64 Of The Best Movies To Stream On Amazon Prime Video In August
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1.Adaptation (2002)
What’s better than one Nic Cage in a movie? How about two? The National Treasure actor (and just national treasure) pulls double duty playing twins in this EXTREMELY meta film written by Charlie Kaufman (the mind behind Being John Malkovich and last year’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things.) Cage plays a fictionalized version of Kaufman who has been tasked with adapting Susan Orlean’s book The Orchid Thief for the big screen, while also playing a completely made up twin brother. Meryl Streep plays the fictionalized Orlean, a journalist investigating a ring of orchid poachers led by Chris Cooper’s John Laroche. The film is unlike anything I’ve ever seen and secured Oscar noms for Cage, Cooper, and Streep (with Cooper taking home the statue.) Do you think I can win a Pulitzer by penning a novel about me writing this BuzzFeed list?
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
2.Alien (1979)
Alien is equal parts analog sci-fi adventure and horror film of the slasher variety (only instead of Michael Myers it’s the titular alien doing the killing.) When the spaceship Nostromo and its seven-man crew touches down to an abandoned spaceship because of a distress call, they end up leaving with a stowaway. The alien then proceeds to slowly kill the crew one-by-one à la Jason Voorhees with a much longer head. The film skyrocketed Sigourney Weaver (playing the iconic Ripley) to stardom and would spawn several sequels/prequels/spinoffs including Aliens, the rare example of a second movie being just as good as the first. This is also a classic cat movie if you’re into that.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
3.Almost Famous (2000)
Apparently being an entertainment journalist back in the day was wild, because Almost Famous’s writer/director Cameron Crowe got to tour with bands like The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd as a reporter for Rolling Stone AS A TEENAGER. He rode tour buses, and went back stage at concerts, and partied with the roadies all while under 20 and then he wrote a movie all about it. While Patrick Fugit plays the young reporter and Billy Crudup the lead singer of Stillwater, the show is stolen by Kate Hudson as the stylish groupie Penny Lane, who takes our teenage journalist under her wing. It’s her best work (and I love Bride Wars), and she received an Oscar nomination for the role. The film is headed to 4K soon and so behind-the-scenes stories are showing up left and right to make a rewatch necessary. Beware, however, this movie will make you want to spend a whole paycheck on concert tickets.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
4.*Anaconda (1997)
Jennifer Lopez is having a moment. She’s back with Ben Affleck. She’s looking younger than ever. And we can’t forget the Super Bowl Halftime Show and award-winning performance in Hustlers from the pre-pandemic days. I’d therefore like to take this opportunity to highlight a cult classic B-movie gem starring Ms. Lopez. In Anaconda, J.Lo stars as a documentary filmmaker searching for an indigenous tribe in the Amazon only to stumble upon a massive killer anaconda. The horror film is a schlocky romp with Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, and Danny Trejo all making appearances as well. I’d highly recommend watching this in a group setting because screaming/laughing/watching an anaconda digest a human is always more fun with others.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
5.*Annette (2021)
Let me say right off the bat that this is NOT a film for everyone. The rock opera musical from French auteur Leos Carax (Holy Motors) performed well amongst the elite cinephiles present at its Cannes Film Festival premiere, but its polarizing, slightly obtuse nature will make it a difficult sit for many. Adam Driver plays an edgy stand-up comedian who falls in love with Marion Cotillard’s opera singer. While Driver and Cotillard throw the full force of their acting power into the roles to mesmerizing effect, the structure of the movie, mimicking that of an opera, is much slower than a traditional movie musical. For those in love with French cinema and looking for a challenge, however, this could be a rewarding way to spend an evening.
Watch it starting August 20 on Amazon Prime.
6.*Annie (1982)
This is far and away one of the greatest movie musicals of the last 50 years, and while two more film adaptations have hit screens since, the original Annie is still the best. To start we have a no-skips, only hits lineup of songs: “Tomorrow,” “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “We Got Annie,” “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” and “Easy Street.” And not only are they each catchy little brain worms, but the choreography accompanying them is exquisite. Grace dancing through Daddy Warbucks’ mansion? ICONIC. And then of course we have the performances from the late Albert Finney as Warbucks; from Carol Burnett in her bathtub of gin as Miss Hannigan; and from Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters as a pair of con artists. BRB, I’m gonna go watch Miss Hannigan get her foot stuck in a banister right now.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
7.Arrival (2016)
It is still difficult for me to think of Arrival without thinking of Amy Adams’ egregious Oscar snub for the role. Should have won the category, but wasn’t even nominated. But I’m getting sidetracked. This Best Picture nominee directed by Denis Villeneuve (whose Dune comes out this fall) focuses on a linguist (Adams) who is asked to help communicate with aliens, using their inkblot language, when giant spaceships touch down on earth. The grounded sci-fi film is exquisitely shot and features an entrancing score. This is also the film that gave us the classic Amy-Adams-with-a-white-board meme.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
8.Big Fish (2003)
There are very few American directors with a style as instantly recognizable as Tim Burton, whose zany gothic fantasies include Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Alice in Wonderland. At home within this lineup is the fantastical Big Fish, which follows Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) and his dying father (played by Albert Finney and Ewan McGregor depending on the time) as the former tries to untangle fact from fiction in the latter’s life story. The past is created through a series of colorful vignettes as witches, giants, and werewolves wander through the old man’s tales. A raucous cast including Helena Bonham Carter, Danny DeVito and Steve Buscemi bring the story to life, and the ending is magical.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
9.The Big Sick (2017)
So let’s say you dated a girl for five months and then she broke up with you. And then she went to the hospital and was put into a coma. And then her parents came and they knew you broke up. And then you just had to sit with them awkwardly in the waiting room because you did still care about the girl. Thus is the premise of The Big Sick and also the real-life events surrounding the romance of the films writers Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (who is also the star). One of the best romantic comedies of the past decade, this film also examines interracial dating in a smart nuanced way and is stacked with your comedy faves including Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, and Bo Burnham (whose recent comedy special Inside is a masterpiece.) Now is also a great time to watch The Big Sick as ripped Kumail will be in Marvel’s Eternals this fall.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
10.Bottle Shock (2008)
Once upon a time, I was home for the summer from college and rented this film from the library because I love Alan Rickman (Harry Potter, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Sense and Sensibility, I could go on.) I found the movie captivating and demanded the DVD for Christmas. Rickman stars as a snobbish connoisseur of French wine who decides to throw a competition between the lauded French wineries and the looked-down-upon Californian upstarts (the leads of which are Bill Pullman and Chris Pine). Rickman is an absolute delight, and I (someone who buys $4 watermelon rose from Trader Joes) was mesmerized by the true story that put Napa Valley on the map in the ‘70s. Perhaps uncork a bottle of wine and settle in for the evening?
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
11.Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019)
As something of a marathon expert (I’ve written a whole book about the sport), I can personally attest to the tremendous amount of work that goes into running 26.2 miles as well as euphoric emotional payoff of finishing. This Jillian Bell film (based on a true story) follows Brittany as she signs up for the New York City Marathon in an attempt to get her life back on track. The heartwarming comedy also stars Michaela Watkins (Search Party) and Utkarsh Ambudkar (Pitch Perfect) and is the first feature film to actually shoot on location during the marathon. Watching Brittany finish her race is incredibly inspiring, and will make you want to sign up for a marathon as well.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
12.Burlesque (2010)
Okay so this film has a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes and is generally considered to be a bad movie BUT perhaps so bad it’s good? If you are a fan of the movie musical, and if you are a fan of high camp, and if you are a fan of the female pop star then this might be right up your alley. Christina Aguilera (great singer, okay actor) is playing a down-on-her-luck woman in LA who stumbles upon a burlesque club owned by Cher and begins her rise to fame. The cast is full of so-so actors from the aughts (Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Diana Agron) all of whom are giving what would I say are at the very least entertaining performances. Is it Citizen Kane? No. Is it a whole lot of fun? Absolutely. Oh, and Stanley Tucci is in it, so that’s another reason to tune in.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
13.Burn After Reading (2008)
The Coen brothers know how to perfectly entangle in-over-their-heads yokels into a high-stakes crime plot. And reminiscent of Fargo or No Country for Old Men (although much less serious than the latter), they here focus on a pair of dunderheaded gym employees, the gun-chomping Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and the plastic surgery–obsessed Linda Litzke (three-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand), into a CIA conspiracy. George Clooney, John Malkovich, and Tilda Swinton are also quickly caught up in the drama, and before you know it, there’s a dead body in the closet and a government cover-up. I’m still slightly infuriated that this film didn’t get more awards season love. Brad Pitt should have landed at least a nom for this GIF alone.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
14.Burning (2018)
Yes this is a 2.5 hour long Korean film with subtitles but BOY OH BOY is it worth it. Watching Burning, which is based on the short story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami, was one of the most enjoyable viewing experiences I’ve had in recent memory. The film (which the Oscars snubbed) begins as a lyrical love story between Jong-Su (Yoo Ah-in) and Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), but just as the two seem to have found a rhythm, they are interrupted by the suave, charismatic Ben (Minari’s Oscar-nominated Steven Yeun). Not knowing what will happen is the beauty of this film, so I won’t say more, but like Parasite it pivots into something more mysterious, subverting expectations repeatedly along the way. Please do yourself a favor and go stream it.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
15.*Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Watching this Steven Spielberg film about ‘60s con man Frank Abagnale will either make you really thankful we now have technology or really annoyed they’re stopping you from pulling off jobs. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Abagnale, a street-smart teenager who manages to pull off a string of scams including impersonating a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer. He is tirelessly hunted down by Tom Hanks’s FBI agent Carl Hanratty in a cat-and-mouse game both popcorn-munchingly entertaining and incredibly satisfying. All my Amy Adams stans will also enjoy watching her play a young hospital nurse with braces who DiCaprio seduces in one of her earlier film roles.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
16.Climax (2018)
Let’s just say this. If you’re having a rave in a secluded old schoolhouse in the middle of winter, PRAY that the punch is not spiked with LSD. This psychological horror film, starring Miss Blades-for-Legs from Kingsman herself Sofia Boutella, begins innocent enough when a French dance troupe gathers for a party post-rehearsal. As the effects of the drugs take hold, however, the night speeds into a dark and bloody haze set to the pulsing beats of house music. The opening dance sequence is something to behold whether or not you have the stomach for where the film ventures later. The cast are all trained dancers rather than actors, and the long takes allow them to fully showcase their moves….before they die.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
17.Clockwatchers (1998)
Not to be confused with Clockstoppers, the 2002 film about teens with magic watches, Clockwatchers is a ‘90s comedy about four women who become friends working as temps together at an office. Parker Posey is the feisty ringleader of the group, which also includes Phoebe Buffay herself, Lisa Kudrow, Euphoria’s Alanna Ubach, and the world’s greatest living actor, Toni Collette. When a string of office thefts throw suspicion onto the women, they must band together, forming new bonds, overcoming obstacles, and solving the workplace mystery in the process. This list is basically just your syllabus for watching Toni Collette films, and this is a great place to start.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
18.Cold War (2018)
The first time I tried to see Cold War in theaters, I had to leave 10 minutes in because the man sitting behind me said he’d found bedbugs in his chair. Nevertheless! I had such high hopes for the movie that I booked a ticket at a different theater the next day (post nuking my clothes in the dryer and scrubbing down in the shower), and I was not disappointed. This Oscar-nominated Polish film from Pawel Pawlikowski follows the star-crossed 20-year-long romantic saga of Zula and Wiktor during the Cold War. Shot in stark black and white, the story is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. A romance for the ages.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
19.An Education (2009)
There are movies that can catapult an actor to stardom, and An Education was that film for Carey Mulligan. Before her turns in The Great Gatsby and Promising Young Woman, she played the 16-year-old lead in this British coming-of-age drama. Bright, young, and naïve, she is easy prey for Peter Sarsgaard’s older con man as he seduces and grooms her. With beautiful ‘60s sets and costumes, the film is lush and scored a Best Picture nomination along with one for Mulligan’s breakthrough performance. Here’s hoping that before too long, we can say "Oscar-winner Carey Mulligan" because she certainly deserves it. This film was also the coming out party for Rosamund Pike, another actress who deserves a little gold statue.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
20.Election (1999)
If you’ve recovered from the seemingly never-ending 2020 election and don't find the idea of a ballot box scream-inducing, then perhaps you’re in the right headspace to watch a charmingly young and chipper Reese Witherspoon make a bid for student body president in this comedy. Tracy Flick (Witherspoon) is running unopposed until Jim (Matthew Broderick), a friend of a teacher Tracy got fired for sleeping with her, decides to enact revenge by supporting an alternative candidate. What follows, is a messy, underhanded battle for power with Witherspoon’s signature uptight, Type-A energy prominently on display. Particularly interesting today, the film is not only a great comedy but also an enlightening examination on sexism and gender politics. Would you “Pick Flick?” You’ll have to watch to find out.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
21.The Farewell (2019)
Apparently in China, it is not an uncommon practice to hide death prognoses from patients in hopes that they will have a higher quality of life as they near life’s end. In this film, directed by Lulu Wang and based on her life, the Wang family receive news that the matriarch, Nai Nai, has terminal lung cancer. Instead of sharing that news, they decide to stage a wedding as an excuse to bring the whole family to China to see their grandmother one final time. Billi (Awkwafina) tags along but is extremely uneasy about lying to her grandmother so excessively. What transpires will not only make you laugh, but also cry, sigh, smile, and feel a gamut of other emotions as the film looks at the importance of family and what ends we’ll go to, to protect the ones we love.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
22.Fargo (1996)
One of my absolute favorite films of all time (especially as the owner of a Michigan accent), Fargo follows a snowy kidnapping/ransom attempt that goes wrong when the kidnappers must murder several motorists to keep their secret. That’s when your favorite pregnant Midwestern sheriff Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning performance) shows up to solve the crime. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and spun off one of the best television series to date (especially Kirsten Dunst’s Season 2). So ah jeez, why dontcha go ahead en watch it?
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
23.*Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
You can never have enough ‘80s high school comedies, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High fits in perfectly with the Ferris Bueller and Bill & Teds of the world. The coming-of-age comedy was written by Cameron Crowe (who would go on to write/direct a string of successes like Jerry Maguire and Say Anything) and directed by Amy Heckerling (Clueless), so you’re in good hands. While Sean Penn’s stoner character at war with his history teacher is perhaps the most memorable p(l)ot of the movie, the main focus is on Stacy and Mark (Jennifer Jason Leigh and Brian Backer) who are trying to find their way romantically with the help of some older students. One of those meandering films that seemingly goes everywhere and nowhere at the same time, this 90-minute film is a quick treat. It’s also Nicolas Cage’s film debut!
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
24.Fighting With My Family (2019)
You’ve probably seen Black Widow by this point (and if you haven’t what are you waiting for?) The best part of Black Widow is inarguably Florence Pugh, who in addition to serving up a thick Russian accent, doing her signature frown, and stealing every scene she’s in with genius comedic timing, is also doing some great stunts. Where do you think she learned all that? From this film, based on a true story, in which Pugh plays an aspiring WWE wrestler in bootcamp audition along with her brother. Heartwarming, funny, and full of body slams, the British film (and Pugh is actually British if you didn’t know) is the natural follow up to a Black Widow viewing.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
25.Frozen River (2008)
We’ve got another crime drama set in the snow, only this time it's Melissa Leo at the center of the action (a rarity as the actor is too often kept from playing leads.) Leo, who was nominated for an Oscar for the role, plays a beleaguered discount store employee living in back country of upstate New York. Hard up for money, she begins working with a Mohawk bingo-parlor employee (Misty Upham) to traffic illegal immigrants across the Canadian border. The setting and subject matter are bleak, but the film (written and directed by Courtney Hunt) delves into the issues of race, class, and the treatment of Native Americans as it travels back and forth across the St. Lawrence River.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
26.The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
I swear there will be things on this list aside from snowy thrillers, but here’s another one just in case. Back in the ‘00s, Stieg Larsson’s trilogy of Swedish psychological crime thrillers sold like gangbusters, and were then adapted into a trio of Swedish-language films starring Noomi Rapace. Fresh off their success David Fincher (Mank) decided to adapt the books for an American film starring Rooney Mara as the punk cyberhacker Lisbeth Salander and Daniel Craig as journalist Mikael Blomkvist, The unlikely pair team up investigate the missing persons case of a girl who disappeard 40 years earlier. While this part one of the trilogy never received its sequels, it is a harrowing and captivating mystery, and Mara’s Best Actress-nominated performance is worth it in and of itself.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
27.Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967)
One of Prime’s older offerings, this classic drama from the '60s was one of the first films to depict interracial marriage positively (especially bold given that interracial marriage was illegal in many states just months before the film’s release. Watch Loving for more information on that). Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton play a recently engaged couple meeting each other’s families for the first time in what is an often tense, sometimes funny, and ultimately hopeful film. Katharine Hepburn, who plays the mother, snagged a Best Actress Oscar, and the film was nominated for 10 Oscars overall. Watching it serves as both a celebration of how far we’ve come as a society, but also as a reminder of how difficult things were and still are for many couples from diverse backgrounds.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
28.Hook (1991)
Far be it from me to exclude a film starring the late, great Robin Williams from this list. The comedy legend took the role of Peter Pan in Steven Spielberg’s reimagining of the classic tale. Now all grown up and having completely forgotten Neverland, Peter is dragged back into that world when Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps his children. Julia Roberts appears as Tinker Bell and Maggie Smith plays Wendy in a fun cast, and the movie was nominated for five Academy Awards. Just know that whenever you watch, you are contractually obligated to chant “RUFIO” at the television screen at the appropriate moment.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
29.The House Bunny (2008)
What a delightfully bonkers premise for a movie. A Playboy bunny gets kicked out of the Playboy mansion, but doesn’t know what to do with herself while living alone and so decides to be the house mother to a dorky sorority of misfits. Anna Faris is giving a career-best performance as the ditzy and earnestly lovable Shelley Darlingson, and you can’t help but root for her, her romance with the nerdy Colin Hanks, and her empowering the Zetas to get out of their shells. The sorority girls are expertly cast — from Emma Stone, in one of her earlier film performances, and WandaVision’s Kat Dennings, to American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee and Cheetah Girl, Cheetah Sister Kiely Williams. It may have a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, but clearly film critics in 2008 were just not up to the task of recognizing art.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
30.*In Bruges (2008)
Colin Farrell’s character Ray may want nothing to do with Bruges, Belgium, but this film had the opposite effect on me. I have a very intense desire to visit the little town full of cafés and canals, so if you want to be my travel buddy, let me know. Martin McDonagh’s crime comedy follows Ray and Brendan Gleeson’s Ken, both hitmen, as they hide out in Bruges until their recent kills blow over. The sleepy exile turns chaotic, however, when Ken is instructed to murder Ray. Ralph Fiennes plays their profanity-prone boss, and the Academy must have liked the curse words because the screenplay was nominated for an Oscar. I will say that this film has left me terrified of bell towers though, so that’s a potentially negative side effect.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
31.*In Her Shoes (2005)
It’s impossible to have too much Toni Collette, so here’s another great TC choice for you adapted from Jennifer Weiner’s book. In Her Shoes follows a pair of sisters, Rose (Collette) and Maggie (Cameron Diaz), who are polar opposites. Obviously, Rose is the uptight serious one, and Maggie is the alcoholic free spirit. After the two have a falling out because Maggie slept with Rose’s boyfriend, Maggie flees to Florida to connect with her estranged grandmother (Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine). A dramedy about sisterhood, motherhood, and understanding those who are different from yourself, it’s the perfect ratio of laugh-out-loud to tearfully-call-your-sister-and-tell-her-how-much-you-love-her.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
32.Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
I would like to begin this section with a direct appeal to Spotify: Dear Spotify Executives, please put the entire Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack on your site. Why do we only get 3 songs? I know it’s probably got something to do with legal things, but it’s rude nonetheless. Thank you. If, however, you would like to hear the entire soundtrack from this Coen Brothers folk musical, you can watch it on Amazon Prime. Oscar Isaac plays the titular struggling folk singer as he tries to make sense of his life, and sings haunting melodies in the process. My beloved Carey Mulligan and the scandal-shrouded Justin Timberlake also make appearances (although their song isn’t on Spotify.) This underappreciated, lyrical film should have been showered with more awards and praise than it was. Sometimes the people just get it wrong.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
33.*The Insider (1999)
If you love a journalist movie, clap once! If you hate the tobacco industry, clap twice! If you miss Christopher Plummer, clap three times! If you’re sitting there at your desk clapping, then might I suggest 1999 Best Picture nominee The Insider about the whistleblower and journalists behind the 60 Minutes segment that blew the lid off the tobacco industry. Russell Crowe (in a pre-Gladiator Oscar-nominated performance) plays Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, the informant working with a 60 Minutes producer (Al Pacino), and famed host Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) to get the story on the air. In the vein of Spotlight or The Post, the film makes journalism sexy and thrilling as a bunch of scrappy nerds take down evil corporate overlords.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
34.Jack and Jill (2011)
I will not be reading the comments for this article, because I KNOW you all are going to rake me over the coals for this one, but this is actually an incredible film. Does it have a 3% on Rotten Tomatoes? Yes. Did it win every single Razzie the year it came out? Yes. But they are not watching this through the lens of it being a masterpiece of camp. Send this film to the 2019 Met Gala! Adam Sandler (whose recent Hubie Halloween is also a winner) plays both Jack and Jill, fraternal twins, in this truly bonkers affair. It’s stuffed-to-bursting with product placement (Dunkin Donuts anyone?), Sandler is bouncing off the walls as Jill, and the writing is bordering on nonsensical often. And yet SOMEHOW Adam Sandler convinced Al Pacino to play himself in this film as the third billed actor, AND convinced him to fall in love with Jill! Insane. Honestly I have no idea how this fever dream of a film got made, but I’ve watched it several times, and I will watch it again. (Oh and the Survivors loved it.)
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
35.*Jaws (1975)
We’re gonna need a bigger boat. Jaws is such an iconic film that it’s really hard to find something new to say about it. It’s about a giant shark that starts eating people at the beach. Then the locals band together to try and kill the shark. It’s terrifying, and I wouldn’t recommend you watching if you have any sort of beach/lake/river rafting trip coming up in the next six months. Jaws is the film that put Steven Spielberg on the map. Its movie poster is legendary. I don’t know if we can attribute Shark Week to its success, but there’s an argument there. Really, it’s just one of those 25 movies that everyone should watch, and now it’s available on Amazon Prime, so get to it.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
36.Knives Out (2019)
You’ve got to love a classic whodunit, especially with an ensemble cast at the caliber of this one. Rian Johnson’s mystery (so well written its screenplay landed an Oscar nom) focuses on the death of Harlan Thrombey, a famous novelist, and the family desperate to scoop up his inheritance. I know that listing off actors is boring, but just go with me here. We’ve got James Bond himself Daniel Craig, and his future Bond girl/Ben Affleck’s former coffee walks partner Ana de Armas. America’s Ass Chris Evans is there in a beautiful cable-knit sweater. Halloween badass/yogurt guru Jamie Lee Curtis is a suspect, as is two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon. Lime enthusiast Dakota Johnson’s dad Don is here, and so is perhaps the greatest living actor Toni Collette. Lakeith Stanfield is here without his straw hat from Get Out and so is 13 Reasons Why’s ghostly Katherine Langford. And just as a final flex the casting director secured Pennywise’s favorite victim Jaeden Martell and the legendary Christopher Plummer, may he rest in peace. Like really. It’s an all-star lineup and they’ve got something similar planned for the sequel.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
37.The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
In case you haven’t checked the news in the last decade, San Francisco is in the midst of (or perhaps ending) a MASSIVE wave of gentrification thanks to the explosion of Silicon Valley, and the area’s being flooded by affluent white tech moguls. As a result, streets previously occupied by black families are almost entirely white. Thus is the story of Jimmie Fails, who wrote this film based partially on his life. Here he plays a man set on reclaiming his childhood Victorian home from a gentrified neighborhood, lovingly taking care of the beautiful house behind its owners’ backs. Hauntingly poignant and tragically melancholy, the film, an indictment on gentrification, also engages with the pains of growing up, of change, and of having to say good bye.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
38.The Last King of Scotland (2006)
There are movies that are narratives, and then there are movies that are performances. While the plot of this historical drama is certainly tragic and fascinating, it is swallowed whole by Forest Whitaker’s undeniable Oscar-winning performance as the dictator of Uganda Idi Amin. As told through the eyes of a doctor played by James McAvoy, the film details Amin’s coup on the Ugandan government in the '70s and his subsequent reign of terror leading to events surrounding the hijacked aircraft in Entebbe. Whitaker is delivering a career-high performance, chewing up and spitting out the dialogue in a ferocious tare that demands to be watched.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
39.The Lighthouse (2019)
Robert Eggers’s follow-up to The Witch (where we all learned to live deliciously) is a claustrophobic psychological nightmare and anything but delicious (unless dead seagulls and farting whet your appetite). Shot in black and white with a nearly square aspect ratio, the film resembles an 1800s home video as it tracks Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson’s characters to a rocky island lighthouse. Fueled by alcohol and cut off from society, the pair descend into a salty, windswept madness. This is certainly not for everyone, but those of you with a strong constitution and love of psychological horror will find this a riveting exploration of the untethered mind. Watch it while we anxiously await The Northman, Eggers’s next film.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
40.Man Made (2018)
Bodybuilding is an exacting sport that requires months of thankless precision in dieting and exercise. It’s difficult for the cis men who tackle the challenge, but for trans men, it’s even more daunting. T Cooper’s inspiring documentary follows four trans men as they prepare to compete in the only all-trans bodybuilding competition in the world. We follow these men through their daily lives, through their relationships, through their workouts, and through their transitions, becoming intimately aware of the daily struggles that affect those in the transgender community. But beneath the adversity, this is foremost a portrait of triumph as these four men push back against gender norms and stereotypes to do what they love most and be who they truly are.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
41.Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Manchester by the Sea is a beautiful, if disastrously depressing film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan. Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck are both giving incredible performances (even if Casey’s more recent controversies have detracted from his starpower). But what I’d like to discuss is the birth of Lucas Hedges into the American consciousness. Hedges plays Patrick, a 16-year-old with a THICK Boston accent, who goes to live with his depressed uncle (Affleck) after the death of his father. His performance is so strong that it nabbed him a rare young male Oscar nomination, and launched him into lead roles in subsequent films like Ben is Back and Boy Erased. He would also go on to become an A24 darling in films like Lady Bird and Waves. Just as I couldn’t stop looking at this recent photo of him, I was transfixed by his presence here, and have loved watching his journey to stardom.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
42.Marie Antoinette (2006)
Let them eat cake, but if they don’t have cake, they can at least feast their eyes on this lush historical drama from the mind of Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring, On the Rocks). The film, which won the Oscar for costume design, follows the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette in the years before she famously lost her head to the guillotine. American treasure and frequent Coppola collaborator Kirsten Dunst plays the queen (head still intact) in her life of extravagance. Comedians Steve Coogan, Rose Byrne, and Molly Shannon all make appearances as we watch this group of aristocratic elite, out of touch with society, on their slow march to eventual doom.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
43.Midsommar (2019)
Where do I even begin to describe my love of this horror film? Directed by Ari Aster (whose Hereditary is somehow even better), Midsommar follows a group of friends who travel to Sweden for a folk festival. Only instead of a normal village, there's something menacing and mysterious at play. Aster does the seemingly impossible job of making a field in broad daylight scarier than the dark, and the dread he creates in these scenes is palpable. At the center of this detailed masterpiece is Florence Pugh’s breakout performance as a grieving woman, whose family just died, on vacation with a boyfriend. It’s terrifying. It’s beautiful. It’s oddly cathartic. Although I will never forgive it for teaching me what a blood eagle is.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
44.*Moneyball (2011)
Here’s the thing about Moneyball. I went to see it in college with a straight boy I had a crush on fully expecting to hate it because it’s a sports movie about baseball (which I truly know nothing about). When I tell you I was ENGROSSED in this story about hacking the MLB’s scouting system in order to create a great team on a tiny budget. I was so fascinated by the whole process, I forgot I who I was sitting next to. Brad Pitt is bringing all his charisma to this Michael Lewis adaptation, and Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, and the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman round out the cast nicely. If you’re a sports fan, give it a watch. And if you’re not a sports fan, give it a watch.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
45.My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
To say My Beautiful Laundrette was ahead of its time is an incredible understatement. The film, written by the British Pakistani playwright Hanif Kureishi and directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Frears, dared to tell not only a gay story, but also an immigration story and an interracial love story in 1985. Set in London, the film follows Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a Pakistani man who is reunited with his old friend Johnny (played by a very young Daniel Day-Lewis on his rise to fame and three Oscars). The two fall in love as they are tasked with running a laundromat (or laundrette apparently, if you’re British). The movie was made with practically no money and has cemented its status as a cult classic and keystone in the queer canon.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
46.*My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
Who among us hasn’t fantasized about breaking up a couple on their wedding day? Especially as you watch your secret crushes from high school and college go on to betroth themselves to seemingly wonderful human beings who aren’t you. Thus is the premise to this rom-com, in which Julia Roberts realizes on the eve of her best friend’s wedding that she is in fact in love with him and must find a way to stop the nuptials. In the most ‘90s casting choices ever, Dermot Mulroney and Cameron Diaz play the soon-to-be happy couple, while Rupert Everett tags along as Julia’s GBF there to help with her marriage-stopping antics. Julia Roberts dazzles as always, and the ending is incredibly satisfying. Go buy a bottle of wine, and settle in for a fun night.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
47.On the Waterfront (1954)
It’s hard to find something that qualifies as a “classic film” more soundly than this '50s gangster drama. Starring Marlon Brando, who you probably know from The Godfather, although he’s much younger and less mealy mouthed here, the film focuses on the corruption taking place at the hands of the mob on the docks (hence the “waterfront”). The film was nominated for 12 Oscars, winning 8 of them including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Brando), Screenplay, and Cinematography. It also won Eva Marie Saint a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, even though it was her debut film performance. Saint is now 97, and the young folks may remember her as the little old lady in Because of Winn-Dixie (but that might just be a me thing).
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
48.One Night in Miami (2020)
In 1964, famed African-American civil rights activist Malcolm X, boxer Muhammad Ali, football star Jim Brown, and singer Sam Cooke all spent an evening together in a hotel room in Miami, FL. This historic meeting serves as the basis for this film, directed by Regina King (previously Oscar-winning actor) and adapted by Kemp Powers, who also wrote the play and Pixar's Soul (big year for him!) Focused on the relationships between these four great men, the film creates fictional dialogue that aims to unpack race, privilege, and the responsibility that comes from fame. Hamilton’s Leslie Odom Jr. plays Sam Cooke (a performance for which he was Oscar-nominated), but its Kingsley Ben-Adir’s take on Malcolm X that is most captivating. Never has such a long stay in a hotel room been so interesting.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
49.Pride (2014)
I LOVE to promote a good LGBTQ+ film, and this funny little historical British dramedy is a fantastic one. Back in 1984, during a British miners’ strike, gay activist Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer) realized that the police were too busy focused on the miners to focus on their usual harassment of the gay community and so he started "Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners" to help a fellow group of oppressed folks. It’s this fight by the LGBTQ+ community on behalf of the labor class that serves as the plot here. Hot Priest Andrew Scott is here along with 1917’s George MacKay and Professor Umbridge aka Imelda Staunton. The film is charming, uplifting, and shows you how underdogs helping underdogs can do a lot of good for everyone.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
50.Rear Window (1954)
We’ve had a lot of “I saw a murder out my window” movies recently with The Woman in the Window to The Girl on the Train, but this Alfred Hitchcock classic is the original. Jimmy Stewart’s Jeff is laid up in the Greenwich Village with a broken leg and has nothing to do to amuse himself but look out his window. When he believes he’s seen one of his neighbors murder his wife, however, Jeff and his girlfriend, played by Grace Kelly, set out to investigate. What starts as curiosity, quickly leads them over their head. The film is a staple in the American canon and is CONSTANLY referred to or riffed on, so really you owe it to yourself to see the original.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
51.Revolutionary Road (2008)
Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, forever forged together through the press surrounding that mega blockbuster, have famously remained friends. So, it was not particularly surprising, then, when the two reunited to costar in this romantic drama from Sam Mendes (1917). The pair play the Wheelers, a '50s couple living what is seemingly the perfect suburban Connecticut life, only to be suffocated under malaise, boredom, and the breakdown of their marriage. As with Titanic, this is a romantic tragedy, and also as with Titanic, Kathy Bates is there. It’s not a happy movie, but it’s fascinating to watch these two great actors do their thing. If only there was a Celine Dion song thrown in.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
52.Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Seated nicely in the public domain, the works of Jane Austen have been adapted into what seems like 500 films, television shows, plays, and novels. Of them all, the 1995 Ang Lee adaption of Sense and Sensibility is a standout. Following recently destitute but still extremely eligible Dashwood sisters as they hunt for husbands on the English countryside, the film is a pastoral delight. Emma Thompson and a very young, pre-nearly freezing to death on a floating door Kate Winslet take the lead roles with British acting legends like Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Harriet Walter, and (soon to be Queen) Imelda Staunton filling up the cast list. Anyone who swooned over Kiera Knightley in Pride and Prejudice or Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma needs to add this to their queue.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
53.Shooter (2007)
Apparently it is possible to shoot a gun and hit a target from a mile away. A MILE! And Mark Wahlberg’s character in Shooter has that ability. He’s that good. And because of this fact, the bad guys are both very smart and very dumb. Smart because he’s an easy scapegoat for a presidential assassination attempt. But when he escapes arrest and starts searching for revenge, he is an enemy you REALLY don’t want to have. Shooter is certainly not an Oscar nominee, but it is a fun action movie to munch on popcorn while watching. Who doesn’t love a good revenge plotline? And if you sprinkle in a little government conspiracy and a few great action sequences, I’m fully there. It’s also a good reminder to keep your curtains closed.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
54.Short Term 12 (2013)
I don’t know what was happening on the set of Short Term 12, but someone had a rabbit's foot or made a deal with the Illuminati, because truly everyone in this tiny indie drama has gone on to have their careers BLOW UP! There’s Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson. There’s Booksmart’s scene-stealer Kaitlyn Dever. There’s Best Actor/Freddie Mercury impersonator Rami Malek. There’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz. And of course, there is very recent Oscar nominee for Judas and the Black Messiah, LaKeith Stanfield. This film, which focuses on a group home for troubled teenagers, is funny, sad, and heartwarming in its own right, but watching all your current faves’ younger selves is a trip.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
55.*Sideways (2004)
Some would say (and by “some” I mean “me”) that Paul Giamatti’s best work is in Big Fat Liar. Far more would say he shines in this Best Picture nominee. The dramedy follows Giamatti’s depressed, unsuccessful writer Miles and his has-been soap opera star Jack (Thomas Haden Church in an Oscar-nominated role) as the pair take a trip to wine country before Jack’s wedding. What follows is a chaotic, rambling film that is somehow cheerful, depressing, inspiring, and hilarious all in one swoop. It’s a rumination on aging and friendship that snatched five Oscar nominations and took home the trophy for the screenplay. And since Big Fat Liar is not streaming on Amazon, this is your next best bet.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
56.Sound of Metal (2019)
One of this year’s freshly minted Best Picture nominees, Sound of Metal follows Ruben, a heavy metal drummer who comes to the (at first) horrifying realization that he is losing his hearing. The indie drama, which continued to pick up more steam and accolades through the awards season, stars Riz Ahmed in the lead as he mourns his hearing and struggles to find ways to cope. Both he and Paul Raci, who plays the Deaf leader of a shelter for recovering addicts, landed Oscar noms for their performances, and Olivia Cooke, who plays Ruben’s girlfriend, rightfully should have received one as well. This fascinating film also substantiates my mom’s claim that "you are going to lose your hearing from turning the radio up too loud."
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
57.The Souvenir (2019)
With The Souvenir Part II fresh off its well-received premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and headed to theaters in the fall, there is no time like the present to catch up on the first installment of Joanna Hogg’s autobiographical film duology. The Souvenir Part I stars Honor Swinton Byrne (the daughter of Tilda Swinton who also appears in the film) playing a version of Hogg through her encounters at film school. Byrne’s Julie meets Anthony (Tom Burke) and the two have a whirlwind romance that is cut short when some details of Anthony’s unsavory past float to the surface. The quiet, lyrical film is a sad, little treat (like so many A24 titles) and the performances shine. I can’t wait to see round 2.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
58.Stop Making Sense (1984)
As someone with particularly bad music taste, I will take this moment to admit that I had no idea who the Talking Heads were until this summer when I watched David Byrne’s American Utopia, a filmed version of the Broadway performance. David Byrne, for the uninformed, was the lead singer of a new wave band called the Talking Heads (whose only song I knew because it was used in the trailer for the horrid Matt Damon film Downsizing (I know this is a cursed sentence.)) American Utopia, however, gave me an appreciation for the Talking Heads and so I naturally stumbled upon Stop Making Sense, which is a filmed version of their live performances at the Pantages Theater in 1983. It is an exquisite concert film. The music is wonderful. The concert is theatrical. And the whole thing jumps off the screen in a way that concert videos don’t often manage to do. So everyone follow my lead and become a Talking Heads fan. Better three decades late than never.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
59.Sunset Boulevard (1950)
We start with a mansion on Sunset Boulevard. And oh look, there is a body floating face down in the swimming pool. Whose body is it? How did it get there? You’ll have to watch to find out. The black-and-white Hollywood classic tracks the events leading up to the mysterious death, as William Holden plays a young screenwriter who is slowly sucked into the web of the reclusive former silent-film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). The iconic film, which gave us lines like “Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up,” was nominated for 11 Oscars and holds an ironclad spot in the film canon. A perfect film, it feels startlingly modern even as it’s a ‘50s noir, and it packs just as much punch today as it did at its release.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
60.The Terminator (1984)
“I’ll be back.” This Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action film not only has gone on to spawn multiple spinoffs, but it also gave us some of the most quotable lines in cinema history. The former governor of California plays an evil AI cyborg assassin sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman who will eventually give birth to the man who will save humankind. While the later films in the franchise are more action focused, the original is basically a horror film with the terminator killing anyone that gets in the way of him murdering Sarah. Watch your favorite Austrian bodybuilder deliver his classic lines before his fake skin is melted off and he turns into a terrifying red-eyed robot.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
61.Time (2020)
Rarely do we get a documentary as raw and moving as Time. The film follows Fox Rich, using over 25 years’ worth of home videos, as she fights tirelessly for her husband Rob, serving time in prison for his participation in an armed bank robbery, to be granted clemency. What filmmaker Garrett Bradley thought would be a short film turned into a feature when Fox handed her over 100 hours worth of home video footage taken while her husband was in prison. Bradley then took the home videos and her own footage, converted it all to stunning black-and-white, and built the moving 81-minute-long final product. The documentary, which was nominated for an Oscar, vividly shows the flaws of the criminal justice system and how that can deeply affect the families of those struggling through it. It’s a beautiful statement as to what can be accomplished if you try hard enough and how important it is to have someone tirelessly in your corner.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
62.The Tomorrow War (2021)
A recent 2021 release, this Chris Pratt sci-fi film is set in a world in which aliens overrun the planet in 30 years. The future, therefore, is drafting humans from the present to time travel to the future to fight off the aliens in order to save humanity. Chris Pratt, playing a former Green Beret, is drafted alongside a rag tag crew including Sam Richardson (VEEP) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (aka Gail the Snail from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). While the time travel logistics are a bit murky, the action sequences (especially one on a giant oil-rig-styled military bases) are incredible and the monsters will give you nightmares.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
63.The Truman Show (1998)
Is it a comedy or is it a horror film? Who’s to say, but I know that I for one will occasionally make an erratic trip into a bizarre office building or ask my friends strange questions just to verify that I am not living in a large scale reality TV show and am in fact a real human living a real life. The Truman Show is of course about Truman Burbank, a man played by Jim Carrey who thinks that he is living an ordinary life, but is actually living on a large set full of props and actors that is being broadcast worldwide. The film, which can lead your mind down all kinds of strange rabbit holes is just as fun to watch as it is to ponder over after the fact. It was nominated for three Oscars and is a constant cultural touchstone for presenting the life-as-reality-TV idea so brilliantly. Okay BRB, I have to go check the sky for lighting equipment.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
64.Vertigo (1958)
Alfred Hitchcock is a master of the psychological thriller, and nowhere is that made more apparent than in Vertigo. Starring Jimmy Stewart, the film focuses on a former policeman who was pulled from the line of duty after a rooftop chase leads to his developing a fear of heights as well as vertigo. In retirement, however, he is called upon by a friend from college to investigate his wife, who is behaving oddly (played by Kim Novak). What follows is a twisty cat-and-mouse game of identity and fear, culminating in a bell tower scene that is one for the ages. And don’t let its age fool you — this movie is just as suspenseful as anything being made today. Don’t trust me? Give it a try.
Watch it now on Amazon Prime.
* Denotes title that has been newly added to Amazon Prime for August.
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