The Best Movies to Stream on Prime This Week
With the light on Prime this week when it comes to new and original films, it’s the perfect opportunity to dig a little deeper into the Prime library to find hidden gems, film school classics and all-time favorites like the following.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Tom Cruise returns to the iconic role he created in Top Gun , and he’s even more charismatic than he was in the 1986 original. This sequel is a collection of hackneyed action movie tropes, spiced up with bromance, swagger and hooray. Like its star, Maverick should be wrinkly and gray these days, but somehow it still works. The sequel is even bigger, more interesting and cooler than the original. Although you had to see it in theaters, Maverick is a great movie, showcasing a huge screen and a decent surround sound system.
Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele set a new standard for horror with Get Out, which is smart, fearless, funny and bitingly satirical, but never forgets the fear. Peele carefully crafts the suspense as he tells the story of a young African-American man’s trip to visit his white girlfriend’s family. It’s clear that there’s something very strange about this seemingly well-meaning, dumb white family, but it’s hard to say what it is. When the reveal happens, everything will turn out to be even worse than you imagined.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
What better time than an election year to revisit John Frankenheimer’s classic political thriller? Frank Sinatra plays an infantry platoon leader who is brainwashed by the Soviets in a North Korean prison camp. They return with no memory of the procedure until Sinatra begins having disturbing nightmares and decides to find out what happened to him. However, the standout performance comes from Angela Lansbury, who plays the evil, layered and menacing villain.
Jackass Forever (2022)
For me, the isolation and paranoia phase of the COVID pandemic didn’t end until I saw “Jackass Forever” in the theater. Something about a room full of people having fun together made me feel like shit was going to be okay. Watching people fall, fart, act rude, and make dick jokes is truly funny, especially when all the punches are self-inflicted. You could show “Jackass Forever” in any theater on earth, to any audience, and they would laugh. Maybe they didn’t want them to laugh, but they laughed.
From Beyond (1986)
The insatiable thirst for streaming content allows you to watch movies that you otherwise wouldn’t even know existed. If you didn’t know 1986’s From Beyond existed, here’s your wake-up call. Directed by Stuart “Re-Animator” Gordon, From Beyond combines Lovecraftian cosmic horror with creature effects from the “make it sticky” period. Unlike many horror directors, Gordon has a great eye and a unique sense of humor for trash cinema, and here he has created a cult classic.
The Elephant Man (1980)
This is one of the best films ever made. In The Elephant Man, David Lynch tells the true story of John Merrick, a man with a facial deformity so severe that he can only survive by being cast as a freak in a London sideshow. Given a new lease of life by idealistic surgeon Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins), Merrick soon becomes the toast of 1800s British society—a freak show of a different kind. Lynch reigns supreme in the excesses of his surreal cinematic technique, portraying Merrick and Treves with sensitivity, grace and humanity, but the Lynchian madness evident in The Elephant Man’s dream sequences, first-person editing and shot composition is made more impressive by its restraint. If Merrick’s impassioned defense of his dignity in the famous train station scene doesn’t make you cry, we probably shouldn’t be friends.
Last week’s pick
Underdoggs (2024)
Rapper Snoop Dogg makes his starring debut in this outsider comedy about sports and kids that owes a lot to the 1976 film The Bad News Bears . Dogg plays Jacen Jennings, a talented but troubled former NFL wide receiver who has fallen on hard times. He ends up coaching a Pop Warner football team of foul-mouthed kids with much more attitude than discipline, and the result is comedy plus growth and learning. Underdogs tries to dispel this sentimental idea with a little meta commentary (Jennings’ initial motivation for getting into coaching was to sell film rights) and a lot of swearing and weed smoking.
Astro Kid (2019)
Astro Kid proves that great CG movies can’t just be made by Pixar or Illumination. This charming film hails from France, and its quieter style contrasts nicely with the over-the-top American animation. The main character of Astro Kid is Willie, a resourceful 10-year-old boy stranded on a distant planet with only a robot for company. Although it’s aimed at kids, parents will be delighted (or at least entertained) too.
Stream on FreeVee, Prime’s free sister service.
Another Zoe (2023)
A romantic comedy doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel, and The Other Zoey doesn’t try to do that. Instead, it focuses on using the beats that have worked particularly well since Shakespeare made them (cute, mistaken identities, lovers of nothing in common, etc.). Truly witty dialogue, charismatic acting and a fresh plot make for an above-average rom-com.
Return to Seoul (2023)
French-Cambodian director Davy Chow explores and deconstructs widespread myths about identity and culture through protagonist Frederique Benoit’s journey to Korea. Born in Korea and adopted by a French family, Freddie (that’s her name) is now a 25-year-old traveler who accidentally ended up in a “homeland” with which she has little connection. If you’re hoping for a standard “search for cultural and personal identity” story, this isn’t it; it is much more subtle and complex.
The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974)
I’m adding this 1970s classic for anyone who wants to use Prime as a time machine. An old, gritty version of New York is practically a supporting character in this heist comedy in which a daring gang of criminals takes an entire subway car hostage. They want a million dollars (cue Dr. Evil) and promise to start throwing bodies off the train if they don’t get it quickly. The man responsible for stopping their evil plan is Walter Matthau. Because it was the 1970s and that’s what movies were like back then.
Baby Driver (2018)
Baby Driver features car chases and heists that are twice as exciting as any Fast and Furious movie, as well as smart and stylish. The little girl of the title is an expert at one thing: driving. He works as a driver for a gang of thieves, but Baby wants to leave. Everything behind it and freedom is the last job. Spoiler: things don’t go smoothly.
Broadcast on the free Prime streamer, FreeVee.