August 28th, 2017 | Updated on March 8th, 2024
We know, we knowthere’s too much choice these days. You can’t just sit down and watch a movie because there are too many to choose from, so you just spend hours scrolling through potential films and then go to bed. Amazon Video seems to have downplayed its movie selection since we compiled the 50 best movies streaming on Amazon Prime.
Not now, you don’t – everything on this list is worth watching. And we know, because we’ve watched them all. The lengths we go to keep you guys happy, Of course to watch the films here you’ll need an Amazon Prime Instant Video subscription. Come on, you didn’t think it was going to be free, did you? Here are the 50 best movies available to stream for free with Amazon Prime:
1. The Running Man
While The Running Man lacks the sophistication and dynamic pacing of a certain other Schwarzenegger-starring/dystopian sci-fi/satire film, its entertainment value is nothing to sneer at. Adapted loosely from a Stephen King novel of the same name, The Running Man depicts a future where everyone dresses like they’re at an ’80s-themed Halloween party and citizens regularly tune into a show where convicted criminals must fight to survive against both their fellow contestants and professional killers.
Movie Review
I wouldn’t say that this is Arnold’s best action film, because let’s face it, he doesn’t really have one, does he?. I also wouldn’t say it is his most violent, because that honor goes to SABOTAGE in my book. I said this is like the HUNGER GAMES because the film takes place in an apocalyptic future, with food shortages and the gap between the rich and the poor widening. Both this and the HUNGER GAMES series reflect on our culture practically worshipping violence and gore as entertainment. Watch Now
2. Spring
One part philosophizing travelogue, one part visceral Body Horror, it’s tempting (and easy) to call Spring a case of Richard Linklater meeting David Cronenberg. Fine company to be associated with, sure, but the comparison points only to fairly superficial components. Tonally and spiritually, the film has much more in common with Spike Jonze, which is a damn sight more difficult trick to pull off.
Movie Review
I was really surprised just how much I enjoyed this movie. It wasn’t perfect but most movies rarely are. I found the story to be intriguing as well as, original in its concept. Spring kept my interest from beginning to end. The acting was superb and it didn’t take long for me to sincerely care about the two main characters. Watch Now
3. The Hunger GamesMockingjay
By now, the economic practicality behind the film adaptation “two-fer”—making two films out of a single book of source material—seems both obvious and inescapable. Overall shooting costs are lowered, release schedules become yearly instead of “every two-to-three years,” and a whole host of variables (actors’ age and availability not least among them) become less disruptive.
Movie Review
I thought the movie closely followed the book with very little deviations. Perhaps the most glaringthe person who gave the Mockingjay pin to Katniss and Katniss’s prep team, who have very minor roles here. I won’t summarize the movie since there are some really good ones here but would like to address the actors who portrayed the characters. Jennifer Lawrence is perfect as Katniss, as is Liam Hemsworth as Gale. At first, I wasn’t sure Woody Harrelson fit the part of Haymitch but he won me over. As did Josh Hutcherson, who seemed too small for Peeta, but he does a great job in this role. Watch Now
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
One of the most brutal mainstream horror films, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is all the scarier for its art-house verité and the grainy physicality of its flat Texas setting. Plus, it introduced the superlatively sinister Leatherface, whose freakish sadism is upstaged only by the introduction of his severely dysfunctional family who reside in a dilapidated house in the middle of the Texas wilderness.
Movie Review
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is jaw droppingly incredible. It blows the original away in my opinion (which is already incredible). Everything about it is perfection. The performances and direction are top notch which is the key. This movie is so intense and terrifying with absolutely no let up that it will stay with you for days. Unfortunately this movie started a chain of remakes that pretty much all suck. If you’re going to do a remake this is how its done. Some remakes have surpassed the originals. Watch Now
5. Sicario
Denis Villeneuve’s considerable strengths and severe limitations are both present in Sicario, a Traffic-by-way-of-Zero Dark Thirty look at American drug policy along the Mexican border. This propulsive action thriller boasts a series of strong performances and is punctuated by some ace suspense sequences. As a piece of sleek, grown-up entertainment, it most assuredly succeeds.
Movie Review
With 17,497 reviews, my thoughts on the movie are unlikely to ever be read. So I’ll just say that this is far and away the best movie I’ve seen in several years. Excellent acting. Believable telling of the story (No ‘McGyver’ qualities here). Incredible cinematography. Hold your breath and clench your muscles scenes. Shocking outcomes. And genuinely moving moments, with few words, that drive home the cost of all of it. Watch Now
6. Swiss Army Man
It should be ridiculous, this. A buddy comedy built atop the premise of a man (Paul Dano) lugging around, and bonding with, a flatulent talking corpse (Daniel Radcliffe)—but cinema is a medium in which miracles are possible, and one such miracle occurs in Swiss Army Man.
Movie Review
I never thought in a million years I’d give five stars to a movie with this many fart references…but here I am. Seriously, I was unsure through the first few minutes, but I held on, and I’m so glad that I did. This movie is weird, but beautiful. Bizarre and thought-provoking. As a medical professional, I deal with people who are on their way out all the time, and truly, the aging and decomposition of a body is a strange and powerful thing, and this movie touches on that, but so much more. Watch Now
7. Gangs Of New York
This one split critics and audiences, but for all the times that the story about Leo and Cameron Diaz’s characters drains momentum from the movie, Daniel Day Lewis’ star turn as William Cutter, also known as the meat cleaver-wielding Billy the Butcher, really ratchets everything up to 11. Every villain deserves a grand entrance.
Movie Review
The comparison to Shakespeare may seem to be a contradiction in terms, and yet it is possible to achieve with the collaborative efforts of a stellar cast, director and writers. It is technically flawless accompanied by a riveting soundtrack; and one would expect nothing less than a Martin Scorsese production wherein every detail is given it’s due in minutiae. Watch Now
8. Blue Ruin
Occasionally, the national news will carry stories about a horrific local murder that took place in some part of the country where we don’t live. And because it happened somewhere else, possibly far away from any major cities, maybe we make assumptions about the sorts of people who live there—negative assumptions. We stop seeing these individuals as being like us—instead, we view them as some kind of weird other.
Movie Review
This is one of the best films I’ve seen in the past few years, it’s especially impressive as it was made on such a low budget yet it’s better than most big budget movies these days. I’m guessing all the one star reviews are from people who have no idea what quality filmmaking is.The movie is slow paced and understated so if you want aloud action packed movie than look elsewhere. Watch Now
9. Lars and the Real Girl
Lars and the Real Girl’s premise should have been cringe-worthyRyan Gosling dates a life-size sex doll, and the entire town goes to great lengths to protect the fairy tale. But Nancy Oliver’s Oscar-nominated script is so gentle, and so melancholic, that it becomes a quietly powerful story of a stunted man who finally comes of age.
Movie Review
To say that this movie is a little off center is an understatement. I laugh and I cried. This is not so much a story not about a man with a doll, but one of caring. The detractors of this film are quick to point out that this caring would never happen in the real world. I believe that many of the violent films generate some of the evil we find in the world. I am hoping that the reverse can be true and positive media can make a difference. Watch Now
10. A Most Violent Year
A Most Violent Year marks writer/director J.C. Chandor’s third feature film in four years. Aside from demonstrating Chandor’s remarkably prolific nature, the film also further establishes the New Jersey-bred filmmaker as one of the most versatile on the market. Indeed, A Most Violent Year may be his most conventional outing to date, but that’s only because his debut film centered on the complex machinations of the recent financial crash while his follow-up was basically a one-man show with little to no dialogue
Movie Review
New York CIty, 1981, is a blasted moral hellscape against which a very primal struggle for survival unfolds in a very tense thirty days, all for the right to supply homes with heating oil. Watch Now
11. Dear White People
While Dear White People anchors its perspective in the struggles of its black leads, it argues that racism is a universal issue—or that, at least, dealing with the implications of racism, rooting it out at its source, is a personal task for every single human being to undertake.
Movie Review
I loved this movie. I know a lot of people had a huge fit over the subject matter, completely unaware that it was written “as a love letter to my white boyfriend. The characters are real, their experiences and stories are compelling, and it held up a mirror to black and white culture in America. Watch Now
12. Song One
In her first major role since winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for_ Les Misérables_, Anne Hathaway gets back in touch with her indie side for Song One, a modest but affecting drama that finds her delivering a gentle performance that contains none of the melodramatic fireworks of Fantine.
Movie Review
This movie would be an excellent choice if you are hosting a DVD & wine party with friends. Mostly, because the ending will allow you to debate the age old question of will their relationship continue or not. Watch Now
13. The Fits
It’s not difficult to imagine a different cut of Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits that hews closer to the arc of a traditional sports story. Hers has the makings of a familiar one, of a misfit who wants more than anything to compete—but unlike most stories of inspirational audacity, The Fits is as much about discomfort as the catharsis that comes with achievement.
Movie Review
A must see. This is not trying to be a big flashy Hollywood blockbuster. This is about art. This is about childhood. Fear of change. Individuality and being part of a group. It is beautiful and tender and just strange enough to put you in a different mindset. An excellent watch for those with kids who are not sure about the big teenage world around them. They can be strong, and beautiful, and unique, and part of something. And scary things can be okay. Watch Now
14. Son Of Rambow
Son of Rambow was an audience favorite at Sundance in 2007, managing to upstage Stallone with a funny little movie that uses his action franchise as a springboard for something far more rewarding.
Movie Review
Highly recommended as a commentary at many levels! Well written, acted and shot. Especially good for boys, teens and British film lovers. Can be enjoyed by both pacifists (as a commentary on the negatives of war) and wart mongers alike. You are definitely going to enjoy this film, unless you are looking for a normal genre film. Watch Now
15. Behind The Candelabra
At first blush, the main draw of Behind the Candelabra would seem to be its camp appeala true-life love story between a humble aspiring veterinarian and Liberace, that icon of kitsch and knowing excess. And while that element exists in director Steven Soderbergh’s film, what resonates more strongly is the difficulty in falling in love with someone famous.
Movie Review
This movie is great with Matt Damon and Michael Douglas playing Liberace. They both did terrific jobs and amazingly the setting for the movie had so much of Liberace’s types of Clothing, they used one his original pianos from the museum and they remade the actual look of his home wherever possible. The whole cast is wonderful as is the film maker and crew. If you like movies about all the lives of Musicians, you’ll like this. Watch Now
16. Anomalisa
Preciousness and misanthropy have always been the twin hallmarks of Charlie Kaufman’s work, his characters’ misery heightened and sometimes enlivened by the writer-director’s ability to craft clever sci-fi/fantastical scenarios around them. In Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind or his 2008 directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York, he has managed to make everyday loneliness and the gnawing sense of futility resonate with an almost ineffable sting.
Movie Review
Charlie Kaufman, responsible for writing blindingly original and strange movies like Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Adaptation, has reappeared after a 7-year absence by writing and co-directing this odd and beautiful allegory. Watch Now
17. While We’re Young
While We’re Young stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as Josh and Cornelia, a 40-something married couple living in New York City. Cornelia produces her revered father’s documentaries—the father is played by the stellar Charles Grodin—while Josh is a once-promising documentarian who has spent a decade on his latest project, which might finally get done in about a decade from now.
Movie Review
If you’re looking for a light hearted comedy that is big on laughs and small on substance, this isn’t the film for you. This film offers a chance for introspective analysis; to reflect on how we feel when we discover that someone we admire and trust has deceived us. Watch Now
18. The Witch
From its first moments, The Witch strands us in a hostile land. We watch as puritan patriarch William (Ralph Ineson) argues stubbornly with a small council, thereby causing his family’s banishment from their “New England” community. We watch, and writer-director Robert Eggers holds our gaze while a score of strings and assorted prickly detritus.
Movie Review
The tagline for “The Witch” says “A New England Folktale”. This is not just another throw away tag. That is the entire concept of this movie. It’s a Puritan horror story. One that puts ambiguity (a la “the crucible”) to rest by immediately welcoming the audience to a revised Puritan world where, yes, witches DO exist. Watch Now
19. I’ll See You In My Dreams
You’ve been on your own for decades following the death of your spouse, your friends are all mostly enshrined in retirement community living and you’ve just been told that you have to put your pooch to sleep. In a less thoughtful movie, you’d be expected to fall into a traditional romance with a perfect stranger and validate your existence anew through wholesome late-stage monogamy.
Movie Review
I have watched it twice on the big screen. Yes, Blythe Danner is outstanding in the role of Carol. Yes, this ensemble cast that surrounds her is the dream group of actors. This is a film that is profound in its message. It is a view of love from so many directions. Love of life, friends, lovers, children, and in the end, of self. I laughed and I shed a tear or two. Watch Now
20. Monster
If you haven’t watched the difficult but terrific Monster, it would be easy to dismiss Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning performance as a gimmickpretty actress made to look plain or ugly. We’ve seen that many times, on screens big and small, and we’re usually left wondering why the producers just didn’t get a non-starlet to play the role.
Movie Review
Masterful piece. Theron is the spitting image of Wuornos and lends believability to the character. I’ve seen an interview of Wuornos done the day before her execution and Charlize’s depiction is point on. Watch Now
21. Krisha
You’ve seen the plot of Krisha beforeself-destructive woman with a drinking problem goes to a family gathering supposedly having made strides in putting her life back together, but finds the tensions that arise testing her resolve to not go back to the bottle. Jonathan Demme explored similar territory in his 2008 film Rachel Getting Married, and Trey Edward Shults’ debut film does have a similar looseness to it, a feeling that anything can happen at any time.
Movie Review
I am not a big film critic or very educated about films. That said, I am impressed by the filming technique and acting in this film. It’s not a feel-good movie, but it’s definitely a “feel-something!”. Lots of tension and suspense, and captures the difficulty for anyone to come back “into the fold” after being away to deal with personal demons. I was surprised when looking online that some sites seemed to classify it as a comedy. Watch Now
22. Ten
Like with Kiarostami’s best films, the rigorous conceit behind Ten is more unwieldy to describe than it is to experience. Over the course of 10 conversations—each demarcated by a sort of old-timey film stock count-down, each chronologically spaced but lacking a clear sense of how much time has passed between segments—we experience the fears, quirks, travails and typical day of a woman living, working and attempting to carve out some room for her own in modern Tehran.
Movie Review
Nevertheless the spontaneity has inherent limits. The director is not there, but he chooses each new personage and before each sequence he gives general instructions about what is to be discussed. The flow of discussion is subtly controlled by the woman who is driving. Watch Now
23. The Reader
Stephen Daldry’s adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader is a somber, desolate and profound film that does not shy away from the story’s thematic complexities. David Kross superbly plays Michael Berg, a teenager in post-World War II Germany who embarks on an affair with a stern, serious older woman named Hanna Schmitz.
Movie Review
This is an outstanding movie! It easily makes my top 10 best-movie list. Kate Winslet is stunning. She deserved the academy award she got. Having seen her in other movies, I was amazed by her performance this time. She really is an extraordinary actress. This is a complex movie with many facets. I’ve watched it three times, and each time I see more depth to it. Highly recommended. Watch Now
24. Song Of The Sea
Tomm Moore’s Song of the Sea might have made a better videogame than a motion picture. That’s saying something, because as motion pictures go, it’s an absolutely visceral stunneryou may find yourself wishing you could interact with its characters, live in its vividly realized world, participate in its defining ancestral conflicts.
Movie Review
My husband and I found the film visually and thematically exquisite and one doesn’t need an understanding or appreciation of Celtic mythology to love it. The music is dreamy and the pace is a refreshing change from the overstimulating fare that abounds in our culture. While we were watching the movie, all of us were swept away by it. And, entertaining as it was, it also sparked meaningful discussions. A remarkable film. Watch Now
25. Top Five
The chief thing to know about the film is that it’s hilarious, as a comedy made by Rock should be. Almost as important is that it’s heartfelt. Rock uses the opportunity to reflect on his own personal and professional travails; he leans on his biting wit, offering few pleasantries in Allen’s quest for respectability.
Movie Review
This movie is ripe for great “dinner after” conversation, and for those who missed the “makes you think” part, please at least pretend to read this Playboy for the articles. Watch Now
26. The Secret Life Of Pets
The Secret Life of Pets is one of the best animated films in recent memory and one of the most commercially successful animated films ever. This movie is the highest grossing animated film not produced by Disney or Pixar, two giants in the animated movie industry, so this is quite an achievement and a testament to the success of movie.
Movie Review
i have a son who can’t talk, but communicates well. He bought a toy dog Max before the movie came out. Now he’s not a huge movie watcher, but if it has a fish or a dog in it he’ll watch it. I took him to the theater, and he saw the picture of Max the dog. He pointed at it and I told him that’s the movie we’re going to see. He smiled big. My six year old boy along with every other kid in the theater laughed so hard throughout the whole movie. My son rarely laughs at funny parts of movies, bc he doesn’t understand it, but this movie he understood and laughed, and he made me laugh Watch Now.
27. Sausage Party
If you like goofy, zany and downright silly animated films, then you’re going to love Sausage Party. The movie stars Seth Rogen and many of the actors who appear in his films, including Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Bill Hader, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and a special appearance from Kristen Wiig.
Movie Review
Yikes. Don’t watch with kids under 18!! Totally hilarious. Will have to watch again to catch all the innuendos we missed. Laughed hard. Totally outrageous. Watch Now.
28. Manchester By The Sea
Nominated for six Oscars, Manchester by the Sea is a gripping tale that will leave you in tears and stick in your mind for weeks after watching the movie. Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler who learns his brother has suddenly died and he is awarded custody of his teenage nephew. It was a stunning performance from Affleck who was a star on the awards circuit, picking up a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his performance. Not a bad substitute for Matt Damon who was originally supposed to play the part.
Movie Review
I’m a movie lover but I usually try to avoid heart-wrenching stories, unless they had been previously acclaimed by many serious sources. Even then I’m very picky. I do not write reviews, though, there are experts for that that I rather read. So why I’m writing a review for Manchester by the Sea? Because it was a tragic story that I didn’t plan on watching and now is one of my all-time favorites. Watch Now.
29. Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is the latest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is easily one of the most fascinating portrayals of a Marvel character yet. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Doctor Stephen Strange who is a former neurosurgeon who is schooled in the ways of magic and mysticism. It’s a really trippy and far out movie that is a far cry from the standard cookie-cutter superhero movie that Marvel has produced in recent years.
Movie Review
The plot is fairly straight forward, but I liked the subtle references to Biblical afterlife in the dialogue. Stick around past the first credits for a ‘short’ on Mordo and Benjamin Bratt, then again after full credits for a short conversation between Strange and Thor, leading intro to the next Doctor Strange movie. This seems to be a nice ‘stay for the credits and there’s an easter egg for you’ thing Marvel is doing now. Watch Now.
30. Jason Bourne
The Bourne franchise continues and thankfully, with Matt Damon, back in the role as Jason Bourne. This is the fifth installment of the Bourne franchise and is a sequel to the 2007 movie The Bourne Ultimatum.
Movie Review
Since I had only days before purchased the Jason Bourne dvd set in a storage case, I was thrilled to find that they gave you an empty slot, with a place holder in it, for this dvd as well. It is nice to have them all stored on one convenient, well designed, storage case. Takes up less room than each one separately in it’s own hard case. Watch Now.
31. Honorable Mention: Julia
In a movie landscape where being grounded in reality is so pivotal, many crime action-dramas miss that mark. When you look at the antagonists in these films, their motivations are fuzzy. Essentially, you don’t understand why the crimes happening are being committed. However, being the antithesis of that is arguably the biggest strengths of Erick Zonca’s Julia.
Movie Review
Just wonderful. Tilda Swinton is one of the few actors who can hold riveting interest on her own – not that the supporting cast in this drama isn’t wonderful, but Tilda (as Julia) totally pulls it off. She can take you into the most manic, insane situations and make it plausible in a way that takes you with her on this madcap journey. Watch Now