American writer who learns that her grandmother, Nai Nai (Zhao Shu-zhen), is dying from terminal lung cancer in China. To make matters worse, Billi’s parents, Haiyan Wang (Tzi Ma) and Lu Jian (Diana Lin), as well as the rest of the family, forbid Billi from telling Nai Nai that she has only a short time to live. It’s a promise that weighs heavily on Billi, but her connection with her beloved grandmother is beautiful and touching. Nai Nai may not know the truth, but she’s still got something valuable to teach her family.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shu-zhen
Director: Lulu Wang
Rating: PG
Runtime: 100 minutes
The African Queen (1951)
One of the joys of Amazon Prime is that it allows viewers of all ages to get acquainted with the films that came out decades before they were born. The African Queen is one of director John Huston’s most beloved films, thanks in no small part to the pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn as the leads. The story is set in World War I, as a missionary named Rose Sayer (Hepburn) and the captain of a riverboat, Charlie Allnut (Bogart) join forces against the Germans after their lives are upended. The journey of the African Queen takes Charlie and Rose into countless dangers, as well as an occasionally rocky romance. This is a classic, folks. And everyone should see it at least once.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Genre: Adventure
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
Director: John Huston
Rating: PG
Runtime: 105 minutes
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Concert films are not a new phenomenon, but they do seem to be fewer and far between. In 1984, director Jonathan Demme teamed up with the band called Talking Heads for Stop Making Sense, one of the most influential concert films of all-time. Demme filmed the movie over four live performances at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, and Talking Heads put on the show of their lives every night. The band had a great sense of showmanship and stage presence, and Demme captured it all. Stop Making Sense has even pulled off the rare feat of a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. If it’s not a “Once in a Lifetime” experience, it’s close enough.
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Genre: Concert Film
Stars: Talking Heads
Director: Jonathan Demme
Rating: NR
Runtime: 105 minutes
Blow the Man Down (2020)
Blow the Man Down is a dark comedy and a hidden gem that arrived on Amazon Prime under the radar earlier this year. Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe co-headline the film as feuding sisters Mary Beth and Priscilla Connolly, respectively. When Mary Beth kills a man who tried to harm her, Priscilla decides that blood is thicker than water and she helps her sister cover up the evidence. Unfortunately for the Connolly sisters, secrets are hard to keep in a small town, and they never quite know who they can trust. Margo Martindale also has a terrific supporting turn as Enid Nora Devlin, a local brothel owner who may know too much.
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Genre: Comedy, Thriller
Stars: Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe, Margo Martindale
Director: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy
Rating: R
Runtime: 91 minutes
Paterson (2016)
The stakes aren’t particularly high for Paterson the film. But for Paterson himself, they’re everything. Adam Driver stars as the title character, a man who works as a bus driver. But in reality, Paterson is a poet who hasn’t learned to fully accept that aspect of himself. The entire movie takes place over the course of a week, and we see the daily routine of both Paterson and his wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani). But when the pattern breaks and misfortune strikes, it will take a minor miracle to get Paterson back on the right track.
Rotten Tomatoes: 96%
Genre: Drama
Stars: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Barry Shabaka Henley
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Rating: R
Runtime: 118 minutes
Creed II (2018)
Creed II has the difficult task of following the first Creed while also serving as a direct sequel to Rocky IV. Remarkably, it succeeds at both by giving Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) strong stories and lots of complicated emotions to work through. Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) re-enters their lives while challenging Creed to fight his son, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu). Rocky’s attempt to protect his new charge is no match for Creed’s desire to avenge his father in the ring. The resulting emotional and physical fallout separates Creed and Rocky before bringing them back together yet again. If you’ve seen one Rocky movie, then you know the formula by now. But Creed II does an excellent job of making the formula work yet again. It also gives Rocky some much-needed closure, if this turns out to be his final film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Genre: Drama, Sports, Action
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
Director: Steven Caple Jr.
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 130 minutes
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