18 Best Movies to Stream on Amazon Prime Video

The 12 Lives of Sissy Carlyle

Amazon

This crowdfunding movie is a bundle of quirky and enjoyable adventures in a sweet 90-minute hit. After a tragic loss, 27-year-old antique shop owner Sissy Carlyle retreats to her inner world, imagining 11 different and exciting lives that she details in her diaries. But she finally wonders if she should shed her cocoon of fantasy and face the stark reality, which might not be as hopeless as it once seemed. Edifying is the word to describe Sissy’s latest adventure in The 12 Lives of Sissy Carlyle.

Borat Post Movie

Amazon Prime Video

Almost 15 years after Kazakh journalist and TV personality Borat first appeared on our giant screens, he has once again played pranks on unsuspecting Americans while delivering some incredibly incisive cultural commentary. In Borat 2, or the later Borat film: Delivering a Prodigious Bribe to the American Regime to Once Benefit the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Borat travels to the United States to offer his daughter Tutar (played by a revealing Maria Bakalova) to the Vice President Mike Pence during the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prepare to shrink from duplicate political incorrectness before succumbing to outrageous laughter.

Selah and the swords

Amazon

If you’re into the genre of dark stuff that happens in boarding schools, then Selah and the Spades might be the topic to sign you up for. A senior student leads a faction called Spades that sells drugs to other students. But Selah is about to graduate, so he must find the right candidate to continue his legacy. Beautifully shot and guided by the unique lens of debut director Tayarisha Poe, this is a taste of even better things to come.

Amazon

The Big Sick introduced the world to Kumail Nanjiani, who co-wrote the film based on his real-life romance with his partner Emily V. Gordon. After the couple have some promising dates, Emily inexplicably falls ill and must be placed in an induced coma. As Kumail gets to meet his concerned parents at the hospital, his own Pakistani family continues to arrange dates for him with other women. Not only is it ready for cultural comedy setups, The Big Sick is also a down-to-earth and heartfelt tale of an interracial couple.

Amazon Studios

A psychological thriller starring a pre-Joker Joaquin Phoenix? Yes, more people need to see You Were Never Really Here. Lynne Ramsay’s masterful take on a story about a hit man who is hired to rescue the daughter of a politician from a human trafficking ring is raw, brutal, and thankfully straight to the point, lasting 90 minutes. With Phoenix doing his brilliant act of engaged actor, You Were Never Really Here is more than your average thriller.

Amazon

An enjoyable comedy, yes, but Brittany Runs a Marathon also comes close to home, focusing on the things we’re all obsessed with: food, body image, and exercise. Brittany, played by effortlessly relatable Jillian Bell, gets strong advice from her doctor to lose weight and kick the party lifestyle. She starts running, taking all the difficult steps toward the life-changing finish line. Watch it from your couch, then get inspired to go for a run.

Amazon Studios

Luca Guadagnino’s scary image framed in a gloomy art house window won’t be for everyone, but for those heading down the den of his prestigious Berlin dance school, a twisted gift awaits. Tilda Swinton is the majestic head teacher, who mentors the naive young woman Dakota Johnson. Be careful: flexible dancers bring new contortions to body horror. It’s a long movie, over two and a half hours, but if you like disturbing visuals and a touch of witchcraft, there are a couple of jaw-dropping scenes you’ll want to stick with.

Amazon Studios

Based on the life of British adventurer Percy Fawcett, The Lost City of Z takes you into the Amazon rainforest in search of an ancient lost city. If that setting for adventure isn’t appealing enough, the movie stars Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, and Tom Holland … with a mustache. A beautiful and great film prepared with great care, The Lost City of Z may move slower than you think, but that only enhances its fascinating psychological layers.

Amazon Studios

Get ready for the first big and prestigious Amazon movie that will hit you in the chest. A broken man who has suffered terrible losses becomes the guardian of his teenage nephew. The Lee Chandler story will hit you with emotional blow after blow, as will the immense performances of the likes of Michelle Williams. Another achievement of Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea is telling full-bodied and unforgettable stories.

Amazon Studios

Even if you’ve heard good things about The Handmaiden, nothing can prepare you for the crazy twists and turns this exquisite South Korean movie takes. Classified as erotic psychological thriller, The Handmaiden contains explicit scenes that you should probably avoid seeing with parents around. It all starts with a con artist courting a Japanese heiress with the intention of committing her to an asylum once they are married. But her pickpocket partner, posing as her maid, deviates from the plan. If you’ve gotten into South Korean movies thanks to Parasite, this is a must.

Amazon Studios

With Jim Jarmusch’s signature style, this understated indie concentrates on the finer details of everyday life with a distinctive sense of humor. For a week, Paterson follows a bus driver and poet named Paterson who hears passengers talking, takes his dog for a walk, and stops for a beer at his local pub. Adam Driver just makes all of that infinitely visible. Dotted with the idiosyncratic characters who live in a New Jersey city, Paterson offers a wise insight into life, delving into personal setbacks and new paths that surround them.

Amazon Studios

Written by and starring Mindy Kaling, Late Night follows an acclaimed news show host whose ratings are on the decline. He hires an Indian-American writer to rearrange his white writer’s room. Never lecture, while making a plot to transform Emma Thompson into a real-life talk show host, Late Night is an animated comedy with touches of The Devil Wears Prada. That alone should be a solid reason to watch it.

Amazon Studios

Following lovers of different backgrounds and temperaments, Pawel Pawlikowski’s historical drama takes place in a devastated Poland after World War II. Zula is an ambitious young singer who feigns a peasant identity, while Wiktor is a jazz musician who auditions for a state-sponsored folk music ensemble. Politics is handled elegantly and the black and white images are accurate and beautiful. For an 88-minute gift of a sumptuous, passionate, and nearly impossible love story, look no further than Cold War.

Amazon Studios

The Vast of Night is a curious independent sci-fi film from debut director Andrew Patterson that plays with narrative intelligently. The long, powerful shots lead us behind two young radio workers investigating an audio frequency that they believe could be traced back to aliens. The distinctive 1950s New Mexico setting and characters delivering monologues with the soft intonation of those on the radio create a haunting atmosphere with satisfying payoff.

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Shia LaBeouf wrote the script for this autobiographical film about a child actor and his relationship with his father. We follow Otis, who is traumatized after days on set accompanied by his father, a former rodeo clown. LaBeouf actually plays the character inspired by his father, which gives Honey Boy even more psychological layers. This is a fascinating film therapy from a singular perspective.

Amazon Studios

I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and inspired by a collection of notes and letters written by American writer and activist James Baldwin in the mid-1970s. The subject of these memories? His close friends, revolutionary civil rights leaders Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers. Exploring the history of racism in the United States, I’m Not Your Black highlights, through Baldwin’s observations, the painful struggle for civil rights.

Amazon Studios

One Child Nation offers an illuminating insight into China’s one-child policy, which lasted from 1979 to 2015. Its directors, Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang, were born during this period and explore the aftermath of what had become an aspect normal life for Chinese people. Looking at the ugly side of the “population war” through the experiences of a wide variety of people, One Child Nation is a stark illustration of this period in Chinese history.

Amazon Studios

The Coen brothers meet Wes Anderson in this black comedy thriller directed by two brilliant young leads. Set in a snowy Maine fishing village, Blow the Man Down follows the sisters, played by Morgan Saylor and Sophie Lowe, who attempt to hide a man’s body after he attacked one of them and she fought back. While on their criminal mischief, they find themselves unearthing the dark secrets of the city’s matriarchs, turning this into a black mystery. It is as wonderful as it sounds.