In the past year or two, Netflix and Apple TV+ have been the ones who have been battling it out for the most prestigious movie deals (congratulations, CODA !), but that doesn’t mean other streaming services haven’t. great deals. Like, for example, Amazon Prime.
The streamer was one of the first to pick up film festival darlings and other adorable favorites, and they’re all still there in the library, so if they flew under your radar the first time around, it’s is the perfect time to catch up.
Our picks for the 10 best movies on Amazon Prime are below. Plus, before you ask, all of the movies in our guide are included with your Prime membership — no rentals here.
Once you’ve watched your fill, check out our lists of the best movies on Netflix and the best movies on Disney+ if you’re looking for something else to watch.
We also have a guide to the best shows on Amazon, if that’s what you fancy.
Aisha
(Anna Diop) is a Senegalese woman who works as a nanny for a wealthy couple in New York, hoping to earn enough to bring her son and cousin to join her in America. However, her future is at the mercy of her employers, who seem content to let Aisha raise their daughter, Rose, while often withholding her salary. As the stress of the power imbalance weighs on her, Aisha begins to have strange dreams of drowning, compounded by her fears of abandoning her own child. Director Nikyatu Jusu’s feature debut, Nannycontrasts the horror of the immigrant experience in modern America with something darker, while trading the expected tropes of hope and opportunity for a palpable sadness for the culture and community left behind. Nanny takes a slow-burn psychological approach to her scares, but Diop is phenomenal throughout, and the meticulous pacing and gorgeous cinematography mean every frame lingers.
Licorice Pizza
Is it possible to be nostalgic for a time and place you may never have been? Licorice Pizza– Paul Thomas Anderson’s ode to the San Fernando Valley of the 1970s – makes the case for a “yes”. A coming-of-age comedy-drama, the film follows 15-year-old actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and 25-year-old photographer Alana Kane (Alana Haim) as they strike up an unlikely friendship. It’s a film of misadventures intertwined with self-reflection, as the perfectly matched leads ricochet through waterbed sales, criminally mistaken identities and violent run-ins with film producer Jon Peters, all on a perfect soundtrack and framed in the hazy light of a half-remembered California summer. Throughout there’s all the sharp dialogue and small but brilliant observations of human behavior you’d expect from Anderson,
Candy Man (2021)
In search of inspiration, artist Anthony (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) finds himself drawn to the urban legend of the Candyman. Captivated by chilling rumors of summoning the malevolent spirit by saying his name five times in a mirror, Anthony soon produces a gruesome collection of works, upsetting his conservative girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris), while sinking further deep in a cycle of trauma, murder, and horror that spans centuries. Accessible to newcomers and long-time fans alike, with plenty of nods to the cult classic, including the original Candyman Tony Todd sort of reprising his iconic role with a clever twist – this Candyman redesignsees director Nia DaCosta update the themes of gentrification, social exclusion and racism that the 1992 original was rooted in, delivering smart, relevant and modern horror for a new generation.
Coming 2 America
Relying on nostalgia to bring new entries to long-dormant series can be risky business, but Eddie Murphy’s return as Zamunda’s Prince — now King — Akeem more than three decades after 1988’s Coming in America shows how to do it right. Brought back to the States in search of a son he never knew he had, Akeem and the audience reunite with familiar faces from the first film, before director Craig Brewer ( Restlessness and Flow ) flips the formula and tests the American characters with a trip to Zamunda. With a sharper, smarter, and more overarching script than the original, Coming 2 Americadefies the odds to be a comedic sequel that lives up to its predecessor’s reputation.
Thirteen Lives
Director Ron Howard’s latest film brings together a top-notch cast, including Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton, for a dramatization of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, where a Thai junior soccer team and its assistant coach been trapped in the flooded cave system. . As an international effort mounts to save the children, the challenges of traversing miles of underwater caverns grow increasingly dangerous, and Howard masterfully captures every dangerously claustrophobic moment. A bitingly tense film with ingeniously shot aquatic scenes, Thirteen Lives bears witness to one of the most difficult rescues ever made.
Respect
Jennifer Hudson revels as Queen of Soul in this biopic chronicling the life and times of Aretha Franklin. Directed by Liesl Tommy, Respect follows Franklin from her youth in Michigan to her budding career in gospel and jazz and finally to the mainstream breakthrough that led her to become one of the most successful performers in the world. It’s not a flaky piece, though. Tommy documents Franklin’s lows as dramatically as his highs, from family strife to burnout, self-destruction and struggles with addiction. A beautifully shot film that perfectly captures every era of Franklin’s life with period-perfect costumes and designs, Respectalso features a fantastic supporting cast, including Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess and Mary J. Blige and, naturally, a phenomenal soundtrack.
One night in Miami…
Based on the play of the same name, One Night in Miami…follows four icons of culture, music and sport – Malcom X, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Muhammad Ali – at the height of the civil rights movement, a converging and pivotal point in their lives and careers. Meeting in a motel room following Ali’s – then still Cassius Clay – heavyweight victory over Sonny Liston in 1964, the four men discuss their roles in the movement and society as a whole, while the audience knows that the weight of history is hanging down on them. The narrow confines of much of the film reflect its theatrical roots, but this feature debut from Regina King perfectly portrays the larger-than-life personalities of its cast. Kingsley Ben-Adir is on fire as Malcom X, starring Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
Sainte Maud
Like every other offering from A24 ( The Witch, Hereditary, Midsommar ), Rose Glass Sainte-Maud ‘s directorial debut is an ethereal cerebral horror flick. In it, Morfydd Clark plays Katie, a sad and lonely young woman who quit her job due to unknown circumstances. When she begins to care for a terminally ill woman who is everything she isn’t – vivacious, free-spirited – Katie, now called Maud, is enchanted. However, everything begins to spiral out of control when Maud becomes convinced that she has been sent to save the young woman’s soul.
The report
Produced by Amazon, The report is a gripping description of the US Senate’s investigation into the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation” program – how it came about, who knew about it, and how the CIA manipulated the facts to support its effectiveness. Adam Driver stars as Daniel Jones, the lead investigator who has forged an increasingly solitary path to the truth, battling political resistance and CIA interference all the way. Driver is, as is his wont these days, superb, and the film’s 82% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes is well deserved.
The sound of metal
When punk-rock drummer and recovering drug addict Ruben begins to suffer from hearing loss, it threatens to turn his entire life upside down. Faced with an impossible choice between giving up his audition or giving up his career, Ruben begins to spin in circles, until his girlfriend Lou sends him to a rehabilitation center for the deaf, forcing him to confront his own behavior. as much as the future it faces. Riz Ahmed is in spectacular shape as the troubled Ruben, while Olivia Cooke’s turn as Lou, who suffers with her own demons, including self-harm, is gripping. Appropriately enough, the sound of metalalso features an incredibly nuanced use of sound – and lack thereof – as director Darius Marder crafts one of the finest dramas in years.
