Once considered a poor version of Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video service has improved dramatically in recent years, and now has an impressive collection of movies. From old classics to new releases, the library has something for everyone. Amazon has even become a legitimate player as an independent studio, with several of its films nominated for Oscars. In 2022, the company received four nominations: three actresses for “Being the Ricardos” and an honor for best hair and makeup for “Coming 2 America”. But even if your taste is contrary to price food, there is a lot on the service to tempt the budding cine file in all of us. Here are 60 of the best movies you can find on Prime Video at the moment.
Updated July 1, 2022: Prime Video makes changes to the catalog every month, adding some movies while others remove. We will keep this list up to date to reflect the best movies you can find on the service right now.
Anthropoid
Based on Operation Anthropoid, a conspiracy by the Czech opposition to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the highest-ranking Nazi in Prague, “Anthropoid” is a gripping World War II film that ventures outside the traditional sphere of Britain, France and the United States. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan play the two Czech agents who have been tasked with spearheading this operation, putting together a team to execute Heydrich while avoiding the attention of the Nazi occupiers lurking down every street. The stakes are high – both men are fighting for their country, and they know the deadly consequences of failure. The end result is a deeply emotional war drama that brings to life the victims of Czech freedom fighters.
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan, Charlotte Le Bon On the same subject : Will season 2 of Chloe move to Prime Video?.
The Apartment
In “The Apartment,” Bud (Jack Lemmon) reluctantly finds the key to climbing the corporate ladder: having a Manhattan apartment that he can lend to his bosses so they can do their illegal business privately. From the beginning, he is not entirely comfortable with this practice, but it really starts to bother him when he accidentally falls in love with the boss’s mistress, Fran (Shirley MacLaine). Their relationship unfolds slowly, starting with friendship and only gradually evolving into something more. It ends with the now famous scene where they play gin rummy in Bud’s apartment, where their true feelings are revealed in a discreet, but nonetheless romantic conclusion.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray To see also : Is Season 2 of The Terminal List happening on Prime Video?.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Set against the captivating backdrop of Louisiana Bayou, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” stars Quvenzhané Wallis as Hushpuppy, a young girl who is left to fend for herself when her father, Wink (Dwight Henry), becomes seriously ill. There are many reasons to watch “Beasts of the Southern Wild” – its imaginative film style and its enchanting depiction of a unique community that somehow seems separate from the modern world, to name two – but the top among them must be Wallis’ performance as Hushpuppy. See the article : The 10 Best Books You Should Read Before You Look At Their Changes. Only six years old, she controls the screen and owns every inch of “Beasts of the Southern Wild”.
Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Jonshel Alexander, Dwight Henry
Best Years of Our Lives
In the wake of World War II, returning soldiers encountered a fairly large adjustment back to civilian life. “The Best Years of Our Lives” follows three men as they try to reintegrate into society, despite the physical and emotional trauma of war. Homer Parrish (played by Harold Russell, who was to win two Oscars for his work on this film – a pretty good performance for his debut performance) would face particular difficulties after losing both his hands in battle. Unique amidst a sea of films celebrating the war, “The Best Years of Our Lives” provides an impeccable look at the real problems American soldiers faced when they returned to the state with a surprising clarity for a film made just one year after World War II. Ended.
Starring: Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell
The Big Sick
Based on the romance between Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (who both wrote this script, and were eventually awarded an Oscar nomination for their efforts), “The Big Sick” is an unconventional love story. After a brief romance, Emily’s plan to break up with Kumail hits a chord when she becomes seriously ill and falls into a coma, leaving Kumail unable to do more than sit in a hospital waiting room, hoping she will wake up. During this painful wait, he connects with Emily’s parents, played with wit and empathy by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter. As their relationship grows, Emily’s illness forces him to reckon with the depth of his feelings for her. An unexpectedly true romantic comedy, “The Big Sick” mixes laughter with emotional resonance.
Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano
Blow the Man Down
A studio like Amazon is at its best when it puts its trust in the kind of low-budget, independent filmmaking that we see in “Blow the Man Down”. Two sisters, who live together in a small fishing village on the coast of Maine and mourn the recent loss of their mother, are killed when they cross roads with a violent stranger. It sounds like it’s going to get pretty dark (and sometimes it is), but it’s also genuinely funny, and manages to mix tragedy and humor to make one of the better black comedies of recent years. Margo Martindale as a local brothel owner is reliably excellent, but it is the film’s two stars, Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe, who steal the show.
Starring: Margo Martindale, Morgan Saylor, Sophie Lowe
Director: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy
Charade
If there was an award for the film that feels most like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller without actually being directed by Alfred Hitchcock, “Charade” would win it, without a doubt. This quirky little mystery has Audrey Hepburn in the lead role as a woman returning from a holiday in the Alps only to discover that her husband has been murdered and a group of cruel men are looking for his missing fortune. Together with Cary Grant, she must find the money before they do, and stay alive in the process. “Charade” is stylish and even fun as it provides a legally engaging thrill ride.
Med: Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau
Chi-Raq
Leave it to Spike Lee to take the classic Greek play “Lysistrata”, in which a group of women go on a sex strike in an attempt to convince husbands and lovers to stop fighting in the Peloponnesian War, and transplant it to modern Chicago. The story of “Chi-Raq” is essentially the same: On the south side of Chicago, women are exhausted by the constant gang violence in their society, and are willing to use unconventional methods to force men to lay down their arms. Apart from a prominent performance by Teyonah Parris as Lysistrata herself, “Chi-Raq” has the added honor of being the very first film produced by the newly created Amazon Studios.
Starring: Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson
The City of Lost Children
Cinematographic General Union
Spooky, weird and extremely French, “The City of Lost Children” has Ron Perlman in a rare foreign language role. Here he plays One, a carnival worker who comes over his head when his younger brother is kidnapped. The villain in the play is Krank, a disturbing figure who is driven to madness by his inability to dream. They team up with Miette (Judith Vittet) in an attempt to save his brother, but their adventures take them through a steampunk hell landscape from which they are lucky to escape with their lives. If you like “Edward Scissorhands”, but wish it had a more bizarre aesthetic, maybe “The City of Lost Children” is the movie for you.
Cast: Marc Caro, Judith Vittet, Ron Perlman
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Cold War
It’s hard to think of a romance on screen in recent years that is more dysfunctional, yet emotionally arresting than the one we see in “Cold War.” Tomasz Kot plays the lead role as a scout who puts together a team of dancers and singers who will travel Europe and perform traditional Polish folk music. Joanna Kulig plays Zula, his star, a magnetic singer with so much talent and charisma that it’s hard to take her eyes off her. An unlikely romance unfolds between the two, but their relationship is as troubled as it is electric. They spend eternally reuniting all over Europe, only to destroy themselves when they finally have an opportunity to just be together. With beautiful cinematography and two main charismatic performances, “Cold War” is an unconventional romance of the times.
Cast: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Joanna Depczynska
The Conversation
In “The Conversation”, Gene Hackman plays a surveillance staff who spends his days listening to other people’s activities, but his life becomes infinitely more complicated when he overheads a conversation between a man and a woman who seems to be discussing a murder plot. He is inadvertently drawn into their violent plans, and must hide what he knows in order to survive. “The Conversation” has one of Gene Hackman’s very best performances (no small achievement), and can also be the film that most effectively uses sound as a narrative element.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Harrison Ford, John Cazale
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” uses technical magic to tell the story of an extraordinary man who lives his life in reverse. Born as a tiny version of an older man, he gets younger and younger with age, with star Brad Pitt being physically transformed through CGI from geriatric to smooth face teenager. We follow him on a series of adventures as he grows up, learning about the world that is his oyster more and more every day. Although the film was decidedly unconventional, it was a huge success, receiving 13 Oscar nominations.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson
Dead Poets Society
In the magnificent legacy of inspiring teacher films, “Dead Poets Society” stands out as one of the very best. Upper-class boys in an elite prep school need an education so they can continue to achieve all the impressive things their parents expect of them, but Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) is looking to do more than that: He wants to teach them how they should feel, how they should be alive, through the magic of poetry. It can be full of eerie sentimentality, but “Dead Poets Society” is still incredibly effective. With one of Robin Williams’ best performances and star-studded turns from young actors Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke, “Dead Poets Society” succeeds in packing an emotional battle.
Med: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke
Dirty Dancing
“Dirty Dancing”, like Baby (Jennifer Gray) herself, should never be underestimated. What began as a lousy little independent film from the 1980s that was never expected to make much of an impression has since become a cultural touchstone. “Dirty Dancing” is a growing story about Baby, a young woman on holiday with her family at a resort in the Catskills who has a summer trip with dance instructor Johnny (Patrick Swayze). With an extremely catchy soundtrack, a now-iconic dance lift and sizzling chemistry between the two main roles, the film has been a charming audience for generations and shows no sign of stopping.
Cast: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Gray, Jerry Orbach
District 9
Amidst the backdrop of a neo-apartheid state in South Africa, “District 9” explores a world where shrimp-like aliens have been stranded on Earth and become reluctant refugees in the slums of Johannesburg. Sharlto Copley plays the lead role as a low-level caseworker, whose life is turned upside down when, while raiding the alien district, he is spray-painted with a mysterious goo that makes him an alien. “District 9” eloquently casts a critical eye on society’s cruel and inhuman treatment of outsiders as mistrust and thoroughly others are forced to live on starvation and held to ridiculous standards that make it difficult for them to survive, let alone thrive.
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Benedict Cumberbatch and an endless sea of adorable cats – what more do you really need? In “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain”, Cumberbatch stars as Louis, an English cartoonist whose engaging anthropomorphized illustrations of cats went a long way toward making the domestic cat an integral part of middle-class Victorian households. But while his pictures are adorable, Louis’ life is not easy. He begins by drawing pictures of his own cat for his dying wife (Claire Foy) in an attempt to cheer her up in her last days, and struggles with mental illness throughout the film. Yet “The Electrical Life of Louis Wain” is a magical film that captures the beauty of unconventional views.
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough
The Elephant Man
Based on the true story of John Merrick, “The Elephant Man” is an empathetic exploration of the humanity of a severely disfigured man in Victorian England. A doctor from London (Anthony Hopkins) is surprised to discover that his patient, terribly abused as a member of a traveling freak show, is a man of intellect and good sense. Merrick’s pure joy of being treated as a person by his new friends is only offset by the continuing fear of the cruelty thrown at him by those who see him as little more than an animal.
With an incredibly leading performance by John Hurt and makeup so impressive that it would inspire the academy to create a new category the following year, “The Elephant Man” never fails to make a deep impression on the audience.
Cast: John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft
Emergency
When two black students return to the dormitory after a night of drinking, they are faced with an expected problem: There is an unconscious white girl sleeping in their apartment. Together they must find a way to get her home safely without putting themselves in danger; they worry that they, like black men, will ask for trouble if they call the police. “Emergency” mixes dark comedy with a fresh social consciousness, and is a clever and often tense piece of satire that will entertain viewers as they drive home certain unwelcome realities about life as a minority in America.
Cast: Sabrina Carpenter, RJ Cyler, Donald Elise Watkins
The Fly
If there’s one thing David Cronenberg likes, it’s a little body scare. Or, in the case of “The Fly”, a lot of body scare. Jeff Goldblum stars as Seth Brundle, a scientist who believes he has discovered the key to teleportation, only to accidentally merge his own body with a fly. Soon he begins to transform into a grotesque half-human, half-fly creature, charmingly referred to as “Brundlefly”. Between Jeff Goldblum’s main performance, incredible makeup and prosthetic design, and a whole lot of subtitles, “The Fly” is a note-perfect creation feature from the 1980s.
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Vincent Price
Freaks
“One of us! One of us!” If you do not know anything else about “Freaks”, you have probably heard the iconic line, uttered when the circus artist Cleopatra marries the little Hans for their money, and the freak show artists welcome her into their makeshift family. One of the most disturbing films of the pre-Code era, Tod Brown’s “Freaks” is a disturbing exploration of the community that exists among carnival side shows. With a number of disabled actors who had been former freak show stars, the film draws a strangely thin line between exploitative and empowering. Although “freaks” are undeniably included for shock value, there are also a number of sequences that show them engaging in completely ordinary behavior, which often show the ways they have developed solutions for their various disabilities.
Med: Olga Baclanova, Johnny Eck, Harry Earles
Heathers
Although Veronica (Winona Ryder) hangs out with the popular clique of high school with a trio of girls named Heather, she never stops feeling that she does not fit. Things only get worse when she falls in love with teenage rebel J.D. (Christian Slater) and is accidentally involved in a series of murders. This is “Heathers”, a subversive comedy from 1989 whose pitch-black humor is at odds with the lighter and more optimistic John Hughes plot from Brat Pack. “Heathers” twist humor from motifs that have nothing to do with being funny, and are fascinatingly surreal.
Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker
Hotel Transylvania
Throughout history, monsters have not always been welcome in human society, let alone all the pitchforks and torches and everything. That’s why “Hotel Transylvania” star Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) decides to build a safe haven for monsters far away from prying human eyes, where he can protect his beloved daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez). But Dracula does not bet that an extremely relaxed backpacker (Andy Samberg) will appear on his doorstep and immediately catch Mavi’s attention. With creative character design and strong voice acting from the entire cast, “Hotel Transylvania” is a surprisingly enjoyable animated film that fills a niche for children who prefer monsters to princesses.
With: Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg
House of Gucci
Needless to say, your name is “House of Gucci.” This extremely maximalist film plays Lady Gaga in a story that begins with her marriage to the powerful Italian fashion family and ends with her hiring a hitman to murder her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci. But look, we’re all done things we’m not proud of.
“House of Gucci”, as the eccentric, ultra-rich family it is about, does nothing halfway, and it commits to the chaos with a tension bordering on perversion. Jared Leto alone gnaws at every piece of landscape he can find, producing an Italian accent that does not resemble anything heard on planet Earth. But the film’s gaudy tendencies are all part of the charm, making “House of Gucci” a strangely enjoyable experience if you allow yourself to be taken on the trip.
With: Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, Jared Leto
Inside Llewyn Davis
Siri, show me what depression looks like. “Inside Llewyn Davis” is perhaps the most effective portrayal of mental health problems in a film that is not explicitly about mental health. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) goes through life in a cloud of self-loathing and lethargy, deflated and exhausted by even the simplest actions. Davis is still struggling after the unexpected suicide of his best friend and musical partner, and is struggling to recover from his failed solo career. Nothing seems to work right for him, and it is difficult for him to escape the feeling that he is destroying everything he touches. With an incredible folk rock soundtrack and one of the Coen brothers’ most emotionally evocative scripts, “Inside Llewyn Davis” is a modern masterpiece.
Med: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake
I Want You Back
When Peter (Charlie Day) and Emma (Jenny Slate) are dumped by their significant others, they create a special pact: Each of them will become friends with the other’s ex, and try to sabotage their new relationship. This is the plot of “I Want You Back”, an unusual romantic comedy that succeeds with the charm of the two main roles. Day and Slate have good comic chemistry, which helps overcome the fact that their messy sabotage plan should make both of their characters extremely unequal. As a light-hearted diversion, “I Want You Back” is nice enough, and serves as one of Amazon Studio’s most lovable romantic comedies.
Starring: Charlie Day, Jenny Slate, Scott Eastwood
The Joy Luck Club
Based on a book by Amy Tan, “The Joy Luck Club” explores the relationship between a group of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco. Apart from their common cultural heritage, these women have one important thing in common: They each have an adult daughter with whom they struggle to make contact. Their experiences are so incredibly different from the children’s that the two generations never seem to be able to understand each other. “The Joy Luck Club” is a groundbreaking work about the Asian-American experience, and appears authentic and honest after Hollywood’s shameful legacy of lazy stereotypes and offensive caricatures.
Starring: Ming-Na Wen, Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin
Late Night
“Women are not funny,” insisted a generation of male comedians. The women-driven comedy “Late Night” completely obliterates that premise. In it, Mindy Kaling plays the lead role as Molly, an ambitious writer who gets the chance for the big time when she is hired by a failing talk show late at night with the main title of the famous stinging Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson). Katherine came up in another comedy era, and is struggling to make contact with younger viewers. Molly is given the task of refreshing Katherine’s action, and in the process, the two form a strong bond that allows Katherine to rediscover the spark she once had. Both a celebration of women in comedy and a commentary on the mediocrity of many talk shows, “Late Night” is an underrated gem.
Starring: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson, Hugh Dancy
A League of Their Own
Despite the fact that Tom Hanks famously says “There’s no crying in baseball”, there will actually be quite a lot of crying in “A League of Their Own” – at least from the audience. One of the most charming sports films in film history, “A League of Their Own” follows the creation of a baseball league for women in the middle of World War II, when many of the male ball players had enlisted to fight abroad. With a huge ensemble cast of female characters and a fun, yet touching script, the film sneaks into your heart and has more re-severdi than almost anything else on this list.
Starring: Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Tom Hanks
Les Misérables
Like the film adaptation of one of the most famous musicals ever made, “Les Misérables” is epic in every sense of the word. Director Tom Hooper made the decision to have all the actors sing live instead of relying on recordings, giving immediacy to Victor Hugo’s extensive story of revolution and justice. And although the vocal performance is mixed, the highlights (Anne Hathaway is incredibly haunting as Fantine, and earns herself an Oscar for her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream”, and Aaron Tveit brings a Broadway-trained energy to Enjolras) far outweigh any weaknesses in the cast.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway
Lincoln
When it comes to American presidents, Abraham Lincoln appears less of a person and more of a legend. There have been many films with him and his life story, but Spielberg’s “Lincoln” breathes new life into one of the most difficult trials in his presidency: the struggle to adopt the 13th Amendment, the abolition of slavery. Daniel Day-Lewis creates an empathic portrayal of Lincoln, one who manages to capture the man’s physical presence and demeanor without resorting to facial expressions. (He wanted to win his third Oscar for the show.)
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones
Little Miss Sunshine
As the bright, sparkling Olive in “Little Miss Sunshine”, Abigail Breslin shows one of the best children’s shows in recent times. Olive is a distinctive participant in the beauty pageant, and is overjoyed to hear that she has been entered in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Her entire dysfunctional family, from her brother (Paul Dano), who has taken a vow of secrecy, to her grandfather (Alan Arkin), who choreographs all her dances, to her clinically depressed uncle (Steve Carell), who studies Proust, pours into a van and car rides across the country so Olive can participate. Along the way, however, the whole clan experiences a series of charming bizarre mishaps that take their lives in unexpected directions.
Cast: Abigail Breslin, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear
Director: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Lucy and Desi
When it comes to classic TV sitcoms, “I Love Lucy” is pretty much the gold standard. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were loved by the American audience when the show aired, and are still icons to this day. Amy Poehler’s documentary “Lucy and Desi” is a love letter to their creative and personal partnership, which explores both figures and people and shows how they revolutionized the burgeoning TV industry. With interviews from their daughter, Lucie Arnaz, and first-person footage of Lucille Ball herself, “Lucy and Desi” is both informative and deeply intimate.
Cast: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Carol Burnett
Master
“Master” is a disturbing reminder that no matter how much liberal art colleges talk about inclusion and diversity, people of color still face unfair prejudices on even the most allegedly enlightened campuses. Regina Hall stars in “Master” as Gail Bishop, the new master of Ancaster, a prestigious college in New England. The school has had its share of tragedy: It is allegedly haunted by a woman who was hanged for witchcraft, as well as the school’s first black student, who committed suicide in her dormitory in the 60s. The psychological horror of the place weighs not only on Gail, but Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), a black student who struggles to fit in with her wealthy white classmates.
Starring: Regina Hall, Amber Gray, Zoe Renee
My Man Godfrey
In this comedy from the Depression era, Carole Lombard stars as Irene Bullock, an asshole socialist who participates in a scavenger hunt where a homeless man must gather to win the game. After all, the rich must have their own kind of fun. So she finds such a man, Godfrey (William Powell), and decides to offer him a job in the family house as a butler. He slips into the role perfectly, but little does Irene know that Godfrey is more of a wanderer, with a fortune that would compete with her own. Lombard and Powell have an incredible chemistry with each other, which makes sense: They had been married in real life, and even though they divorced three years before they made “My Man Godfrey”, they remained good friends.
Med: Carole Lombard, William Powell, Gail Patrick
One Night in Miami
What would it look like if Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Muhammad Ali and the football player who became actor Jim Brown were all in a room together? We do not actually know what would have been discussed at such a meeting, but Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” explores the fascinating “what if” scenario, sitting in a hotel room in Miami on the night of Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) ) title fight against Sonny Liston. Featuring powerful performances from Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge and Eli Goree, “One Night in Miami” takes on a stage-like tenor, giving each actor the opportunity to deliver an effective monologue that highlights the character’s characters. complicated relationship to the civil rights movement.
Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge
Ordinary People
Directed by Robert Redford, “Ordinary People” shows us how complete dysfunction can lurk beneath the surface of even the most outwardly perfect family. Timothy Hutton stars as Conrad, a middle school student who began seeing a therapist after his older brother, Buck, died while out on a fishing boat together. Conrad not only carries with him the trauma of that day, but the blame for his failure to save Buck and the devastating feeling that his mother wished he was the one who had died instead. Mary Tyler Moore makes her career as her cold, WASPy mother who, despite attempts to maintain her appearance, can barely stand being in the same room as her surviving son. “Ordinary People” gets a bad rap because it beat “Raging Bull” and “The Elephant Man” for best picture at the Oscars, but it is a gripping family drama in itself.
Starring: Timothy Hutton, Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland
Paper Moon
Ryan O’Neal stars in “Paper Moon” as a scammer who spends his time traveling through the Midwest during the Depression, tricking people into believing that their recently deceased loved one had put a down payment on a Bible, as the brands would then expect to be done paying for. But the one thing he does not expect is to suddenly take care of a smart young orphan who insists on joining him on his downsides and becomes a loyal, albeit rebellious, partner. The chemistry between the two makes perfect sense: Ryan and Tatum O’Neal are father and daughter in real life. Tatum wanted to win an Oscar for his performance, and became the youngest winner ever in a competitive category.
Starring: Tatum O’Neal, Ryan O’Neal, Madeline Kahn
Paterson
In “Paterson”, a man named Paterson (Adam Driver), who lives in Paterson, New Jersey, wakes up every morning to drive a local bus. In his spare time, he writes poetry in his precious notebook. It’s a silent film about a quiet life, but due to the skills of both director Jim Jarmusch and Driver, it still makes a huge impact. “Paterson” captures the simple, unvarnished experiences of an unexpected artist – his sources of inspiration, and how he overcomes adversity when the poems he pours his soul into are suddenly destroyed by his pet dog.
With: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Chasten Harmon
Pieces of April
“Pieces of April” is the most indie indie film with Katie Holmes right at the end of her time as a teenage idol on “Dawson’s Creek”. Here she stars as April, the black sheep of the family preparing to host her parents and siblings for Thanksgiving dinner. This is her opportunity to prove that she is not a screw-up, and to heal the rift between them when her mother’s cancer worsens.
But of course, anything that can go wrong goes wrong. April’s oven breaks down at the most inconvenient time, and she can only cook one turkey using the entire New York City apartment building. You can not have a Thanksgiving movie without a dose of dysfunction, and “Pieces of April” provides it sparingly – but it is also genuinely heartwarming when the alienated family finds a way to start over.
With: Katie Holmes, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson
Pride
It’s Britain in the 1980s, and Welsh miners are suffering a painful and costly strike in the face of Thatcher’s austerity measures. However, they find support in an unexpected place when a group of gay and lesbian Londoners commit to raising money to support them. “Pride” is a warm and engaging film about the bonds that are formed between unlikely parties when both commit to treating each other as human beings. With a wonderful ensemble that includes Imelda Staunton, Billy Nighy, Paddy Considine, Andrew Scott, Dominic West, George MacKay and many others, “Pride” captures a rare sense of empathy that is impossible to resist.
Starring: Bill Nighy, Andrew Scott, George MacKay
Raging Bull
A towering monument to toxic masculinity, Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull” explores the rise and catastrophic fall of Jake LaMotta, a famous boxer played by Robert De Niro. Jake goes through life essentially like a powder keg ready to explode, with the rage and uncertainty bubbling just below the surface ready to destroy everything he has built at a moment’s notice. Jake is not a sympathetic character – he is brutal and violent – but in the hands of De Niro he is also incredibly magnetic. The young actor sacrifices his own well-being for the role, going up and down extreme amounts of weight to play Jake at different times in his life. The result is one of his best performances – and for De Niro it says a lot.
Cast: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
The Report
“The Report” is not a simple watch, but it feels like an essential one. The film plays Adam Driver as a government official responsible for compiling a report that will investigate the use of torture on suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. What he reveals is frightening, with endless stories of prisoners being subjected to every kind of torture imaginable, while CIA operators unsuccessfully try to get information out of them. A condemnatory indictment of US war crimes in the wake of 9/11, “The Report” forces viewers to confront the evil deeds done in the name of national security.
With: Adam Driver, Maura Tierney, Annette Bening
Rosemary’s Baby
The scariest thing in the world is to know deep down that something is terribly wrong and that no one believes you. “Rosemary’s Baby” plays Mia Farrow as an expectant mother who becomes increasingly worried about the baby she is carrying, and who becomes paranoid when she is surrounded by seemingly strange, malicious people. It is a dark and disturbing film, one that derives most of its horror not from jumping scenes, but the overwhelming fear of getting the feeling that you are alone and imagining things. One of the rare horror films to receive awards, it would be nominated for two Oscars, starring Ruth Gordon, who plays the malicious neighbor, who won for her performance.
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
Selah and the Spades
“Selah and the Spades”, which takes place at an elite boarding school, takes the concept of high school clicks to the extreme. This particular school is literally run by the five different “factions”, with Spades acting mainly as drug runners for the entire student body. But Selah (Lovie Simone) has a problem: She is graduating, and she has no heir who can take over her running. When Selah takes the new girl to school under her wings, she thinks she has found the perfect successor, but it does not take long before she begins to feel threatened by her prosthesis. A clever, edgy coming-of-age story, “Selah and the Spades” is a fantastic showcase for Simone’s screen presence.
Cast: Celeste O’Connor, Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome
The Sixth Sense
At this point, everyone and their dog is familiar with Haley Joel Osment’s most famous line: “I see dead people.” Directed by the genre wunderkind M. Night Shyamalan, who would be known (for better or worse) for his friends’ endings, “The Sixth Sense” is a master class in the wrong direction. Osment is alternately scary and sincerely touching, playing Osment as a young boy cursed with the ability to see ghosts, and Bruce Willis as a psychiatrist determined to help him. Both actors focused on the best work of their careers, with Osment supernaturally mature in the role and Willis showing a more nuanced side than we see in his action films. Their performances are complemented by an enormously talented supporting role led by Toni Collette and an endless series of horror that has the audience sitting on the edge of the seat to this day.
Starring: Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, Toni Collette
Sound of Metal
When drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) first begins to hear a ringing in his ears, he pulls it off as an occupational hazard. Then, one day, he goes up to discover that he has lost most of his hearing and has to adapt to a whole new life. “Sound of Metal” is an empathetic exploration of the transition between the hearing and deaf world, with Paul Racis Joe as guide and mentor for Ruben. The film uses sound in innovative new ways: It is used to demonstrate Ruben’s fading hearing, the hard, mechanical sounds of a cochlear implant, and finally the peace of silence.
Cast: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci
Spontaneous
Perhaps the perfect adult story from the pandemic era, “Spontaneous” has Katherine Langford in the lead role as a regular senior in a regular high school – normal, that is, until her classmates spontaneously start to burn in the middle of the calculus. When they were about to expand their horizons, the survivors are instead forced into quarantine while scientists try to find out what is causing these fatal implications. Students are more aware of their mortality than they have ever been, and yet they find ways to live their lives in the best possible way. Surprisingly funny, “Spontaneous” takes in the unique experience of teens growing up under a black cloud of gloom while still trying to be, you know, teens.
With: Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer, Hayley Law
Sunset Song
Brilliantly beautiful, “Sunset Song” is another piece of visual poetry from director Terence Davies. It is a piece of life drama that takes place at the beginning of the 20th century in the countryside in Scotland, where Chris (Agyness Deyn) tries to create a life in the midst of the challenges with her family farm. She encounters adversity after adversity, first because of her stormy relationship with her father, and then her marriage to Ewan, who returns from World War I traumatized and violent. A quiet, unpretentious film, “Sunset Song” relies on the strong beauty of cinematography to help tell the story, one that is evocative in its simplicity.
Starring: Agyness Deyn, Kevin Guthrie, Peter Mullan
Sylvie’s Love
All too often, it seems that people who make films about black romances feel that the story must be tragic in some way, that the characters have to suffer to make the film convincing. That’s what makes “Sylvie’s Love” such a breath of fresh air. Not everything goes perfectly between Sylvie (Tessa Thompson) and Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha), and they have their share of difficulties when they fall in love with 1950s Harlem, but the story is told with such a light touch that makes it absolutely inviting. A beautifully filmed, optimistic story about lost connections and other chances, “Sylvie’s Love” can do nothing but charm the viewers.
Starring: Nnamdi Asomugha, Tessa Thompson, Regé-Jean Page
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Based on a 1955 novel by Patricia Highsmith (which was also adapted for the screen in 1960 as “Purple Noon”, starring Alain Delon), “The Talented Mr. Ripley” has Matt Damon in one of his best performances. Damon plays Mr. Ripley himself, a man whose talents for forgery and imitation allow him to change his identity at will and cut off the wealthy socialists he surrounds himself with. Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow are perfect with him – perhaps they were always meant to play speechless modern aristocrats floating through life from villa to villa, their lives seemingly idyllic enough that Ripley would steal them.
Starring: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
The Terminator
What can we say about “The Terminator” that has not already been said? Although the Terminator series has never lived up to its promise, the standard of excellence set by the first two films in the series is impeccable. The first film in the series plays Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, a seemingly ordinary woman whose world is turned upside down when two future figures appear in her life. One is a robot (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who intends to murder her to prevent her son, a key figure in the machines’ coming war against humanity, from ever being born. The other is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), whose job is to make sure John Connor is born. With a now-iconic character design and an engaging time travel story, “The Terminator” transcends the science fiction genre.
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
Time
Prime Video’s catalog of documentaries is not as well known as the competition, especially Hulu and HBO Max, but it has a few gems, first and foremost “Time”. Filmed over two decades, Fox Rich follows an attempt to get his husband Rob released from prison. The two committed a robbery in the early 1990s, a crime that would give Rob an astonishing 60-year prison sentence. “Time” artfully manages to be both an intimate story about a family’s experience of imprisonment, as well as a sharp indictment of a broken criminal justice system that tortures everyone it affects.
Starring: Fox Rich, Rob Rich II, Laurence M. Rich
Titanic
The disaster film that ends all disaster films, “Titanic”, stands out as a kinematic juggernaut as big and impressive as the ship it is based on. A simple love story between an upper-class girl (Kate Winslet) and an lower-class boy (Leonardo DiCaprio) set against the tragic backdrop of the sinking of the Titanic, and the film took the world by storm. “Titanic” not only earned a staggering $ 2.2 billion at the box office, but it was also nominated for 14 Oscars, won 11, and immediately launched Winslet and DiCaprio to superstar status.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane
Tombstone
The story of the famous exchange of fire at OK Corral is a well-trodden territory; We’ve seen Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday’s companies fight a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys about as often as comic book fans have seen Bruce Wayne’s parents shot by a robber. “Tombstone”, starring Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell as the iconic western duo, plays quite right in line with the traditional narrative. Truly, it is Kilmer’s performance as Doc Holliday that makes this repetition of the story so memorable – he gives the character a vulnerable battle, with each eccentric line reading becoming a beloved gem for “Tombstone” fans.
Cast: Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott
Directed by: George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre
Train to Busan
South Korean cinema is no stranger to horror, but “Train to Busan” is perhaps the country’s most groundbreaking and innovative zombie film. While on a seemingly routine train ride from Seoul to Busan, passengers are snatched from their seats by the most unexpected event: A girl infected with a strange pathogen turns into a zombie, a condition that spreads from car to car as each new zombie begins to feed. The action and horror sequences of “Train to Busan” are all well done, but what helps this film stand out from similar films is its dedication to the well-developed characters – we care so much about them, and are incredibly invested in their survival.
Starring: Gong Yoo, Don Lee, Jung Yu-mi
Uncle Frank
When you grow up in a small town in the South and feel different, it’s hard not to count down the days until you turn 18 and can start your own life. In “Uncle Frank”, Sophia Lillis plays the main role as Beth, a girl who moves to New York City in the 1970s, and goes to the same college where Uncle Frank (Paul Bettany), another black sheep in her family, teaches. Frank is used to living a guarded life for a very simple reason: He is gay, something his traditional, conservative family cannot accept. But when Frank and Beth go on a road trip home for a funeral, he may no longer be able to hide his true self.
Cast: Sophia Lillis, Paul Bettany, Peter Macdissi
The Usual Suspects
When federal agents investigate a robbery that resulted in an explosion with massive damage, they hunt down a ghost: the enigmatic Keyser Soze. In “The Usual Suspects”, Soze is a mysterious criminal whose businesses are well known, even though his identity has never been revealed. Throughout the film, we see the agents try to put together a web of evidence to track him down, aided by the meek Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), a petty swindler who collaborates with their investigation. With a talented ensemble cast that includes both industry professionals such as Gabriel Byrne and Pete Postlethwaite, as well as relative newcomers (at the time) such as Benicio del Toro, “The Usual Suspects”, like any good robbery film, thrives on the strength of the team it has put together .
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Benicio del Toro, Gabriel Byrne
The Vast of Night
“The Vast of Night” is a good reminder that you do not need a huge budget to tell an interesting science fiction story. The film leans more on the tenor of “The Twilight Zone” than “Star Trek”, and takes place in a small town in the 1950s. Two high school students, Everett (Jake Horowitz) and Fay (Sierra McCormick), stumble across a strange radio frequency that disrupts their respective part-time jobs as disc jockey and switchboard operator, respectively. But as they investigate, they discover that the source of the frequency is from much further afield than they expected. “The Vast of Night” is an alien movie that does not actually require us to see aliens to be disturbing, as well as a tribute to the ingenuity of filmmakers who operate with limited resources.
Starring: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Cheyenne Barton
The Virgin Suicides
A melancholy tale of female oppression, “The Virgin Suicides” has Kirsten Dunst in the lead role as one of a group of sisters whose mood is suffocated by their strict parents. The girls seem distant, even mysterious, to the neighborhood boys who are fascinated by them. “The Virgin Suicides” directed Sofia Coppola’s feature film debut, starting her career as one of the most interesting directors in Hollywood in the early 2000s. In the years since its release, the film has grown from a small but well-loved cult classic to one of the definitive 1990s films about the teenage experience.
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Josh Harnett, A.J. cook
We Need to Talk About Kevin
A film that (unfortunately) has only become more culturally relevant since its release, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”, is an unpleasant, even disturbing, screening. Tilda Swinton plays the main role as the mother of a teenage boy (Ezra Miller), who fights the monstrous crimes he has committed against his classmates and his own family. It essentially explores how a mass-killing sociopath is made, and is about as dark and nihilistic as they come. Is “We Need to Talk About Kevin” funny? No. Do you want to be able to tear your eyes away from the screen? Probably not.
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller, John C. Reilly
