The Best Movies on Amazon Prime Right Now
How many hours have we all spent scrolling endlessly? You end up pursuing title after title, intent on finding just the right movie, eventually unsure what to choose in the face of daunting choices, in search of a little kickback. Don't worry, the Collider staff has already done the legwork for you, scouring the catalog for the best picks for a fun night in. Now, we've assembled a detailed list of the best movies currently available on Amazon Prime. Furthermore, we'll be adding new selections to the list on a regular basis, ensuring that you never run out of things to watch. There should be something for everyone on this list, which covers formats, decades, and ratings, but if you can't find what you're looking for (and you're a multi-platform streamer), be sure to check out our recommendations for the best TV shows and movies on Netflix.
One Night in Miami
One Night in Miami marks Regina King's directorial debut, an understated historical drama set during a gathering of extraordinary minds in a quiet Florida hotel room between Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay, Eli Goree), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge). Based on Kemp Powers' play of the same name, King's film is a celebration of the young black men who carved a place in all aspects of public life during the civil rights movement, as well as an intellectual examination of their particular methods of activism. The performances are outstanding, especially those of Ben-Adir and Odom, whose opposing perspectives on their common philosophies provide the film's most moving dramatic high points. And King, who knows a thing or two about great performances, clearly directs the whole thing.
Sound of Metal
Sound of Metal isn't to be overlooked; the touching new drama might be Amazon's best original film of the year. The film, which stars Riz Ahmed as a metal drummer who rapidly loses his hearing and must relearn how to live his life, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 and was set for a summer release before the pandemic turned the film industry upside down. The film's release on Amazon seems a lot quieter than it should, because it's a beautiful and phenomenally well-acted tale about empathy and regeneration, with another excellent performance by Ahmed.
Olivia Cooke, who plays his girlfriend and bandmate, is a perfect fit for him, as is Paul Raci, who plays a man who runs a center for deaf recovering addicts in one of the year's most memorable supporting roles. Sound of Metal is a slow, steady, and persuasive portrait of addiction, the sly and insidious tolls you pay for its false relief, and why the far more evident tolls you must pay to regain your life are worth it. And it's a beautiful example of human grace, reminding us that just because new circumstances can change the shape of our lives forever, that doesn't mean those lives can't be beautiful.
Knives Out
Rian Johnson has made a name for himself as a filmmaker who reimagines familiar genres with panache while upholding the hallmarks of their respective cinematic staples, from Brick to Looper to The Last Jedi. Johnson brings the touch to the old-fashioned murder mystery with his Oscar-nominated ensemble powerhouse Knives Out, staging a twisy tale of death and inheritance through the prism of one broken, fabulously over-the-top family. Knives Out is funny and breezy, but it's also beautifully composed, with a killer cast giving supremely sly performances. It's worth your time just to see Michael Shannon scream about cookies, but thankfully, that's just one of the many, many moments that make Knives Out such a delightful and unusual film.
Instant Family
Without a doubt, Rose Byrne has been the unsung hero of comedy films over the last ten years. Since stealing the spotlight in 2010's Get Him to the Greek, the actress has been utterly crushing it in a series of comedies, from Bridesmaids to Spy to the Neighbors films, constantly one-upping her better-known comedic counterparts along the way.
With the unexpectedly heartfelt comedy Instant Family, Byrne got to combine her comedic and dramatic talents alongside Mark Wahlberg in the story of a married couple who decide to foster not one, but three children, including Isabela Merced's no-bullshit teenager. Instant Family is a refreshingly earnest and emotionally frank film about the trials and tribulations of foster parenting, offering a moving emotional tale without sacrificing the laughs.
Crawl
If you're looking for a creature feature that 1) takes you by the throat and doesn't let go, 2) features some of the best horror performances in recent memory, and 3) whips you into shape, Crawl is the film for you. Crawl is a no-nonsense monster movie directed by Alexandre Aja, who previously directed High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes. It traps a woman (Kaya Scodelario) and her estranged father (Barry Pepper) in the crawlspace of their Florida home with a bunch of mean-ass, man-eating alligators and wastes no time stagging one nail-biting sequence after the next. Crawl is a refreshingly simplistic, fun-as-hell monster movie that contains some of the best-composed monster movie action in years.
Vivarium
If you enjoy Twilight Zone-inspired tales of terror and existential dread, Amazon has plenty of horror movies to watch this month. Lorcan Finegan's Vivarium is grim and gloomy, but it's still a great bad time. Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg star as a young couple on the lookout for their first home who find themselves stuck in a bizarre suburban neighborhood with no way out. They can't get out no matter how many streets they pass down or how many fences they climb over. Then there's the nightmare boy.
Vivarium is a powerful portrait of the horrors of being trapped in a white-picket-fence life you never desired on the surface, but the scarier, far more effective undercurrent comes from the film's acceptance of nature's cruel ignorance and the helplessness of being caught in them.
Rocketman
Rocketman, the delightful music biopic that would have earned the same award treatment as Bohemian Rhapsody if we existed in a just country, features Taron Egerton offering his most exuberant performance to date. Rocketman is a fantasy musical based on the true story of Elton John's early career. It features the legendary British rock star's greatest hits while chronicling the highs and lows of his journey from a boring life in the suburbs to becoming a glamorous star legend.
It's cheesy in the best way, with endless charisma, thanks in part to Egerton's excellent performance as the mercurial and intoxicating Elton John, but also to Fletcher's playful, emotionally-aware directing. It's easy to see why Fox hired him to clean up the mess that was Bohemian Rhapsody, and if the Queen biopic left you yearning for something with a little more heart (and teeth), Rocketman is just what you're looking for.
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