The 50 best films on Amazon Prime Video in December 2025
From classic rom-coms and action movies to underrated gems, there are amazing movies on Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video 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: Romance, Comedy
- Year: 2008
- Cast: Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis
- Director: Nicholas Stoller
- Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes
What it’s about: Left miserable after a break-up, Peter takes himself on holiday to Hawaii. However, he discovers that his ex has checked into the same hotel… with her new boyfriend.
Why to watch: Rom-coms shouldn’t be boxed into ‘girl movies’, just as action films aren’t just ‘guy movies’. However, Forgetting Sarah Marshall truly feels like it has appeal for anyone who watches it – plus, it helps that it has some of the biggest laughs in any movie from the 2000s.
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. The Accountant 2
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
- Director: Gavin O’Connor
- Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
What it’s about: When an old acquaintance is murdered, killer accountant Christian Wolff is called upon to find out who’s responsible, and he’ll need his estranged brother’s help.
Why to watch: The Accountant 2 is everything you’d expect from a sequel: there’s more of Ben Affleck’s autistic assassin putting beat-downs on people and Jon Bernthal returns in an expanded, better capacity. However, as dark as it gets, it’s also surprisingly funny and heartwarming; this will sound strange, but there’s a line dance scene that may be the best moment in the movie.
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. Hot Tub Time Machine
- Genre: Comedy, Sci-fi
- Year: 2010
- Cast: John Cusack, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Clark Duke
- Director: Steve Pink
- Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
What it’s about: After their friend attempts to kill himself, four men spend a weekend at a ski resort from their partying days, and they accidentally travel back in time to 1986.
Why to watch: This is a film where a character looks straight at the screen and says, “It must be some kind of… Hot Tub Time Machine.” If that doesn’t make you laugh, you should probably avoid, but it’s a crude, laugh-a-minute comedy above the bar of its dispensable contemporaries.
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. The Holiday
- Genre: Romance, Comedy
- Year: 2006
- Cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black
- Director: Nancy Meyers
- Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
What it’s about: Two unhappy women agree to swap homes for Christmas; one is from a quaint cottage in the UK, and the other lives in a lavish Los Angeles estate. However, they quickly make unexpected connections.
Why to watch: ‘Tis the season (almost) to be jolly, and The Holiday is the ideal Christmas movie to get you in the yuletide spirit… because it isn’t really about Christmas at all. There’s snow, there’s a festive vibe, but the main appeal is the irresistible romantic chemistry between its four leads.
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. Midnight in Paris
- Genre: Romance, Fantasy
- Year: 2011
- Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard
- Director: Woody Allen
- Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
What it’s about: Gil, a struggling writer, arrives in Paris for his honeymoon. As he walks the streets at night, he travels back in time to the 1920s, where he meets literary icons.
Why to watch: While Woody Allen’s movies can have a meek arrogance (especially when he’s in them), Midnight in Paris is one of his most deservedly confident films, courtesy of Owen Wilson’s terrific performance, a superb supporting cast, and a truly wonderful concept.
26. Triangle
- Genre: Horror, Thriller
- Year: 2009
- Cast: Melissa George, Liam Hemsworth, Rachael Carpani
- Director: Christopher Smith
- Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
What it’s about: When their yacht is damaged by a storm, Jess and her friends board a mysterious ship – and it becomes clear that they are not alone.
Why to watch: Some of the best horror movies have twists you can’t forget (don’t worry, we won’t spoil them), but Triangle is an outlier. It’s not that it features one big, plot-upending twist – the whole movie is a horrible, ingenious headscratcher. Good luck.
25. Green Room
- Genre: Horror, Thriller
- Year: 2015
- Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart
- Director: Jeremy Saulnier
- Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes
What it’s about: When a punk rock band agree to perform a gig at a neo-Nazi club in the woods, they witness a murder and find themselves in grave danger.
Why to watch: Patrick Stewart playing a neo-Nazi villain in a grungy, ultraviolent horror-thriller; need we say more? Green Room is a true hidden gem in Amazon Prime Video’s library: unapologetically singular and nasty, and a film you won’t forget in a hurry.
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. Conclave
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Year: 2024
- Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini
- Director: Edward Berger
- Runtime: 2 hours
What it’s about: After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence organises a conclave to elect a successor.
Why to watch: This is an absolutely divine drama. Tasty as a whisper, rich as a parable. Certainty may be a sin, but Conclave is undoubtedly a banger.
21. The Other Guys
- Genre: Action, Comedy
- Year: 2010
- Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton
- Director: Adam McKay
- Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
What it’s about: Terry, a disgraced detective, is forced to team up with a new partner: Allen, a mild-mannered accountant. However, they accidentally stumble upon a huge conspiracy.
Why to watch: “Four words, and you have one of the funniest scenes of the 21st century to date: “Aim for the bushes.” The Other Guys is a laugh-out-loud farce par excellence. Everyone is turned up to 11 here, especially Michael Keaton’s TLC-obsessed captain.
20. Drive
- Genre: Thriller, Action
- Year: 2011
- Cast: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks
- Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
- Runtime: 1 hour 40 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. Pulp Fiction
- Genre: Thriller, Comedy
- Year: 1994
- Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Runtime: 2 hours 29 minutes
What it’s about: The lives of two hitmen, a mobster’s wife, a boxer, and two small-time thieves intertwine over the course of three bloody, shocking days in Los Angeles.
Why to watch: Reservoir Dogs may have made Quentin Tarantino famous, but Pulp Fiction (rightly) gave him an instant promotion to the cinematic hall of fame. It exists in the highest possible echelon of iconicism; movies today wouldn’t be the same without it.
17. This is the End
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2013
- Cast: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel
- Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
- Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes
What it’s about: A group of Hollywood celebrities try to survive in James Franco’s house after an apocalypse of biblical proportions erupts across Los Angeles.
Why to watch: This is the End could have easily felt like an exercise in ego. Instead, it’s one of the most original and hilarious comedies of the past decade, courtesy of the gracious and infectious chemistry of its ensemble of comedy heavy hitters.
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. The Hunger Games
- Genre: Action
- Year: 2012
- Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
- Director: Gary Ross
- Runtime: 2 hours 22 minutes
What it’s about: Katniss volunteers to compete in The Hunger Games, a nationwide tournament that pits “tributes” from 12 districts against each other in a fight to the death.
Why to watch: The Hunger Games elevated a hit series of novels into one of the most popular and fandom-focused franchises in the world. That doesn’t happen off the back of a bad movie, and the first film remains a triumph of young adult blockbuster filmmaking. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Katniss, either: Jennifer Lawrence is to her what Sigourney Weaver is to Ripley.
13. In the Loop
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2009
- Cast: Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, Anna Chlumsky
- Director: Armando Iannucci
- Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
What it’s about: When two countries decide to invade the Middle East, British and American operatives try to prevent another war – including Malcolm Tucker, a notorious spin doctor.
Why to watch: In the Loop brought The Thick of It’s Malcolm Tucker in all of his deliciously foul-mouthed glory to the big screen. It doesn’t soften his searing humour, but it does pit Peter Capaldi against some extraordinary actors – best of all, James Gandolfini.
12. The Nice Guys
- Genre: Comedy, Crime
- Year: 2016
- Cast: Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Angourie Rice
- Director: Shane Black
- Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
What it’s about: Private eye Holland March and Jackson Healy, a bloody-knuckled enforcer for hire, team up to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl.
Why to watch: The Nice Guys is the closest thing today’s generation will have to their own Lethal Weapon (especially because it’s directed by Shane Black). It’s a showcase of Ryan Gosling’s boundless comedic talents, and Russell Crowe is a brawny, lovable counterbalance; you’ll want to recommend it to everyone after watching it.
11. Hot Fuzz
- Genre: Action, Comedy
- Year: 2007
- Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton
- Director: Edgar Wright
- Runtime: 2 hours 1 minute
What it’s about: Nicholas Angel, a decorated London police officer, is relocated to a small town because he’s too good at his job. However, this seemingly quiet haven is harbouring a dark secret.
Why to watch: “By the power of Grayskull,” this is where Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost’s Cornetto Trilogy peaked. Hot Fuzz is a blood-splattered, fizzy send-up of the action genre with perhaps the highest laugh rate in any movie since Airplane.
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. Interstellar
- Genre: Science fiction, Adventure
- Year: 2014
- Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Runtime: 2 hours 49 minutes
What it’s about: With Earth’s resources dwindling, ex-NASA pilot Joseph Cooper is recruited for a top-secret mission: to fly through a wormhole and find a new home for humanity.
Why to watch: Interstellar could be the greatest sci-fi movie ever made: an unabashed celebration of love, conveyed through one of the most exhilarating deep-space voyages ever put to film. Among its many, many scenes that will stand the test of time, one is so wondrous that it’ll flood your skin with goosebumps as soon as you hear one word: “Docking.”
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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