Those who subscribe to a streaming service know it’s very much the wild wild west, with territory still being staked out and divided among different outlets. Netflix ruled the roost for a long time, but in the last few years much of their movie content has fled to other services like Hulu, Crackle, Shudder and Amazon Prime. The latter may be one of the most underexploited services out there, in the sense that many with a Prime membership maight not even be aware of the thousands of movie and TV titles they have at their fingertips.
Let it be known, then, that Prime offers much more than free shipping on Amazon orders, with a wide variety of available movies ranging from big studio titles to obscure indies to some of the weirdest B-movies you’ve ever laid eyes on. We spent a good deal of time digging through their rather substantial collection to cull together a list of what we consider to be The 10 Best Amazon Prime Movies, ranging from critically acclaimed hits to overlooked gems to cult favorites.
Check out our list in the gallery below, and then take a look for yourself to see what Amazon Prime has to offer! Find a title that deserves mention as well? Let it be known in the comments below!
The 10 Best Amazon Prime Movies
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Ex Machina (2015)
Alex Garland's wicked entry into the A.I.-run-amok genre follows an innocent tech guy (Domhnall Gleeson) assigned to spend the weekend with an arrogant CEO (Oscar Isaac) as a means to test the emotional capabilities of a beautiful android (Alicia Vikander). What follows is an intricate chess game that not only tests their IQ but their EQ in perversely dangerous ways.
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While We're Young (2014)
Ben Stilller stars as a middle-aged, set-in-his-ways documentarian who gets a life boost from befriending a young, hip filmmaker played by Adam Driver. Meanwhile, his wife (Naomi Watts) bonds the hipster's girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) and has an awakening of her own. Unfortunately, both of them are in for something of a rude awakening in Noah Baumbach's thoughtful coming-of-old-age comedy.
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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio goes all-out as real-life Wall Street shark Jordan Belfort in Martin Scorsese's blistering, adrenaline-infused biopic on a real-life scoundrel. Just how Belfort took those who invested in his brokerage firm for a ride, Scorsese all-but-begs you to fall in love with Belfort as he screws and snorts his way to the top, only to reveal the true devil once he gets there.
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The Zero Theorem (2013)
Fans of director Terry Gilliam's oddball visions of the future (12 Monkeys, Brazil) will find much to chew on in a utopian world that presents a dystopia-of-one in its main character of Qohen Leth (Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz). Leth is a computer whiz so emotionally crippled he has pinned his whole life on a hypothetical phone call from God that is never going to come. Along the way he befriends a webcam stripper (Mélanie Thierry) and a young kid (Lucas Hedges) who might help him emerge from his shell. Matt Damon co-stars as Waltz's omniscient boss.
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Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker has never been better or more mesmerizing than his turn here as the title spiritual warrior, a modern-day Don Quixote who lives his life as an assassin for the mob by the strict code of an ancient samurai code. Indie darling Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law, Only Lovers Left Alive) cobbles together many disparate cultural elements (Japanese, mafia, western, Native American, hip hop) through his unique lens, all threaded together with an amazing soundtrack by RZA, who cameos.
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The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Coen Brothers gave us a modern day cult classic with this stoner detective movie that follows Jeff Bridges' mellow California bowler as he attempts to unravel a kidnapping plot with the help of his unstable Vietnam vet buddy Walter (John Goodman). Imminently quotable and the inspiration for annual Lebowski Fest gatherings, The Dude continues to abide.
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Gremlins (1984)
An unruly mashup of monster movie and Looney Tunes-inspired comedy, this classic defined the '80s Amblin tone via producer Steven Spielberg, director Joe Dante and screenwriter Chris Columbus. The tale of an adorable Mogwai who spawns far-less-cute brethren who go on to destroy a small town is a touchstone movie for an entire generation, and still holds up to this day.
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All the President's Men (1976)
The incredible true story of how Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) brought down the Richard Nixon presidency through ace reporting is an ideal thriller. Alan Pakula's gripping direction unravels a story in such a compelling way that it doesn't matter that you know exactly how it ends... it's all about how they got there.
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Goldfinger (1964)
Many of the older James Bond films are available through Amazon Prime, though this third film in the 007 series is considered by many aficionados to be the superspy's best outing. Sean Connery hits his stride as Bond, hunting down the title megalomaniac before he can rob Fort Knox with the help of Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman).
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Secret of the Incas (1954)
Raiders of the Lost Ark costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis has confirmed publicly that this '50s adventure movie was the major inspiration for Indiana Jones, not that she had to. One look at Charlton Heston's adventurer Harry Steele (brown leather jacket, fedora, tan pants, over-the-shoulder bag, revolver) and you can tell exactly who the filmmakers modeled the character after. The movie itself is a hoot, following Steele as he searches for an ancient gold Incan artifact. An absolute must-see for Indy fans!
