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The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now
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As Netflix pours more of its resources into original content, Amazon Prime Video is picking up the slack, adding new movies for its subscribers each month. Its catalog has grown so impressive, in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming — and at the same time, movies that are included with a Prime subscription regularly change status, becoming available only for rental or purchase. It’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve plucked out 100 of the absolute best movies included with a Prime subscription right now, to be updated as new information is made available.As Netflix pours more of its resources into original content, Amazon Prime Video is picking up the slack, adding new movies for its subscribers each month. Its catalog has grown so impressive, in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming — and at the same time, movies that are included with a Prime subscription regularly change status, becoming available only for rental or purchase. It’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve plucked out 100 of the absolute best movies included with a Prime subscription right now, to be updated as new information is made available.
Here are our lists of the best TV shows and movies on Netflix, and the best of both on Hulu and Disney+.Here are our lists of the best TV shows and movies on Netflix, and the best of both on Hulu and Disney+.
The director Terrence Malick followed up “Badlands,” his startling debut, with this elliptical and evocative period drama that follows three transients into the Texas panhandle, circa 1916. Richard Gere, in an early role, hides his pain with brusque physicality, while Brooke Adams plays the woman he loves, and loses. But the real star here is Malick’s distinctive style, which was fully formed by this sophomore effort: gorgeous, picturesque cinematography, paired with a searching, thoughtful voice-over, accumulating into something less like conventional cinema and more like filmed poetry.Watch it on Amazon The writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson picked up nominations for best director, best original screenplay and best picture for this richly textured, quietly bittersweet and frequently funny story of growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. The actor Cooper Hoffman is charismatic and charming as a young would-be entrepreneur; the musician Alana Haim, in a star-making performance of astonishing depth, is the perpetually out-of-reach object of his affections. It’s the kind of movie that sneaks up on you with its warmth and insight. Manohla Dargis called it “a shaggy, fitfully brilliant romp.”Watch it on Amazon
Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church are a pair of middle-aged pals facing down the messes they’ve made of their lives in this prickly road movie from the director Alexander Payne, which also stars Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. Church is a down-on-his-luck actor who’s about to get married; Giamatti is his best friend, a failed writer and wine aficionado, who takes him on a weeklong bachelor party trip to wine country, where they discover some good wine, some enjoyable companionship and some uncomfortable truths. Our critic deemed it “a small masterpiece.”Watch it on Amazon The director Michael Mann made his big-screen debut with this moody thriller, and with much of his distinctive aesthetic already in place: sleek photography, synthesized music and a keen interest in the interior lives of men who make their living in crime. James Caan is riveting as a used-car salesman who moonlights as a safecracker, while Tuesday Weld is sweetly sympathetic as the young woman who seems to offer a road out. But the film’s scene stealer is the great character actor Robert Prosky, who turns his customary warmth and affability into the deceptive shell of a truly malevolent boss.Watch it on Amazon
The original 1956 “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which alien invaders take human forms, was widely seen as an allegory for the Red Scare. This “dazzling remake,” as our critic described it, is updated to health-obsessed San Francisco. The stakes are lower, but the remake has a self-aware sense of humor and a decent number of gross-out scenes and jump-scares, as well as an ending that’s just as creepy as the original.Watch it on Amazon Few fictional characters have embedded themselves in the pop culture consciousness as firmly as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the brilliant monster brought to bone-chilling life by an Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 adaptation of the Thomas Harris best seller. The film also won awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress — a quintuple play only matched two other times in film history — all deserving, none perhaps more so than Jodie Foster, whose indelible portrayal of the rookie F.B.I. investigator Clarice Starling sharply combines small-town naïveté with quick-witted strength. Our critic called it “pop film making of a high order.” (Fans of ’90s thrillers will also enjoy “Single White Female.”)Watch it on Amazon
Kevin Costner shines in this clever but tender drama from the director Phil Alden Robinson. Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a child of the ’60s who settles down on an Iowa farm but finds himself hearing voices and seeing visions that tell him to build a baseball diamond. What happens next is an unlikely mix of magical realism and genuine emotion, bolstered by splashes of real sports history. It sounds like a mess, but Robinson and his peerless cast never make a wrong step — and its closing scenes are guaranteed to turn on the waterworks. Our critic called it “smartly written” and “so perfectly acted.” (Baseball fans should also stream “A League of Their Own.”)Watch it on Amazon Robert Altman adapted Raymond Chandler’s late-period Philip Marlowe novel as only he could: idiosyncratically, by updating the hard-boiled story’s setting to the feel-good California of the 1970s and casting one of the era’s most of-his-time actors, Elliot Gould, in the role made famous by Humphrey Bogart. Purists resisted, and some critics scratched their heads. But Gould is brilliant, Altman’s direction is brash and confident, and this “tough, funny, hugely entertaining movie” homes in on the character’s essential, outsider nature, while ingeniously rethinking the conventions of the genre. (Altman’s “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean” is also on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
This sleeper hit from the writer-director Ron Shelton propelled Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins to the next level of stardom. It’s not hard to see why. This is a laid-back charmer, endlessly funny and casually sexy, and it gives all of them the opportunity to do what they do best: Costner shoots straight, Sarandon smolders, and Robbins lands laughs as an amiable goofball. Our critic praised its “spirit and sex appeal.” (For more romantic comedy, try “Brown Sugar” or “Under the Tuscan Sun.”)Watch it on Amazon Nicolas Cage won — and earned — the Academy Award for best actor for his wrenching portrayal of a failed screenwriter who goes to Sin City to drink himself to death. Elisabeth Shue was nominated for an Oscar for her turn as a prostitute who falls into something like love with the suicidal writer, and it speaks to the richness of their performances and the texture of Mike Figgis’s direction that such a melodramatic narrative, populated by well-worn stock characters, has such emotional immediacy. Our critic called this moving indie drama “passionate and furiously alive.”Watch it on Amazon
Robert De Niro won his second Academy Award for his fiercely physical and psychologically punishing performance in this searing adaptation of the autobiography of the middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. It’s a relentlessly downbeat piece of work, but the force of De Niro’s performance and the energy of Martin Scorsese’s direction are hard to overstate, or to forget. Our critic called it Scorsese’s “most ambitious film as well as his finest.” (For more boxing drama, stream “The Fighter.”)Watch it on Amazon The Farrelly brothers made this bowling comedy between the big hits “Dumb and Dumber” and “There Something About Mary,” and although it was initially less successful, it has since grown in stature as a gonzo comic classic. Woody Harrelson is in top-notch dirtbag form as a hard-luck former bowling champion who takes an Amish whiz kid (Randy Quaid) on the road as a bowling hustler; Bill Murray pops up as the villain, reveling in the character’s exaggerated evil (and uproariously obvious hairpiece). It’s a comic riff on “The Color of Money,” affording opportunities aplenty for the brothers’s signature style of gross-out burlesque. (For more sports comedy, check out “Semi-Tough” and “A League of Their Own.”)Watch it on Amazon
The director Robert Altman teamed up with his frequent collaborator Elliott Gould, and paired him up with George Segal, for this “fascinating, vivid” snapshot of two lovable losers. Gould and Segal play a pair of Los Angeles gamblers, floating from card table to racetrack to casino, in constant search of that one big score. Such a payday presents itself at the end of their journey, but Altman is too unconventional a filmmaker to put much stock in that destination. He’s more interested in the journey, and is film is propelled by the rowdy hum of those rooms and the colorful personalities of the people who inhabit them. (For more offbeat ’70s movies, try “Harold and Maude.”)Watch it on Amazon The director Richard Linklater and his stars (and co-writers) Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy gather again for the third installment of what has become the American narrative equivalent of Francois Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel series: a running story, told over multiple years in multiple films, in which we watch the actors age and evolve as their characters do. Linklater’s story begins with “Before Sunrise” (1995), when Celine and Jesse meet on a train to Vienna and spend an evening talking and flirting, then picks up nine years later in “Before Sunset” (2004) as they rejoin in Paris and try to decide if the other is the one that got away. In “Midnight,” another nine years have passed, and the film admirably inverts our expectations, asking one of the most provocative questions in romantic movies: What happens after “happily ever after?”Watch it on Amazon
The director Brian De Palma took an “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s with his “flashy, eclectic” and ultimately tragic 1981 masterpiece, as our critic put it. It cheerfully cribs elements of Chappaquiddick, Watergate and the Kennedy assassinations to create the hybrid story of a movie sound man (John Travolta, excellent) who accidentally tape-records what may have been a politically motivated murder. Nancy Allen gracefully transcends the clichés of her “hooker with a heart of gold” character, while John Lithgow is as scary as he’s ever been — which is no small statement. (For more from De Palma, queue up his horror classic “Carrie.”) This modest, gentle, charming musical romance from the writer and director John Carney serves as a sharp contrast to most cumbersome attempts to recapture the magic of the Hollywood musical. This microbudget Irish film was shot quickly, on video, without big names or recognizable songs — the genre stripped to its very basics, running on sheer emotion. The stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova fell in love while making the movie, and you can tell; they have the kind of unvarnished chemistry that can’t be faked. It’s a slim movie, running a scant hour and 25 minutes. But it has richness well beyond its resources.Watch it on Amazon
Watch it on Amazon The filmmaker Crystal Moselle’s roots are in documentary — she directed the 2015 Sundance sensation “The Wolfpack” — and that ear for the rhythms and routines of real life are apparent in this “unfailingly compassionate” hybrid feature, in which a group of young New York City skateboarders play fictionalized versions of themselves. Rachelle Vinberg stars as the outsider looking in, a would-be skater who idolizes this all-girl crew from social media, and works her way into their midst. The details are contemporary (and keenly observed), but “Skate Kitchen” is a good old-fashioned coming-of-age story, in which norms are challenged, lessons are learned and young people must decide which version of their possible selves they want to be. (For more coming-of-age dramas, stream “Little Man Tate” or “The Man in the Moon” on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
The director Neill Blomkamp made his feature film debut with this thrilling nominee for the best picture Oscar. Set in an alternate timeline in which extraterrestrials landed in Johannesburg in 1982 (significantly, the year “E.T.” was released), the film makes clever use of faked “found footage” — surveillance videos, news reports and interviews — while following a government bureaucrat’s attempt to relocate an alien encampment. The effects dazzle, but Blomkamp has more on his mind than mere spectacle, using the conventions of science fiction as a cloak for smuggling in his pointed commentary on xenophobia, segregation and apartheid-era South Africa. Our critic called it “an ingenious, propulsive and suspenseful genre entertainment.” The director Martha Coolidge brought a welcome female perspective (and gaze) to the ubiquitous ’80s “horny teenager” comedy with this story of a suburban girl (the charming Deborah Foreman) who finds herself unexpectedly drawn to a downtown punk (Nicolas Cage, magnetic in one of his first roles). The conflicts and complications are fairly formulaic, but Coolidge conveys a genuine affection for her subjects, the dialogue is winkingly witty and the supporting cast (particularly Colleen Camp and Frederic Forrest as her hippie parents) is aces. (Comedy lovers should also try “La Cage Aux Folles” or “Saved!”)Watch it on Amazon
Watch it on Amazon Perhaps the most trenchant (and entertaining) commentary on the 2008 financial crisis, this biting documentary concerns David and Jackie Siegel, an obscenely rich Florida couple who are in the process of building a comically outsize mansion when the real estate bubble bursts. The director, Lauren Greenfield, squeezes the expected gasp-laughter regarding the couple’s insane consumption and their subsequent attempts to curb it. But she isn’t content to take cheap shots. She sees her subjects as both perpetrators and victims of a system of conspicuous capitalism, in which too much is somehow never enough.Watch it on Amazon
Jeff Bridges, 17 years before “The Big Lebowski,” starred in another subversive riff on the detective yarns and films noir of the past, also focused on the burnouts of sunny California. Here he stars as Richard Bone, a handsome loser who inadvertently witnesses the disposal of a dead body. John Heard comes on like a hurricane as his best buddy Alex Cutter, a roaring, wheelchair-bound, alcoholic Vietnam vet who becomes convinced that his friend caught a glimpse of a criminal conspiracy. The plot nuzzles into “Chinatown” territory, but the tone is closer to “The Long Goodbye”; the director, Ivan Passer, is less interested in the story than the vibes, and his laid-back style captures the intricacies of this world and these characters, in their frustrated days and drunken nights. (“The King of Marvin Gardens” and “Fat City” work a similar vibe.) August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an African American family’s struggles in 1950s Pittsburgh was first performed on Broadway in 1987; after Denzel Washington starred in its 2010 revival, he retained much of the original cast for this film adaptation. As a director, Washington does little to expand upon the play; he seems well aware that the film is carried by the lyricism of the words and the power of the performances, particularly his nuanced portrayal of the bitter Troy Maxson and Viola Davis’s heart-rending turn as his wife, Rose. (“Revolutionary Road” is a similarly wrenching period drama.)Watch it on Amazon
Watch it on Amazon Will Smith nabbed his first Academy Award nomination for his masterly turn as the boxer Muhammad Ali in this robust biopic. Thankfully eschewing the cradle-to-grave approach of too many such projects, “Ali” adroitly dramatizes the champ’s transformation from gifted young fighter to political figure as he loses his hard-earned title for refusing to fight in Vietnam and becomes the focus of controversy for his conversion to Islam. The director, Michael Mann, exchanges his customarily sleek and contemplative style for something earthier and more emotional; our critic wrote that “his overwhelming love of its subject will turn audiences into exuberant, thrilled fight crowds.” (For more Oscar-nominated acting, try “Mississippi Burning” and “The Dresser.”)Watch it on Amazon
One of the most hard-edge and thought-provoking pictures of the so-called “blaxploitation” cycle, this New York action drama pairs Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto as N.Y.P.D. detectives investigating the blood-spilling robbery of a mob-controlled numbers bank in Harlem. The case is a dangerous intersection of organized crime interests, a conflict exacerbated by the contrasts between these two cops — Black and white, young and old, idealistic and corrupted — resulting in an explosive and decidedly un-Hollywood conclusion. (For more ’70s action, stream “Marathon Man,” “The Warriors” or “They Call Me Mister Tibbs!”) This sly update of Jane Austen’s “Emma” by Amy Heckerling remains one of the most influential films of the 1990s; it kicked off a wave of teen-friendly re-imaginings of classic literature, as well as the careers of several of its stars (including Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, Donald Faison and Paul Rudd). Its genius remains its duality — Heckerling’s whip-smart screenplay maintains the themes and structure of Austen’s classic while inserting enough of her own voice and style to make it a memorable, quotable comedy in its own right. Our critic called it a “candy-colored, brightly satirical showcase” for Silverstone’s charms. (For more comedy, stream “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion” and “Galaxy Quest” on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
Watch it on Amazon One of the greatest of all “gritty Gotham” movies — our critic called it “a movie that really catches the mood of New York and New Yorkers” — this darkly funny, white-knuckle thriller from the director Joseph Sargent concerns four armed men who take a subway car hostage, demanding a million dollar ransom for the lives of the passengers aboard. Robert Shaw is coolly ruthless as the leader of the gang while Walter Matthau is at his hangdog best as the cynical transit cop hot on their trail. (For more ’70s action, stream “Serpico” on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
Robert Townsend spent much of the early 1980s struggling in Hollywood, occasionally landing a decent supporting role, but mostly auditioning for a series of infuriating stereotypes. He channeled his frustration into art, raising (and charging to his credit cards) the low budget for this “exuberant satire,” which he not only stars in but co-writes, produces, and directs. He plays an actor much like himself, spending his days in a humiliating fast-food job and sneaking off to the occasional humiliating audition, while indulging in daydreams of the kind of roles he’d like to play. It’s less a sturdy narrative than a series of comic blackout sketches, but Townsend’s charisma and good spirit carries it through. It looks, at first glance, like the perfect New York City romance: a roomy apartment on the Upper West Side, a gorgeous wife and her handsome actor husband, a bouncing baby on the way. Look closer. Roman Polanski’s “mainstream masterpiece” is a chilling examination of the terror that lurks just beneath those shiny surfaces, beneath the wide-eyed good intentions of new friends and the cheerful opportunism of the young couple at it center. Mia Farrow does some of her finest acting as the increasingly sickly mother-to-be, John Cassavetes is appropriately devil-may-care as her career-minded husband, and Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her work as the couple’s nosy next-door neighbor. (For more vintage thrills, queue up “The Naked Kiss” and “Bird With the Crystal Plumage.”)Watch it on Amazon
Watch it on Amazon Walter Farley’s 1941 children’s novel gets a long-overdue film adaptation in this family adventure picture from the producer Francis Ford Coppola and the director Carroll Ballard (“Fly Away Home”), which expertly fuses the simplicity of the original book with the craftsmanship and sensitivity of its cinematic era. (One of the film’s screenwriters, Melissa Mathison, went on to write “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”) Younger viewers will thrill to the story of a young, shipwrecked boy and the Arabian horse who becomes his best friend; older viewers will find themselves awe-struck by the gorgeous cinematography and the heart-tugging (and Oscar-nominated) supporting turn by Mickey Rooney. (Fans of this classic may also enjoy John Sayles’s “The Secret of Roan Inish.”)Watch it on Amazon
After nearly a decade of miscasting and near-misses, Robin Williams finally found an ideal big-screen vehicle with this service comedy from the director Barry Levinson. It casts him, ideally enough, as something akin to a stand-up comedian; he plays Adrian Cronauer, a fast-talking, uproariously funny disc jokey for Armed Forces Radio, working out of Saigon in the early days of the Vietnam War. He quickly becomes a favorite of the men in the field, but his interactions with the real world become a wake-up call that everything is not a joke. Williams received his first Academy Award nomination for the role, which our critic called “one man’s tour de force.” (For a more serious war movie, queue up “Paths of Glory.”) Matthew Broderick (at his charismatically smarmy best) plays a high school computer whiz who uses his chunky PC and primitive modem to dial in to what he thinks is a video game company — unaware that he has instead dialed into the U.S. military’s supercomputer and started a nuclear war simulation. The screenplay (by the future “Sneakers” writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes) is smart and snappy while the director John Badham (“Saturday Night Fever”) orchestrates an effective mix of high-stakes drama and low-key comedy that, according to our critic, “grabs us where we’re most vulnerable.” (For more ’80s drama, try “River’s Edge.”)Watch it on Amazon
Watch it on Amazon During the contentious 1968 presidential nomination conventions, ABC News got a bright idea: It would team Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, two commentators from opposite ends of the political spectrum, for on-camera debates of the issues of the day. The resulting conversations were, by turns, lively, ugly, sharp-edged and contentious, culminating in years of insults, litigation and rewriting. The filmmakers Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon succinctly capture the appeal of this prickly pairing, via well-chosen video clips, new and archival interviews and writings by the participants (as read by John Lithgow and Kelsey Grammer) — while thoughtfully exploring the aftermath of that discourse, and tracing it to the poisonous style of our current political punditry.Watch it on Amazon
In this inspiring story of empowerment and hope, Keisha Castle-Hughes stars as Pai, a young Maori woman who bucks the rules and traditions of her tribe. She was nominated for an Oscar, and deserved it — this is a complicated portrayal of a driven young woman, one who simply cannot understand the limits her family has placed on her, and sees no need to abide by them. The director, Niki Caro, situates herself and her film inside the culture, filling her scenes and frames with keenly observed details and richly drawn characters. Our critic wrote, “it has the inspiring resonance of found art.” (“Yentl” is a similarly inspiring tale of self-discovery and breaking traditions.)Watch it on Amazon
F. Gary Gray’s fleet-footed remake of the classic 1960 heist movie isn’t terribly faithful to the source: He keeps the title, the broadest of story strokes and the Mini Coopers, but jettisons the rest in favor of a mustachioed Edward Norton, who double-crosses his fellow thieves, prompting them to reunite to take revenge. Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron generate some sparks, Mos Def and Seth Green get some laughs, and Jason Statham does his best slow burns, but the Coopers steal the show with a thrillingly staged climax that manages to one-up the original’s. (If you like capers, try “Ronin” and “Bound”; if you like Wahlberg and Theron, they also co-star in “The Yards.”)Watch it on Amazon
Audrey Hepburn’s mesmerizing performance as Holly Golightly, the Manhattan party girl who finds love in the least likely of places, is deservedly iconic — and the movie surrounding it isn’t half-bad either. The racist antics of Mickey Rooney aside (have your fast-forward button at the ready), the “Pink Panther” director Blake Edwards mines both the humor and desperation of the novella by Truman Capote, while Hepburn and George Peppard (as her would-be beau) generate enough sparks to power their shared apartment building.Watch it on Amazon
The actress Taylour Paige — so electrifying as the title character of “Zola” — shines brightly in this wonderful comedy-drama from the writer and director Stella Meghie. Paige stars as Jean, a boho Brooklyn novelist whose career, love life and family seem to implode simultaneously. Sherri Shepherd, Gloria Reuben, Michelle Hurst and Erica Ash also star as the women of the Jones family, and their dialogue crackles with running jokes, passive insults and hidden resentments. It’s funny and breezily executed, and Paige is a tremendous presence, charismatic and likable even when she’s making a mess of things. (For more indie comedy, try “Living in Oblivion” and “Ghost World.”)Watch it on Amazon
Tom Hanks won his first Academy Award — and kick-started a second career as a dramatic actor — with this “forceful, impassioned and moving” drama from the acclaimed director Jonathan Demme. It was among the first major motion pictures to address the AIDS crisis, and it does so cautiously, wrapping its story in the familiar and comfortable conventions of the courtroom drama. But Hanks is astonishing in the leading role, deploying his Everyman warmth and good humor to humanize a struggle much of America had ignored, and Denzel Washington is brilliant as the bigoted peer whose journey to tolerance and understanding mirrored much of the audience’s. (For more ’90s drama, stream “Internal Affairs” and “Poison.”)Watch it on Amazon
The publicist-turned-screenwriter Ernest Lehman said he wrote this acidic, darkly comic drama to cleanse himself of the sins of the business, and that much is clear; it’s very much a story told from the inside out, in which there are no good or bad guys, but varying degrees of scoundrels. Tony Curtis is at his career best as the hungry young press agent desperately trying to work his way into the good graces of Burt Lancaster’s powerful newspaper columnist, who can make or break a star with a throwaway item. The dialogue (by Lehman and the playwright Clifford Odets) crackles, Alexander Mackendrick’s brisk direction moves like a locomotive and James Wong Howe’s black-and-white cinematography captures the sparkle of Broadway at night — and the darkness just under its surface. (For more of Lancaster, stream “Atlantic City”; for more ’50s drama, try “The Man With the Golden Arm.”)Watch it on Amazon
Robert De Niro won his second Academy Award for his fiercely physical and psychologically punishing performance in this searing adaptation of the autobiography of the middleweight champion Jake LaMotta. It’s a relentlessly downbeat piece of work, but the force of De Niro’s performance and the energy of Martin Scorsese’s direction are hard to overstate, or to forget. Our critic called it Scorsese’s “most ambitious film as well as his finest.” (Scorsese’s “Wolf of Wall Street” is also on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
The director Robert Altman teamed up with his frequent collaborator Elliott Gould, and paired him up with George Segal, for this “fascinating, vivid” snapshot of two lovable losers. Gould and Segal play a pair of Los Angeles gamblers, floating from card table to racetrack to casino, in constant search of that one big score. Such a payday presents itself at the end of their journey, but Altman is too unconventional a filmmaker to put much stock in that destination. He’s more interested in the journey, and is film is propelled by the rowdy hum of those rooms and the colorful personalities of the people who inhabit them. (“The King of Marvin Gardens,” “Husbands” and “Fat City” more closely work a similar vibe.)Watch it on Amazon
Jim Jarmusch directs this documentary portrait of Iggy Pop and his seminal punk band the Stooges with a fan’s enthusiasm and a filmmaker’s craft. His best asset is Iggy himself, aged and hardened but still an entertaining storyteller with a novelist’s knack for details — no mean feat considering the volume of substances he recalls having ingested in the Stooges’ short but eventful existence. Jarmusch supplements Pop’s remembrances with interviews from surviving band mates and collaborators, along with enough archival material to delight his fellow superfans. Our critic praised its “many moments of foaming-at-the-mouth musical fury.”Jim Jarmusch directs this documentary portrait of Iggy Pop and his seminal punk band the Stooges with a fan’s enthusiasm and a filmmaker’s craft. His best asset is Iggy himself, aged and hardened but still an entertaining storyteller with a novelist’s knack for details — no mean feat considering the volume of substances he recalls having ingested in the Stooges’ short but eventful existence. Jarmusch supplements Pop’s remembrances with interviews from surviving band mates and collaborators, along with enough archival material to delight his fellow superfans. Our critic praised its “many moments of foaming-at-the-mouth musical fury.”
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The Coen Brothers teamed up, for the first time, with their frequent leading man George Clooney for this enjoyably goofy and buoyantly energetic Depression-era comedy, which our critic called “a rambunctious and inspired ride.” Clooney and fellow Coen regulars John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson play a trio of dimwitted convicts who escape from a chain gang and try to make their way back to civilization, only to become accidental recording stars along the way; the old-timey soundtrack, assembled by the acclaimed producer T-Bone Burnett, was a runaway best seller. Howard Hawks’s newsroom farce wasn’t the first cinematic adaptation of the popular play “The Front Page,” but it cooked up a twist the 1931 version hadn’t: What if Hildy Johnson, the superstar reporter whom the ruthless editor Walter Burns will keep on his staff at any cost, wasn’t his drinking buddy but his ex-wife? It’s a movie that talks fast and moves faster, and the passage of nearly 80 years hasn’t slowed it down a bit. Our critic called it “a boldfaced reprint of what was once — and still remains — the maddest newspaper comedy of our times.” (For more workplace comedy, stream “The Devil Wears Prada.”)
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The “Freaks and Geeks” co-stars Seth Rogen and James Franco reunited for this uproariously funny stoner action comedy, penned by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and directed by David Gordon Green, then best known for modest indie dramas like “George Washington.” That odd combination of backgrounds and specialties could’ve made for a real mess, but Rogen and Goldberg’s script is wry and witty, Green’s direction is sure-handed, and Rogen and Franco are a pitch-perfect team, their opposites-attract chemistry recalling ’80s buddy movies like “48 HRS” and “Midnight Run.” Our critic praised the film’s “waves of playful nonsense.” (If you like this film’s live wire vibe, try “Grosse Pointe Blank” and “Freeway.”)
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Wes Anderson had his first big hit — and began his career-long collaboration with Bill Murray — with this wryly funny and occasionally heartbreaking comedy-drama. Jason Schwartzman stars as Max Fisher, a student at the elite Rushmore Academy, whose scholastic mediocrity is frequently eclipsed by his ambition and enthusiasm. Murray is Herman Blume, a depressed millionaire whom Max first sees as a mentor, and then as competition for the affections of a teacher at the academy (Olivia Williams). This was only Anderson’s sophomore effort, but his distinctive aesthetic was already in place, along with his affection for eccentrics, weirdos and outcasts.
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You can see the DNA of “Mad Men” — not to mention pretty much every other sophisticated romantic comedy of the modern era — in this uproariously funny and deeply melancholic best picture winner from the co-writer and director Billy Wilder. Jack Lemmon is pitch-perfect as an office drone whose bachelor apartment becomes the go-to hideaway for his corporate superiors, and thus a tool for climbing to their ranks; Shirley MacLaine sparkles as the elevator operator who catches his fancy, and who has a secret or two of her own. Our critic dubbed it “a gleeful, tender and even sentimental film.” (Wilder and Lemmon’s later “Avanti!” is also on Prime.)
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Twenty-five years after “The Hustler,” Paul Newman returned to the role of the tortured pool shark “Fast” Eddie Felson — and won his first Oscar for the effort. As evidenced by his extended hiatus from the character, this was no cheap cash-in; no less than Martin Scorsese directed this follow-up, with his customary visual pizazz and psychological intensity. Newman’s Eddie is, all these years later, retired from pool and making a good living as a liquor salesman. But when a hotshot young pool master (Tom Cruise) catches his eye, Eddie decides to take the kid under his wing, with messy results. Our critic called it “a most entertaining, original film with its own, vivid, very contemporary identity and reason for being.” (Scorsese’s “The Last Waltz” is also on Prime.)
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Bruce Willis mounted yet another comeback, and helped launch the career of writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, with this inventive ghost story. Willis stars as a child psychologist attempting to aid a young boy who believes not only that he can “see dead people” but also that he’s meant to help them settle their unfinished business. Willis is quietly excellent in the role, generating palpable warmth and trust with the young Haley Joel Osment, Oscar-nominated as his troubled patient. “The Sixth Sense” is best remembered for its twist ending, but there’s much more to the film than that; even viewers going in aware of its outcome are still likely to find it scary, moving and surprisingly poignant. (Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable” is also on Prime; “Beasts of the Southern Wild” boasts a similarly astonishing, Oscar-nominated performance by a young actor.)
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Howard Hawks’s newsroom farce wasn’t the first cinematic adaptation of the popular play “The Front Page,” but it cooked up a twist the 1931 version hadn’t: What if Hildy Johnson, the superstar reporter whom the ruthless editor Walter Burns will keep on his staff at any cost, wasn’t his drinking buddy but his ex-wife? It’s a movie that talks fast and moves faster, and the passage of nearly 80 years hasn’t slowed it down a bit. Our critic called it “a boldfaced reprint of what was once — and still remains — the maddest newspaper comedy of our times.” (For more recent romantic comedy, try “Brown Sugar” or “Under the Tuscan Sun.”)
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Arguably Mel Brooks’s finest and funniest film (and released, shockingly enough, in the same calendar year as “Blazing Saddles,” his other contender for that title), this gem finds the master of broad satire taking on the Universal horror pictures of the 1930s. Co-writer Gene Wilder is sublimely manic as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein — pronounced “Fronk-en-steen,” he insists — grandson of the famed corpse re-animator Victor, who returns to his grandfather’s estate and laboratory to claim his inheritance and finds himself drawn into the family business. Brooks and Wilder’s Oscar-nominated script is a hit parade of comedy classics, but what’s most surprising is its narrative discipline (relative to the rest of the Brooks filmography), which generates genuine pathos and charm. (For more laugh-a-minute comedy, stream “Office Space” on Prime.)
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Few expected James Cameron’s dramatization of the 1912 sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic to become a nearly unmatched commercial success (it was the top-grossing movie of all time for over a decade) and an Academy Award winner (for best picture and best director, among others). Most of its prerelease publicity concerned its over-budget and over-schedule production. But in retrospect, we should have known — it was the kind of something-for-everyone entertainment that recalled blockbusters of the past, deftly combining historical drama, wide-screen adventure and heartfelt romance. And it stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, provided the latter in spades, becoming one of the great onscreen pairings of the 1990s. Our critic called it “a huge, thrilling three-and-a-quarter-hour experience.” (Fellow best-picture winner “Shakespeare in Love” is also on Prime.)
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When the director Stanley Kramer, better known for issues pictures like “Inherit the Wind” and “Judgment at Nuremberg,” decided to make a comedy, he took no half-measures — he made the biggest comedy possible, a three-plus hour extravaganza featuring a who’s-who of funny people in supporting roles and cameo appearances. The giant cast includes Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Phil Silvers, and many, many more; the premise, from the thin plot (a cross-country pursuit of a big payday) to the celebrity-packed cast was later appropriated by the “Cannonball Run” movies. Our critic called it “a wonderfully crazy and colorful collection of ‘chase’ comedy.” (Classic movie lovers can also stream “The Naked Kiss” or “In a Lonely Place.”)
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The chef Jiro Ono’s 10-seat sushi-only Tokyo eatery is recognized worldwide and is less a restaurant than a temple. According to those who know and work with him, it’s an extension of his personality; he’s doggedly dedicated to his craft. But has that perfectionism made him (or the people around him) happy? David Gelb’s mouthwatering documentary poses that question and further explores the chef’s philosophies of life and work, while also painstakingly capturing the careful preparation of Ono’s culinary gifts and lovingly lingering on the results.The chef Jiro Ono’s 10-seat sushi-only Tokyo eatery is recognized worldwide and is less a restaurant than a temple. According to those who know and work with him, it’s an extension of his personality; he’s doggedly dedicated to his craft. But has that perfectionism made him (or the people around him) happy? David Gelb’s mouthwatering documentary poses that question and further explores the chef’s philosophies of life and work, while also painstakingly capturing the careful preparation of Ono’s culinary gifts and lovingly lingering on the results.
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Pawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar winner looks and sounds like an unapproachable foreign prestige picture, a grim post-Holocaust story in an austere style with moody (and gorgeous) black-and-white photography. And it is indeed a vivid historical drama and an evocative road movie. But its real subject is the bond between two very different women, young Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) and her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza) — a cold relationship that slowly thaws during this forceful and resonant trip through their shared history. It’s an emotional story about coming to terms with family secrets, containing, our critic wrote, “a cosmos of guilt, violence and pain.” (Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” is also on Prime.)Watch it on AmazonPawel Pawlikowski’s Oscar winner looks and sounds like an unapproachable foreign prestige picture, a grim post-Holocaust story in an austere style with moody (and gorgeous) black-and-white photography. And it is indeed a vivid historical drama and an evocative road movie. But its real subject is the bond between two very different women, young Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) and her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza) — a cold relationship that slowly thaws during this forceful and resonant trip through their shared history. It’s an emotional story about coming to terms with family secrets, containing, our critic wrote, “a cosmos of guilt, violence and pain.” (Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” is also on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
In investigating the death of a trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite traces the sordid practice of capturing killer whales and training them to perform for audiences, creating a masterly juxtaposition of SeaWorld’s own commercials and promotional videos with grisly tales of accidents and attacks, accompanied by public relations spin. Paced like a thriller, the film is intelligent, methodical and harrowing; our critic called it a “delicately lacerating documentary.” (If you like investigative documentaries, try “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.”) In investigating the death of a trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite traces the sordid practice of capturing killer whales and training them to perform for audiences, creating a masterly juxtaposition of SeaWorld’s own commercials and promotional videos with grisly tales of accidents and attacks, accompanied by public relations spin. Paced like a thriller, the film is intelligent, methodical and harrowing; our critic called it a “delicately lacerating documentary.”
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He gets up every morning, writes a line or two of poetry in his journal, goes to work, drives his bus, has dinner with his wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), writes a few more lines, walks the dog to his favorite bar, has a beer, goes home, goes to bed and then starts it all over again the next day. Over the course of this wistful, lovely, “delectably funny” and deceptively low-key dramedy from the writer and director Jim Jarmusch, Paterson (Adam Driver) does not seek success, discovery or even publication. That’s not why he writes — it’s about routine and release. Above all, “Paterson” is a valentine to all of those who create art not to make a living, but to sustain their souls. (Fans of character-driven indie fare should also check out “All or Nothing” and “Passion Fish.”)Watch it on Amazon He gets up every morning, writes a line or two of poetry in his journal, goes to work, drives his bus, has dinner with his wife, Laura (Golshifteh Farahani), writes a few more lines, walks the dog to his favorite bar, has a beer, goes home, goes to bed and then starts it all over again the next day. Over the course of this wistful, lovely, “delectably funny” and deceptively low-key dramedy from the writer and director Jim Jarmusch, Paterson (Adam Driver) does not seek success, discovery or even publication. That’s not why he writes — it’s about routine and release. Above all, “Paterson” is a valentine to all of those who create art not to make a living, but to sustain their souls. (Fans of character-driven indie fare should also check out “Person to Person.”)Watch it on Amazon
The legendary actor Ossie Davis made his feature directorial debut in this energetic adaptation of the comic crime novel by Chester Himes. Godfrey Cambridge and Raymond St. Jacques star as “Grave Digger” Jones and “Coffin Ed” Johnson, a pair of NYPD detectives investigating a con man (Calvin Lockhart), an armored car robbery and warring Harlem gangsters. Cambridge and St. Jacques have the ease and rhythm of a great comedy team, the comedian Redd Foxx steals every scene he’s in, and Davis makes ingenious use of his Harlem locations, including an unforgettable climax at the Apollo Theater. (Fans of ’70s crime cinema can also check out “Coffy” and “Foxy Brown” on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon The ’50s gangster movie gets a snazzy musical makeover in this 1955 film adaptation of the Broadway hit, itself based on the colorful New York characters of Damon Runyon’s fiction. Joseph L. Mankiewicz (“All About Eve”) directs with energy and pizazz, coaxing cheerful, engaged performances out of Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons, Vivian Blaine and that most unlikely of crooners, Marlon Brando. Our critic called it “as tinny and tawny and terrific as any hot-cha musical film you’ll ever see.” (If you love musicals, add “Funny Girl” and “Hair” to your watch list.)Watch it on Amazon
John McTiernan’s remake of the Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway classic makes a few modifications, primarily changing its title character from a bored playboy bank robber into a bored playboy art thief. That change sets up one of the snazziest set pieces in the caper movie canon, as Pierce Brosnan’s art thief, Thomas Crown, stages an elaborate museum diversion to return his stolen prize. Along the way, sparks fly between the enigmatic Crown and Catherine Banning, Rene Russo’s impeccable investigator, with extra juice supplied by a returning Dunaway in a sublime supporting turn; it’s enchanting, intoxicating fun. (For more sexy capers, try the Wachowskis’ “Bound.”)Watch it on Amazon
Joel and Ethan Coen’s story of a struggling folk singer in Greenwich Village in 1961 cheerfully intertwines fact and fiction; they faithfully reproduce that period, and incorporate many of its key figures into a week in the life of the title character (played by Oscar Isaac). But this is not just a museum piece, or a “music movie.” It’s about the feeling of knowing that success is overdue, and yet may never arrive. Our critic called it an “intoxicating ramble.” (For more musically motivated drama, try “24 Hour Party People.”)Watch it on Amazon
The ’50s gangster movie gets a snazzy musical makeover in this 1955 film adaptation of the Broadway hit, itself based on the colorful New York characters of Damon Runyon’s fiction. Joseph L. Mankiewicz (“All About Eve”) directs with energy and pizazz, coaxing cheerful, engaged performances out of Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons, Vivian Blaine and that most unlikely of crooners, Marlon Brando. Our critic called it “as tinny and tawny and terrific as any hot-cha musical film you’ll ever see.” (If you love classic musicals, add “Funny Girl” to your watch list; for more Sinatra, try “The Man With the Golden Arm.”)Watch it on Amazon
Set in a strict New England prep school circa 1959, this Peter Weir film dramatizes the literary, cultural and ultimately social awakening of a group of young men. Their guiding light is the English teacher John Keating, played by Robin Williams in what our critic called an “exceptionally fine performance”; the ensemble cast is noteworthy now for early work by the likes of Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles and Robert Sean Leonard. Some of the tropes on parade here lean a tad to the musty side, but this is a heartfelt and moving picture, with a closing scene that still raises goose bumps. (“River’s Edge” offers up a darker portrait of high school life.)Watch it on Amazon
When Steven Spielberg set out to make a film about Abraham Lincoln, the early scripts encompassed the entirety of his presidency. But the director and his screenwriter, Tony Kushner, wisely chose to focus on a single moment in Lincoln’s life — the passage of the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery — and ingeniously use that struggle as an emblem not only of Lincoln the politician, but also of Lincoln the man. In doing so, this biographical snapshot tells us far more about its subject than the typical, shallow, cradle-to-grave biopic. Nominated for a dozen Oscars (Daniel Day-Lewis won for his towering work as the 16th president), “Lincoln” is, according to our critic, “a rough and noble democratic masterpiece.” (Sally Field shines in “Steel Magnolias,” also on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon
Because it begat so many sequels, reboots, adaptations and other ephemera, it’s easy to forget that James Cameron’s original “Terminator” film was, as our critic put it, “a B-movie with flair” — a stripped-down, low-budget exploitation picture with an ingenious central idea, a well-selected cast and a director who knew how to stretch a dollar. Linda Hamilton is charismatic and sympathetic as Sarah Conner, a woman who discovers a cyborg from the future (a terrifying Arnold Schwarzenegger) has been sent to hunt her down.Watch it on AmazonBecause it begat so many sequels, reboots, adaptations and other ephemera, it’s easy to forget that James Cameron’s original “Terminator” film was, as our critic put it, “a B-movie with flair” — a stripped-down, low-budget exploitation picture with an ingenious central idea, a well-selected cast and a director who knew how to stretch a dollar. Linda Hamilton is charismatic and sympathetic as Sarah Conner, a woman who discovers a cyborg from the future (a terrifying Arnold Schwarzenegger) has been sent to hunt her down.Watch it on Amazon
The Coen Brothers (“at their clever best,” per our critic) found their first big Oscar success — seven nominations and two wins — with this wildly funny and disturbing crime story. A wonderfully wormy William H. Macy stars as a car salesman who plots the kidnapping of his own wife in order to extract a handsome ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. The plan goes to pieces, thanks in no small part to a sharp-as-a-tack small-town police chief, played to plucky perfection by Frances McDormand; she won the first of her three Oscars for best actress for her carefully modulated performance, which deftly combines first-rate comic touches with genuine warmth and depth. (Crime film fans may also enjoy “Kalifornia.”)Watch it on Amazon This zombie-apocalypse thriller from the South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, set onboard a train hurtling toward possible safety, is a fantastic entry in the “relentless action in a confined space” subgenre (recalling “Snowpiercer,” “The Raid,” “Dredd” and the granddaddy of them all, “Die Hard”). The pacing is energetic, the makeup effects are convincing and the storytelling is ruthless. (Don’t get too attached to anyone.) But it’s not all blood and bluster; there’s a patient, deliberate setup before the orgy of gore and mayhem, leading to a surprising outpouring of emotion at the story’s conclusion. Our critic deemed it “often chaotic but never disorienting,” and praised its “spirited set pieces.”Watch it on Amazon
This zombie-apocalypse thriller from the South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, set onboard a train hurtling toward possible safety, is a fantastic entry in the “relentless action in a confined space” subgenre (recalling “Snowpiercer,” “The Raid,” “Dredd” and the granddaddy of them all, “Die Hard”). The pacing is energetic, the makeup effects are convincing and the storytelling is ruthless. (Don’t get too attached to anyone.) But it’s not all blood and bluster; there’s a patient, deliberate setup before the orgy of gore and mayhem, leading to a surprising outpouring of emotion at the story’s conclusion. Our critic deemed it “often chaotic but never disorienting,” and praised its “spirited set pieces.” (For more white-knuckle, train-centered action, watch “The Train.”)Watch it on Amazon Across six years in the mid-2000s, an analyst named Daniel Jones (portrayed by an excellent Adam Driver) pored through millions of pages of documents to write the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program. This taut, angry film from Scott Z. Burns dramatizes that investigative process and what Jones discovered — and the steady growth of his righteous indignation. Burns, in what our critic deemed a “smart, layered screenplay,” deftly translates the story’s intellectual urgency into emotional agency, making the political into something decidedly personal. (Driver is also first-rate in Leos Carax’s “Annette.”)Watch it on Amazon
Across six years in the mid-2000s, an analyst named Daniel Jones (portrayed by an excellent Adam Driver) pored through millions of pages of documents to write the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s detention and interrogation program. This taut, angry film from Scott Z. Burns dramatizes that investigative process and what Jones discovered — and the steady growth of his righteous indignation. Burns, in what our critic deemed a “smart, layered screenplay,” deftly translates the story’s intellectual urgency into emotional agency, making the political into something decidedly personal. (Driver is also first-rate in Leos Carax’s “Annette”; for another, somewhat contradictory take on this story, try “Zero Dark Thirty.”)Watch it on Amazon Kenneth Lonergan makes films about people in turmoil, roiled by bottomless sadness, dysfunction and guilt. Casey Affleck won an Oscar for his nuanced portrayal of Lee Chandler, a Boston janitor who, for all practical purposes, is broken; Lucas Hedges is prickly and funny as the nephew who needs him to put himself together again. It’s a tear-jerker in the best sense, never stooping to cheap manipulation. Our critic called it “a finely shaded portrait.” (For more Oscar-winning acting, stream “Dead Man Walking” and “Paper Moon.”)Watch it on Amazon
Kenneth Lonergan makes films about people in turmoil, roiled by bottomless sadness, dysfunction and guilt. Casey Affleck won an Oscar for his nuanced portrayal of Lee Chandler, a Boston janitor who, for all practical purposes, is broken; Lucas Hedges is prickly and funny as the nephew who needs him to put himself together again. It’s a tear-jerker in the best sense, never stooping to cheap manipulation. Our critic called it “a finely shaded portrait.” (For more Oscar-winning acting, stream “On Golden Pond” and “Paper Moon.”)Watch it on Amazon It was only a matter of time before Whit Stillman, the writer and director of such literate comedies as “Metropolitan” and “Barcelona,” adapted Jane Austen, whose dissections of upper-class relationships had always been an influence. This “howlingly funny” expansion on Austen’s novella “Lady Susan” merges their voices seamlessly, with Kate Beckinsale’s sly, scheming heroine, the Lady Susan Vernon, enforcing a tone of cheerful irreverence. After decades of relatively benign adaptations of Austen’s novels, “Love and Friendship” is a reminder that her work is part of the tradition of lacerating British comedy, and this whip-smart adaptation favors slashing wit and ruthless gamesmanship over swooning romance.Watch it on Amazon
It was only a matter of time before Whit Stillman, the writer and director of such literate comedies as “Metropolitan” and “Barcelona,” adapted Jane Austen, whose dissections of upper-class relationships had always been an influence. This “howlingly funny” expansion on Austen’s novella “Lady Susan” merges their voices seamlessly, with Kate Beckinsale’s sly, scheming heroine, the Lady Susan Vernon, enforcing a tone of cheerful irreverence. After decades of relatively benign adaptations of Austen’s novels, “Love and Friendship” is a reminder that her work is part of the tradition of lacerating British comedy, and this whip-smart adaptation favors slashing wit and ruthless gamesmanship over swooning romance. (Literature lovers will also enjoy “The Joy Luck Club.”)Watch it on Amazon This unapologetically dark comedy changed the high-school movie forever, from the heartfelt and ultimately sunny chronicles of John Hughes to something with a bit more bite. Winona Ryder is tart and charming as Veronica, a popular teen who has come to hate the clique she runs with. Then she meets J.D. (Christian Slater), a Jack Nicholson clone who suggests bumping off their less tolerable classmates. Nearly 30 years on, the sheer riskiness and take-no-prisoners attitude of this delightfully demented picture still shocks; our critic called it “as snappy and assured as it is mean-spirited. (If you like this film’s live wire vibe, try “Freeway”; for more Ryder, stream “Mermaids” and “Experimenter.”)
This unapologetically dark comedy changed the high-school movie forever, from the heartfelt and ultimately sunny chronicles of John Hughes to something with a bit more bite. Winona Ryder is tart and charming as Veronica, a popular teen who has come to hate the clique she runs with. Then she meets J.D. (Christian Slater), a Jack Nicholson clone who suggests bumping off their less tolerable classmates. Nearly 30 years on, the sheer riskiness and take-no-prisoners attitude of this delightfully demented picture still shocks; our critic called it “as snappy and assured as it is mean-spirited. (Ryder also shines in “Mermaids.”)
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The “one night” of the title of Regina King’s feature directorial debut is Feb. 25, 1964 — the night Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) took down Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship. But the fight footage is brief, because King isn’t making a boxing movie; she’s making a film about Black identity, filled with conversations that are still being had, and questions that are still being asked. The four participants — Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) — are giants in their fields and are friends celebrating a victory. It’s a moving, powerful film, confrontational and thought-provoking. Our critic called it “one of the most exciting movies I’ve seen in quite some time.”Watch it on AmazonThe “one night” of the title of Regina King’s feature directorial debut is Feb. 25, 1964 — the night Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) took down Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship. But the fight footage is brief, because King isn’t making a boxing movie; she’s making a film about Black identity, filled with conversations that are still being had, and questions that are still being asked. The four participants — Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) — are giants in their fields and are friends celebrating a victory. It’s a moving, powerful film, confrontational and thought-provoking. Our critic called it “one of the most exciting movies I’ve seen in quite some time.”Watch it on Amazon
Riz Ahmed is devastatingly good as Ruben, a hard rock drummer whose entire life — his music, his relationship, his self-image — is upended by a sudden case of extreme hearing loss, in this wrenching drama from the writer and director Darius Marder. A former addict in danger of relapse, Ruben enters a school for the deaf, where he must confront not only his new condition, but the jitteriness that predates it. His sense of solitude, even with others, quickly transforms to self-consciousness, then self-doubt, then self-destruction, and “Sound of Metal” is ultimately less about finding a silver bullet cure than finding the stillness within oneself. Marder works in a quiet, observational style, skillfully avoiding every cliché he approaches, taking turns both satisfying and moving. Our critic praised the film’s “distinctive style.” (For more indie drama, try “Garden State.”)Watch it on Amazon Riz Ahmed is devastatingly good as Ruben, a hard rock drummer whose entire life — his music, his relationship, his self-image — is upended by a sudden case of extreme hearing loss, in this wrenching drama from the writer and director Darius Marder. A former addict in danger of relapse, Ruben enters a school for the deaf, where he must confront not only his new condition, but the jitteriness that predates it. His sense of solitude, even with others, quickly transforms to self-consciousness, then self-doubt, then self-destruction, and “Sound of Metal” is ultimately less about finding a silver bullet cure than finding the stillness within oneself. Marder works in a quiet, observational style, skillfully avoiding every cliché he approaches, taking turns both satisfying and moving. Our critic praised the film’s “distinctive style.” (For more indie drama, try “Call Me By Your Name” and “Raising Victor Vargas.”)Watch it on Amazon
Three years after reinventing the crime movie with “Bonnie and Clyde,” the director Arthur Penn worked similar magic on the Western, adapting Thomas Berger’s novel about a very old man (Dustin Hoffman) who tells the tale of his exploits in the Old West, where he was raised by Native Americans. The film’s attitudes toward Indigenous people were boldly progressive at the time of its release, in 1970, coming as it did during a period when most westerns still teemed with racist images of “merciless Indian savages,” in the words of the Declaration of Independence. Our critic called it a “tough testament to the contrariness of the American experience.” (Western fans should also seek out “Open Range” and “Tombstone”; Hoffman is also in fine form in “American Buffalo.”) Watch on Amazon Three years after reinventing the crime movie with “Bonnie and Clyde,” the director Arthur Penn worked similar magic on the Western, adapting Thomas Berger’s novel about a very old man (Dustin Hoffman) who tells the tale of his exploits in the Old West, where he was raised by Native Americans. The film’s attitudes toward Indigenous people were boldly progressive at the time of its release, in 1970, coming as it did during a period when most westerns still teemed with racist images of “merciless Indian savages,” in the words of the Declaration of Independence. Our critic called it a “tough testament to the contrariness of the American experience.” (For a more traditional Western, try the original “True Grit”; Hoffman fans should also seek out “Marathon Man.”)Watch on Amazon
Spike Lee adapts and updates Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” to the streets of contemporary Chicago in this wildly funny, vividly theatrical mash-up of gangland drama, musical comedy and surrealist fantasy. Teyonah Parris shines as the determined young woman who leads a sex strike to stop the city’s violence, while Samuel L. Jackson struts and rhymes as “Dolmedes,” the picture’s one-man Greek chorus. His Dolemite-style interludes push the premise to its bawdy extremes, but Lee isn’t just playing for laughs. He’s swinging for the fences, and the result, according to our critic, “entertains, engages and, at times, enrages.”Watch it on AmazonSpike Lee adapts and updates Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata” to the streets of contemporary Chicago in this wildly funny, vividly theatrical mash-up of gangland drama, musical comedy and surrealist fantasy. Teyonah Parris shines as the determined young woman who leads a sex strike to stop the city’s violence, while Samuel L. Jackson struts and rhymes as “Dolmedes,” the picture’s one-man Greek chorus. His Dolemite-style interludes push the premise to its bawdy extremes, but Lee isn’t just playing for laughs. He’s swinging for the fences, and the result, according to our critic, “entertains, engages and, at times, enrages.”Watch it on Amazon
This “meticulously acted” serio-comic drama was the feature filmmaking debut of Joey Soloway (credited as Jill Soloway), the creator of “Transparent” and “I Love Dick.” Kathryn Hahn is astonishing in the leading role, clearly conveying her dissatisfied housewife’s longings and nerves but keeping her intentions enigmatic, and Juno Temple is electrifying as a young woman who’s learned how to use her sexuality as a weapon without fully considering the carnage left in its wake. Their byplay is vibrant, and it gets messy in fascinating ways; this is a sly, smart sex comedy that plumbs unexpected depths of sadness and despair.Watch it on Amazon This “meticulously acted” serio-comic drama was the feature filmmaking debut of Joey Soloway, the creator of “Transparent” and “I Love Dick.” Kathryn Hahn is astonishing in the leading role, clearly conveying her dissatisfied housewife’s longings and nerves but keeping her intentions enigmatic, and Juno Temple is electrifying as a young woman who’s learned how to use her sexuality as a weapon without fully considering the carnage left in its wake. Their byplay is vibrant, and it gets messy in fascinating ways; this is a sly, smart sex comedy that plumbs unexpected depths of sadness and despair. (For more character-driven comedy-drama, stream “Eat Drink Man Woman” or “(500) Days of Summer.”)Watch it on Amazon
The director Frank Capra and the actor Jimmy Stewart took a marvelously simple premise — a suicidal man is given the opportunity to see what his world would have been like without him — and turned it into a holiday perennial. But “It’s a Wonderful Life” is too rich and complex to brand with a label as simple as “Christmas movie”; it is ultimately a story about overcoming darkness and finding light around you, a tricky transition achieved primarily through the peerless work of Stewart as a good man with big dreams who can’t walk away from the place where he’s needed most. Our critic said it was a “quaint and engaging modern parable.” (Classic movie lovers can also stream “The Best Years of Our Lives” or “49th Parallel” on Prime.) The director Frank Capra and the actor Jimmy Stewart took a marvelously simple premise — a suicidal man is given the opportunity to see what his world would have been like without him — and turned it into a holiday perennial. But “It’s a Wonderful Life” is too rich and complex to brand with a label as simple as “Christmas movie”; it is ultimately a story about overcoming darkness and finding light around you, a tricky transition achieved primarily through the peerless work of Stewart as a good man with big dreams who can’t walk away from the place where he’s needed most. Our critic said it was a “quaint and engaging modern parable.”
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Early in Garrett Bradley’s extraordinary documentary (a coproduction of The New York Times), someone asks Fox Rich about her husband, and she replies, “He’s, uh, out of town now.” Technically, it’s true; he’s in Angola prison, for a 1997 bank robbery, serving a 60-year sentence without the possibility of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Fox Rich has spent years fighting for her husband’s release — and against mass incarceration — and Bradley interweaves her crusade with years of grainy home video footage, moving back and forth from past to present, contrasting the possibilities of those early videos and the acceptance, even resignation, of today. But Fox Rich never gives up hope, and this “substantive and stunning” film suggests that even in the grimmest of circumstances, that never-say-die spirit can pay dividends. (Documentary aficionados will also want to check out “Attica.”)Watch it on Amazon Early in Garrett Bradley’s extraordinary documentary (a coproduction of The New York Times), someone asks Fox Rich about her husband, and she replies, “He’s, uh, out of town now.” Technically, it’s true; he’s in Angola prison, for a 1997 bank robbery, serving a 60-year sentence without the possibility of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Fox Rich has spent years fighting for her husband’s release — and against mass incarceration — and Bradley interweaves her crusade with years of grainy home video footage, moving back and forth from past to present, contrasting the possibilities of those early videos and the acceptance, even resignation, of today. But Fox Rich never gives up hope, and this “substantive and stunning” film suggests that even in the grimmest of circumstances, that never-say-die spirit can pay dividends.Watch it on Amazon
The South Korean master Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy”) takes the stylistic trappings of a period romance and gooses them with scorching eroticism and one of the most ingenious con-artist plots this side of “The Sting.” Working from the Sarah Waters novel “Fingersmith,” Park begins with the story of a young woman who, as part of a seemingly straightforward swindle, goes to work as a Japanese heiress’s handmaiden, occasionally pausing the plot to slyly reveal new information, reframing what we’ve seen and where we think he might go next. Our critic saw it as an “amusingly slippery entertainment.”Watch it on AmazonThe South Korean master Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy”) takes the stylistic trappings of a period romance and gooses them with scorching eroticism and one of the most ingenious con-artist plots this side of “The Sting.” Working from the Sarah Waters novel “Fingersmith,” Park begins with the story of a young woman who, as part of a seemingly straightforward swindle, goes to work as a Japanese heiress’s handmaiden, occasionally pausing the plot to slyly reveal new information, reframing what we’ve seen and where we think he might go next. Our critic saw it as an “amusingly slippery entertainment.”Watch it on Amazon
Asghar Farhadi writes and directs this lucid and contemplative morality play, in which a married couple must grapple with the fallout of an assault on the wife in their home, particularly when the husband’s desire for vengeance surpasses her own. Farhadi’s brilliance at capturing the complexities of his native Iran’s culture is as astonishing as ever — particularly when coupled with insights into victimhood, justice, poverty and intimacy that know no borders. Our critic praised the picture’s “rich and resonant ideas.” (Fans of international cinema may also enjoy “Transit.”)Watch it on Amazon Asghar Farhadi writes and directs this lucid and contemplative morality play, in which a married couple must grapple with the fallout of an assault on the wife in their home, particularly when the husband’s desire for vengeance surpasses her own. Farhadi’s brilliance at capturing the complexities of his native Iran’s culture is as astonishing as ever — particularly when coupled with insights into victimhood, justice, poverty and intimacy that know no borders. Our critic praised the picture’s “rich and resonant ideas.” (Fans of international cinema may also enjoy “Transit” and Farhadi’s “A Hero.”)Watch it on Amazon
The broad plot outlines — a traumatized vet, working as a killer-for-hire, gets in over his head in the criminal underworld — make this adaptation of Jonathan Ames’s novella sound like a million throwaway B-movies. But the director and screenwriter is Lynne Ramsay, and she’s not interested in making a conventional thriller; hers is more like a commentary on them, less interested in visceral action beats than their preparation and aftermath. She abstracts the violence, skipping the visual clichés and focusing on the details another filmmaker wouldn’t even see. Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerizing in the leading role (“there is something powerful in his agony,” our critic noted), internalizing his rage and pain until control is no longer an option. (Ramsay’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is also on Prime.)Watch it on AmazonThe broad plot outlines — a traumatized vet, working as a killer-for-hire, gets in over his head in the criminal underworld — make this adaptation of Jonathan Ames’s novella sound like a million throwaway B-movies. But the director and screenwriter is Lynne Ramsay, and she’s not interested in making a conventional thriller; hers is more like a commentary on them, less interested in visceral action beats than their preparation and aftermath. She abstracts the violence, skipping the visual clichés and focusing on the details another filmmaker wouldn’t even see. Joaquin Phoenix is mesmerizing in the leading role (“there is something powerful in his agony,” our critic noted), internalizing his rage and pain until control is no longer an option. (Ramsay’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin” is also on Prime.)Watch it on Amazon