The 50 best films on Amazon Prime you can stream in November 2025
From classic rom-coms and action movies to underrated gems, there are amazing movies on Prime Video
Amazon Prime has an incredible, wide-ranging library of some of the best films on streaming – if you can find them.
There’s something for everyone: action (including every James Bond movie), romance, fantasy, comedies, and everything in between. If you’re not ready to leave the spooky season behind, Prime Video’s scarier offerings rival the best horror movies on Netflix.
So, you have two options. You can spend a large part of your evening scrolling through the platform, or you can pick a movie from our list of the best films on Amazon Prime. Choose wisely!
Contents
50. War of the Worlds
- Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Ice Cube, Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg, Iman Benson
- Director: Rich Lee
- Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
What it’s about: After aliens crash-land on Earth, one man is forced to coordinate a response: Will Radford, a surveillance officer for the Department of Homeland Security, who rallies friends, family, and hackers to save the world.
Why to watch: Putting the worst film of the year (and maybe even the decade) on a list of the best movies on Amazon Prime may seem like a joke. In truth, it is… but it’s an easy recommendation, because there’s few greater joys than watching a truly dreadful, irredeemable mess with your friends. War of the Worlds is, to borrow a Malcolm Tucker quote, an omnishambles.
49. Death Proof
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 2007
- Cast: Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
What it’s about: Stuntman Mike stalks women and kills them with his “death proof” cars. He sets his sights on a new trio, but they’re not willing to go down without a fight.
Why to watch: Death Proof is Quentin Tarantino’s worst movie. That’s not the criticism you think it is, though: this is a gleefully nasty, trashy, and high-octane grindhouse movie with one of the best car chases on film. Plus, Kurt Russell is terrifying. “You’re gonna have to start getting scared… immediately.”
48. Margin Call
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2011
- Cast: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley
- Director: J.C. Chandor
- Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
What it’s about: It’s 2008, and an investment bank on Wall Street has just laid off a lot of its employees. Over the next 24 hours, those who remain try to figure out why they were let go and prepare for one of the biggest financial storms America has ever seen.
Why to watch: Margin Call is The Big Short’s older, sterner, and tenser brother. It sustains a very specific feeling: that of being in trouble, and the trouble is always coming; like the world falling apart overnight, but you’re the only one with your blinds open.
47. Eden Lake
- Genre: Horror, Thriller
- Year: 2008
- Cast: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O’Connell
- Director: James Watkins
- Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
What it’s about: A young couple’s romantic weekend at a remote English lake turns into a nightmare when they’re hunted by a gang of violent local youths. Cut off from help, they must fight to escape as their idyllic getaway becomes a brutal struggle for survival.
Why to watch: Eden Lake features some incredible performances from Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly and Jack O’Connell. It’s also about as brutal as British horror gets, and it’ll leave you feeling queasy and unclean. You’ve been warned.
46. The Tender Bar
- Genre: Drama, Biography
- Year: 2021
- Cast: Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Lily Rabe
- Director: George Clooney
- Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
What it’s about: After moving into his grandfather’s home in Long Island, J.R. spends most of his time with his Uncle Charlie, a self-educated bartender who teaches him lessons about life. As he grows up, he pursues his dream of becoming a writer.
Why to watch: Ben Affleck is a versatile actor, but under George Clooney’s direction, The Tender Bar liberates him from the weighty, demanding roles of years past. He is terrific here, channeling a lesser-seen side of his screen persona: relaxed and charming, the exact kind of guy you’d want to be pouring your drink. It’s worth watching just to spend some time with him.
45. Legend
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Year: 2015
- Cast: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston
- Director: Brian Helgeland
- Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
What it’s about: Twin brothers Reggie and Ronnie Kray build a powerful crime empire in 1960s London, becoming two of Britain’s most feared and notorious gangsters.
Why to watch: Writer-director Brian Helgeland is clearly a big Martin Scorsese fan, but Legend isn’t on Goodfellas’ level or anywhere near it. With its glossy presentation, comedic scenes (which are really funny), and surface-level probing, it verges on glamorising the Krays. Thank goodness for Tom Hardy, who commands the screen in a dual performance that makes the whole thing feel more than worthwhile.
44. The Great Gatsby
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2013
- Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire
- Director: Baz Luhrmann
- Runtime: 2 hours 23 minutes
What it’s about: In 1920s New York, aspiring writer Nick Carraway becomes entangled in the world of his wealthy neighbour, Jay Gatsby – who’s obsessed with rekindling his romance with Daisy Buchanan. Nick starts to see the cracks in Gatsby’s charismatic exterior, and the pair spiral towards tragedy.
Why to watch: Leonardo DiCaprio’s brilliantly meta performance (just like Gatsby, he’s alluring and mostly unknowable) aside, The Great Gatsby is Baz Luhrmann’s most dazzling movie. That’s almost to a fault, focused on the dressings of the dream rather than the soul at the heart of the book – but its splashiness is intoxicating.
43. The Notebook
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 2004
- Cast: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner
- Director: Nick Cassavetes
- Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
What it’s about: In 1940s South Carolina, mill worker Noah falls for Allie, a wealthy young woman, but her parents don’t approve. Years later, fate brings them back together, forcing them to confront their enduring feelings.
Why to watch: A movie as soppy and saccharine as The Notebook shouldn’t work… but it does? Why? Because Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are so good together, and the film is so classily and handsomely made, you won’t notice how blatantly it wants you to cry. And you will; bring a lot of tissues.
42. Lake Mungo
- Genre: Horror, Mystery
- Year: 2008
- Cast: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe
- Director: Joel Anderson
- Runtime: 1 hour 27 minutes
What it’s about: After 16-year-old Alice Palmer drowns, her family experiences inexplicable and unsettling things in and around their home that may be supernatural events.
Why to watch: Lake Mungo doesn’t fit the traditional found-footage mould, resisting the jumpy, shaky precedent set by the sub-genre’s more popular offerings. This is a somber mockumentary about a haunted house; not its paranormal activity, but the overwhelming sadness that occupies it.
41. Road House
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 2024
- Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Daniela Melchior
- Director: Doug Liman
- Runtime: 2 hours 1 minute
What it’s about: Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter trying to escape his dark past, gets a job as a bouncer for a roadhouse in the Florida Keys. He wants to keep his head down, but when a local crime boss and his reckless gun-for-hire threaten the bar, he fights back.
Why to watch: The Road House remake could never, ever live up to the time-capsuled charm of the OG; aka, Patrick Swayze shirtless and ripping out a guy’s throat. But it’s a lot of fun, with creative action, a cocky, charismatic lead turn from Jake Gyllenhaal and, astonishingly, a scene-stealing performance as Conor McGregor as its teeth-gnashing villain.
40. As Good As It Gets
- Genre: Comedy, Romance
- Year: 1997
- Cast: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear
- Director: James L. Brooks
- Runtime: 2 hours 19 minutes
What it’s about: Melvin Udall, a misanthropic novelist with obsessive-compulsive disorder, leads a solitary life until he reluctantly becomes involved with his waitress and his gay neighbor.
Why to watch: Jack Nicholson is arguably the most unpredictable, dynamic screen actor in Hollywood history, and he’s arguably never been better. His performance in As Good as It Gets is hilarious, infuriating, and moving in equal measure, with a rare mix of cruelty and vulnerability that makes his redemption all the more satisfying.
39. Warfare
- Genre: Action
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Charles Melton
- Director: Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland
- Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
What it’s about: “Based on the memory” of a real-life Iraq War veteran, this movie chronicles the experiences of a Navy SEAL platoon after they take control of a local home. Nearby enemy forces hone in on their location, and warfare ensues.
Why to watch: Warfare may be classified as a war film, but this is a horror movie; a real-time nightmare that rings your ears with bullets, explosions, and agonised screams of men trying to make sense of the senseless. It also leaves you with a sobering question: what was the point?
38. Thirteen Lives
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2022
- Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton
- Director: Ron Howard
- Runtime: 2 hours 27 minutes
What it’s about: In 2018, a youth football team found themselves trapped in a deep cave system in Thailand. This is the true story of the global effort to find them, with expert divers teaming up with Thai forces and thousands of volunteers to bring the boys home.
Why to watch: With Thirteen Lives, Ron Howard (proven to be a dab hand at first responder stories, like Backdraft), honours the immense bravery of those who ventured into the Thai caves. It’s gripping, but not in a Mission: Impossible way: he lets the stakes and restrained, true-to-life performances speak for themselves.
37. Longlegs
- Genre: Horror
- Year: 2024
- Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Blair Underwood
- Director: Osgood Perkins
- Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
What it’s about: After being assigned to an unsolved serial killer case, FBI agent Lee Harker is drawn into a string of ritualistic murders linked by cryptic notes and occult symbols. As she digs deeper, she uncovers a disturbing connection between the killer and her own past, forcing her to confront truths she’s spent a lifetime avoiding.
Why to watch: Some movies are scary. Others are terrifying. A select few feel palpably, breathably evil; a air of malevolence that emanates from every frame. Longlegs fits that bill, a psychological, Satanic thriller in the vein of Silence of the Lambs. Let it in, and it won’t be nice.
36. Bridget Jones’s Diary
- Genre: Comedy, Romance
- Year: 2001
- Cast: Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant
- Director: Sharon Maguire
- Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
What it’s about: Bridget, a 32-year-old singleton, notes in her diary that she wants to take control of her life. She ends up with two very different men vying for her affection: Mark Darcy, a posh barrister whom she knew as a child, and Daniel Cleaver, her womanising, brazen boss.
Why to watch: To think Renée Zellweger’s casting was once considered controversial. Now, her bubbly, joyously graceless take on Bridget Jones is a British icon, and this is where it started: one of the greatest rom-coms ever made.
35. The Strangers
- Genre: Horror
- Year: 2008
- Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman
- Director: Bryan Bertino
- Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes
What it’s about: A young couple arrives at their vacation home, emotionally bruised by a wedding that turned sour. That ends up being the least of their problems when three masked strangers turn up at their door, determined to terrorise and hurt them.
Why to watch: Horror can be loud, surreal, or drenched in fantasy — but sometimes, it’s scariest when it’s simple. The Strangers builds on one primal fear: what if someone was in your home, and you didn’t know it? When a masked figure steps from the shadows only to vanish again, you’ll find your chin glued to your shoulder.
34. Goodfellas
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Year: 1990
- Cast: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Runtime: 2 hours 26 minutes
What it’s about: For as long as he can remember, Henry Hill has always dreamed of being a gangster. Across three decades, he rises (and falls) through the hierarchy of the Mafia, battling power, addiction, and betrayal.
Why to watch: Goodfellas is the greatest gangster movie ever made; heady, intoxicating, but resonant even in its most violent and drug-addled depths. Martin Scorsese got everything right; decades on, the Copacabana scene is still pure movie magic.
33. 1917
- Genre: Action, Drama
- Year: 2019
- Cast: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth
- Director: Sam Mendes
- Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes
What it’s about: With the German army plotting a deadly attack, two British soldiers are sent across enemy lines to deliver a crucial message, racing against time and dodging death to save an entire battalion.
Why to watch: 1917 is a gimmick: a ‘single-take’ war movie that hides multiple cuts in the rubble-and-blood chaos of its action. This is something you’ll only think about long after the credits roll. In the moment, it’s a heart-pounding race against time that’s mind-bogglingly well-crafted; a technical accomplishment, but emotionally acute.
32. Point Break
- Genre: Action, Crime
- Year: 1991
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey
- Director: Kathryn Bigelow
- Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
What it’s about: A rookie FBI agent investigates a string of unsolved bank robberies. He suspects a group of thrill-seeking surfers are responsible, so he goes undercover, but it isn’t long before he’s forced to choose between the law and their leader.
Why to watch: Testosterone: off the charts. There’s a reason Edgar Wright cited Point Break’s incredible “pointing a gun up in the air and going ‘ahh'” – they truly don’t make ’em like this anymore. It’s the pièce de résistance of pulp fiction; a glorious, careless escape of “100% pure adrenaline”.
31. Baby Driver
- Genre: Action, Crime
- Year: 2017
- Cast: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey
- Director: Edgar Wright
- Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
What it’s about: Baby, a gifted getaway driver, works heists to pay off a hefty debt to Doc, the kingpin of an Atlanta crime syndicate. When he falls in love, he wants out – but his last job is doomed to fail.
Why to watch: The appeal of Baby Driver isn’t its characters (though Jon Hamm’s villain is like Don Draper mixed with a Kray brother) or its thin, but fun story. It’s the music, which Edgar Wright exhilaratingly weaves with the film’s DNA; let’s call it a jukebox action movie, or as one critic wrote, a “car chase opera”.
30. No Country for Old Men
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- Year: 2007
- Cast: Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones
- Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
What it’s about: A hunter stumbles upon a suitcase filled with cartel money, setting off a deadly pursuit across Texas. A relentless hitman follows his trail, while a weary sheriff tries to make sense of the violence left in their wake.
Why to watch: A movie only feels stretched out when it’s misdirected. No Country for Old Men may burn slowly, but it’s one of the most heart-thumpingly deliberate and near-perfect films of the past 20 years. Everyone is at the top of their game, especially Javier Bardem’s hitman, who may as well be the bogeyman incarnate.
29. Training Day
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- Year: 2001
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
What it’s about: Jake Hoyt, a rookie with the LAPD’s inner-city narcotics unit, joins veteran detective Alonzo Harris for a day of training on the streets. However, his methods aren’t always lawful.
Why to watch: Training Day’s most famous scene sees Denzel Washington, bloody and lost, wailing, “King Kong ain’t got [bleep] on me!” That’s the movie in a nutshell: a towering performance, memorable writing, and a carefully plotted crime thriller that executes its payoff perfectly.
28. GoldenEye
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 1995
- Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco
- Director: Martin Campbell
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: Years after losing a fellow agent in a Soviet mission, James Bond investigates the theft of a secret military weapon and prevents enemy forces from causing worldwide societal collapse.
Why to watch: GoldenEye introduced Pierce Brosnan as 007, a star that embraced all of his predecessors: Connery’s quips, Moore’s gadgets, and Dalton’s steely virility, while adding his own signature charm. From that jaw-dropping bungee jump to “For England, James?” “No, for me”, a legend was born (and it spawned one of the most famous video games of all time, so that’s something).
27. Django Unchained
- Genre: Western, Drama
- Year: 2012
- Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Runtime: 2 hours 45 minutes
What it’s about: Django, a slave, is freed by a German bounty hunter and becomes his apprentice. Together, they set off to rescue his wife from a ruthless plantation owner.
Why to watch: Six words: a spaghetti western by Quentin Tarantino. All of his movies are films he was born to make, but he swaggers with Django (including his best cameo next to Pulp Fiction), a stylish, joyously bloody ode to an entire genre of film. Jamie Foxx has never been cooler, and Leonardo DiCaprio has never been scarier.
If you’re looking at multiple streamers, it’s also among the best films on Netflix.
26. The Lighthouse
- Genre: Drama, Horror
- Year: 2019
- Cast: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
What it’s about: Ephraim, a new lighthouse keeper, arrives on a remote island to help Thomas Wake, its elderly wickie. As storms and an overwhelming sense of isolation sets in, their grip on reality starts to fade.
Why to watch: The Lighthouse is incredibly unique: a monochrome, feverish work of uproarious and uncomfortable cosmic horror (though not in a space way), with two phenomenal actors pushing themselves bizarre extremes.
25. Flight
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2012
- Cast: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle
- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes
What it’s about: When a pilot performs a miraculous emergency landing, he’s hailed as a national hero. However, when it’s discovered that he was intoxicated in the cockpit, it casts him in a different light.
Why to watch: After nearly 10 years the realm of CG-animated films, Robert Zemeckis returned to live-action movies with Flight. Not only does it feature one of the most breathtaking aerial sequences ever put to screen, but it boasts a tenderly fraught, captivating performance from Denzel Washington.
24. Rain Man
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 1988
- Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino
- Director: Barry Levinson
- Runtime: 2 hours 14 minutes
What it’s about: When Charlie’s father dies, he discovers his inheritance has been left to someone else: Raymond, his reclusive brother he never knew he had, who’s also an autistic savant.
Why to watch: Rain Man would be an implausible pitch now: a Tom Cruise-led drama with Dustin Hoffman dialling it up as an autistic savant. Today’s reluctance is the past’s gain, because this is a well-intentioned, unmawkish, wonderful film with a lightning-in-a-bottle pair of stars at the top of their game.
23. Erin Brokovich
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2000
- Cast: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: A struggling single mother takes a job at a law firm and uncovers evidence that a power company has been polluting a town’s water supply. With no legal training, she tirelessly builds a case that exposes corporate negligence and demands justice.
Why to watch: Erin Brokovich almost follows the sports underdog story template, only with a dash of romance and lot of laughs. This is Julia Roberts in full, sparkling movie star mode, chewing on fantastic dialogue (“That’s all you got lady: two wrong feet and [bleep] ugly shoes”) and the perfect actor to explain and convey the importance of this story.
22. The Truman Show
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 1998
- Cast: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Ed Harris
- Director: Peter Weir
- Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes
What it’s about: Truman has a simple, sunny life in Seahaven Life. He has a wife, friends, and a job he’s good at it. However, little does he know his entire existence is the biggest reality show on the planet.
Why to watch: Rewind to 1998 and The Truman Show, Peter Weir’s enormous, extraordinary vision, evokes one word: prescience, set in a world that could be feasibly (and sadly) be our own. Then, now, and always, it’s an escape from reality about an escape to reality.
21. Tag
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner
- Director: Jeff Tomsic
- Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
What it’s about: Five friends have played the tag every May for 30 years. Jerry, who’s never been caught, wants to retire – so the others team up for one last chase across the country, hoping to finally tell him, “You’re it.”
Why to watch: Tag goes a little too far (the lengths they go to protect themselves from being ‘it’ are preposterous), but it’s almost always amusing; special shoutout to Jeremy Renner, who leans on his MCU physicality and humour. There’s also a sweet point to it all: whatever you do, wherever you go, you’ll never regret making an effort with your friends even from afar.
20. The Death of Stalin
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2017
- Cast: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jason Isaacs
- Director: Armando Iannucci
- Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
What it’s about: When Joseph Stalin suddenly dies, his top officials scramble to fill the power vacuum. As alliances shift and paranoia spreads, political rivals plot, betray, and backstab their way through a chaotic fight for control of the Soviet Union.
Why to watch: In The Death of Stalin, an ingeniously riotous satire, achieves something incredible: it illustrates the full spectrum of Stalinism’s evils in a ruthlessly funny, barbed farce. No wonder it was directed by the man who made The Thick of It.
19. Beautiful Boy
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet, Maura Tierney
- Director: Felix van Groeningen
- Runtime: 2 hours
What it’s about: Based on David and Nic Sheff’s memoirs, Beautiful Boy revolves around Nic, who’s battling a devastating addiction to methamphetamine, and his father David, who does everything in his power to prevent it from consuming his son.
Why to watch: As a movie, Beautiful Boy is a little too long, repetitive, and over-edited. However, as an odyssey of addiction from both sides, it’s effectively punishing, and most of all, it’s a showcase of two beloved acting talents. Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell both deserved Oscar nominations.
18. Shrek 2
- Genre: Animation, Comedy
- Year: 2004
- Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz
- Director: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
- Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
What it’s about: After Shrek and Fiona return from honeymoon, they set off to visit her parents in Far Far Away. They don’t like Shrek, and things get worse when he enlists the Fairy Godmother to split them up so she can get together with her son, Prince Charming.
Why to watch: Shrek 2 is on par with The Godfather Part II and The Dark Knight – and that’s not just in terms of how to make a sequel that tops its predecessor. Everything is better here; the jokes, the animation, the story, and even the music. For those born in the ’90s, it’s basically a holy text.
17. The Founder
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2016
- Cast: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch
- Director: John Lee Hancock
- Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
What it’s about: Ray Kroc, a struggling salesman, stumbles on a burger joint that wants to revolutionise the drive-thru industry: McDonald’s. Its owners agree to let him expand their operation, but ambition and greed drive him to take control of their dream.
Why to watch: The Founder, a McDonald’s biopic that didn’t make much money, has been clipped to death on TikTok for years. That may seem like an inane observation, but there’s a real takeaway: its bitesize, absorbing structure (and Michael Keaton’s performance) makes it extremely (re)watchable. Just don’t expect a buy-opic on The Social Network’s level; it’s jauntier and more modest.
16. Saltburn
- Genre: Thriller, Drama
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike
- Director: Emerald Fennell
- Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes
What it’s about: Oliver, a quiet scholarship student at Oxford University, befriends his wealthy classmate Felix, who invites him (out of pity) to stay at his family’s sprawling estate for a summer that will change them both forever.
Why to watch: Saltburn is a gleefully debauched, grimmer twist on The Talented Mr Ripley for a new generation, with acerbic dialogue, bold performances (Barry Keoghan goes all out, if you know what we mean), and pulpy fun within its ostensibly elegant frame.
15. Palm Springs
- Genre: Comedy, Romance
- Year: 2020
- Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons
- Director: Max Barbakow
- Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
What it’s about: While attending a wedding in the California desert, slacker Nyles and maid of honour Sarah get stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the same day endlessly. At first, it’s scary, until it’s fun… but if life has no consequence, then what’s the point?
Why to watch: In a decade with a dearth of good rom-coms, Palm Springs is easily the best, most ebullient offering for the once titanic genre. Its Groundhog Day format may be familiar, but it has a winning combo of silly irreverence and strong sentiment, sold completely and endearingly by Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti’s superb chemistry.
14. Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Genre: Action, Adventure
- Year: 1981
- Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
What it’s about: Indiana Jones, a college professor and archeologist, travels the world in search of rare antiquities. He’s hired to recover the legendary Ark of the Covenant – but he’ll need to beat the Nazis.
Why to watch: Raiders of the Lost Ark was the birth of one of cinema’s great icons, but Indy – a whip-cracking, quick-witted, handsome hero created by two movie gods, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas – is just one facet of the jewel. This is as close to perfect as an action-adventure can be, full of romance, humour, and the joy of blockbuster moviemaking.
13. The Dark Knight
- Genre: Action, Superhero
- Year: 2008
- Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Runtime: 2 hours 32 minutes
What it’s about: Batman faces his toughest adversary yet: the Joker, a madman hellbent on wreaking havoc across Gotham. As he works with Jim Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent to clean up the streets, he starts to wonder if he’s the hero city needs.
Why to watch: A contender for the greatest superhero movie of all time and the most iconic film of the 21st century, The Dark Knight brought true prestige to the comic book genre. It’s the best Batman film we’ve ever had, due in no small part to Heath Ledger’s once-in-a-generation performance as the Joker.
12. Four Lions
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2010
- Cast: Riz Ahmed, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, Arsher Ali
- Director: Chris Morris
- Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
What it’s about: A group of young, radicalised Muslim men are determined to be jihadists, so they train to become suicide bombers and begin planning a terrorist attack in London.
Why to watch: “Is he a martyr or a jalfrezi?” 15 years ago, Four Lions put the ‘ha’ in jihad. Through an unprecedented blend of guffaws, heartbreak and horror, the film is both an outrageous tonic and grounded warning. Comedy and tragedy, united in death.
11. Game Night
- Genre: Comedy, Action
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler
- Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
- Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes
What it’s about: Max and Annie, Max’s brother Brooks, and their friends gather for their weekly game night. When one of them is kidnapped, they believe it’s part of the fun, so they start looking for clues around the city. However, there’s a bigger game afoot.
Why to watch: Game Night is a rarity: a stylish, genre-blending ensemble movie that has slick action sequences, but it’s also a whole-hearted, hilarious comedy. Whether it’s Rachel McAdams’ hilarious, “Oh no, he died!” or Jesse Plemons in literally every scene he’s in, every star brings their A-game to a tight, sharp script.
10. Skyfall
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 2012
- Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench
- Director: Sam Mendes
- Runtime: 2 hours 23 minutes
What it’s about: Months after he was seemingly killed, James Bond returns to duty amid a series of data leaks and coordinated attacks on MI6. This puts him on a collision course with Raoul Silva, an ex-agent with a vengeance.
Why to watch: Skyfall is a common pick for the best James Bond movie. It’s not hard to see why: it has the most jaw-dropping photography of any entry in the series (thanks to DP Roger Deakins), an all-timer villain in Javier Bardem’s Silva, and a rich, poignant story for Bond and Judi Dench’s M. You couldn’t ask for a better course correction after the rubbish Bourne-lite Quantum of Solace.
9. The Prestige
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2006
- Cast: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: In 1890s London, two magicians – Robert Angier and Alfred Borden – turn from friends to fierce rivals, determined to outdo each other’s seemingly perfect illusion, no matter the cost.
Why to watch: Rightly revered as one of the most underrated movies in Nolan’s filmography, it’s all tricks all at once; a sleight-of-hand, juggling act with a build-up that’s just as magical as the pay-off. It’s hermetic, but also mystifying; as Christian Bale’s illusionist asks, “are you watching closely?”
8. Air
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis
- Director: Ben Affleck
- Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes
What it’s about: It’s 1984, and Nike is on the verge of axing its basketball shoe division. Sonny Vacaro, a scout, is tasked with finding new players to elevate the brand, but he believes they should bet on one rookie who may be a generational talent: Michael Jordan.
Why to watch: Air’s pitch isn’t an immediate sell: a movie about the negotiations behind a shoe deal over 40 years ago. Yet, in pretty much every way, it’s a delight. With Ben Affleck’s steady direction, a cast of legends and go-to funny guys, and a sincere reverence that emphasises the audaciousness of what Nike did, you’ll be swept up in the story – and you’ll probably want a pair of Air Jordans.
7. The Green Knight
- Genre: Fantasy, Drama
- Year: 2021
- Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton
- Director: David Lowery
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s nephew, decapitates the Green Knight to secure his axe. However, it comes at a huge price: he must travel to the Green Chapel a year later, encountering ghosts, giants, and thieves, where he’ll receive an equal blow in return.
Why to watch: The Green Knight is a spellbinding, avant-garde adventure through Arthurian myth that feels more indebted to Ingmar Bergman than Excalibur. In that, it’s morally and thematically sophisticated, pondering grand, scary ideas as you tread its inevitable (and beautiful) path. One of the best movies of the 2020s so far, that’s for sure.
6. The Vast of Night
- Genre: Sci-fi
- Year: 2019
- Cast: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Gail Cronauer
- Director: Andrew Patterson
- Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
What it’s about: In 1950s New Mexico, a teenage disc jockey works the night shift at his local radio station. His show is interrupted by an unknown signal, the first of several strange occurrences that may indicate an extraterrestrial presence.
Why to watch: The Vast of Night is the kind of movie you discover while the rest of the world lies in the depths of sleep. A real-time, lo-fi sci-fi thriller that echoes the retro vibe of Stranger Things’ earlier seasons; small, but enormous in its sense of mood and curiosity about “something in the sky.”
5. Better Man
- Genre: Musical, Drama
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton
- Director: Michael Gracey
- Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
What it’s about: This is the story of singer Robbie Williams, from his meteoric rise to fame in Take That to his struggles with addiction, ego, and identity under the permanent spotlight. Oh, and he’s a monkey.
Why to watch: Better Man works not because you forget that Robbie Williams is a monkey: you just stop thinking about it, while also sitting in awe at the constant blend of VFX and real-world, infectious song-and-dance numbers. The songs are great (obviously), but it’s more than its soundtrack. Let’s just say… let it entertain you.
4. Manchester by the Sea
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2016
- Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges
- Director: Kenneth Lonergan
- Runtime: 2 hours 17 minutes
What it’s about: Lee, a depressed janitor, becomes his nephew’s legal guardian after his brother’s death, forcing him to return to his hometown and confront the unspeakable trauma that made him leave.
Why to watch: Manchester by the Sea should be a hard film to recommend. Casey Affleck’s performance is rooted in unimaginable agony, and some scenes are so upsetting you’ll drench your collar with tears. It’s a credit to writer Kenneth Lonergan that he manages to find sweetness in the bitterness, making it a highly watchable (and, crucially, bearable) film.
3. Zodiac
- Genre: Crime, Thriller
- Year: 2007
- Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo
- Director: David Fincher
- Runtime: 2 hours 37 minutes
What it’s about: As the Zodiac Killer murders people and taunts the San Francisco Chronicle with scary letters, the newspaper’s cartoonist becomes an amateur detective, working with a crime reporter and the police in a desperate effort to figure out their identity.
Why to watch: Forget Fight Club: Zodiac, an icy, forensic, horrifying exploration of the titular cold case, is David Fincher’s best movie. It has a smarmy, locked-in Downey Jr pre-Iron Man, John Carroll Lynch’s haunting performance as the FBI’s only suspect, and an overwhelming aura of mythos and obsession.
Or, in short, it’s perfect for true crime fans.
2. Sound of Metal
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2019
- Cast: Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Paul Raci
- Director: Darius Marder
- Runtime: 2 hours
What it’s about: Ruben, a drummer for a punk-metal band, suddenly loses his hearing. He thinks his life is over, but before he can turn to drugs, his girlfriend checks him into a sober home for deaf people, where he rejects and confronts his new reality.
Why to watch: The notion of paying attention to a movie’s sound design may seem a bit pretentious to a normie. Sound of Metal doesn’t ask you to lend an ear: it bends it to its disorientating, immersive will. That, and Riz Ahmed’s Oscar-nominated performance, are two reasons to watch one of the best films on Amazon Prime.
1. Casino Royale
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 2006
- Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench
- Director: Martin Campbell
- Runtime: 2 hours 24 minutes
What it’s about: On his first mission as 007, James Bond is tasked with preventing a terrorism financier from winning a high-stakes poker game. This means teaming up with Vesper Lynd, a British Treasury agent with whom he falls in love.
Why to watch: Casino Royale isn’t just the best James Bond movie: it’s one of the greatest action movies ever made.
This was a radical twist, forgoing the wink-wink charm of 007’s earlier incarnations for Daniel Craig’s deadpan, ruthless rebirth. It’s every bit as lavish and spectacle-driven as the franchise demands, but it serves the character as well as the audience; everyone’s hearts stopped in the car flip sequence.
Try as the series’ longtime fans might, Casino Royale was an immediate, hard-to-deny argument for Craig as the best Bond, something he continued to prove for 15 years.
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