Best amazon prime movies

Amazon Prime is a treasure trove of some of the most esoteric, surprising and under-the-radar cinema of the past 80 years, although good nitpickers may find it almost impossible to get rid of the sometimes overwhelming glut of weird horror titles buried in Prime’s netherlands. are And that’s not to mention inconsistent, migraine-inducing browsing, or the service’s tendency to unexpectedly drop a title only to have it appear just as unexpectedly under a different link. be Who can keep track of any of this?

Well, we can. Or, at least, we try. Half a dozen movies from that list left the service this November, as did IMDb TV (also owned by Amazon) and for rent. Not to worry, though: there were tons of great movies waiting to take their place…we had to dig them out after fighting Amazon’s notoriously terrible user interface.

The 50 best movies streaming on Amazon Prime right now:

1. A night in Miami

• Year: 2021
• Director: Regina King
• Stars: Kingsley Ben Adair, Eli Gorey, Aldous Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Watch on Amazon Prime

A bare-bones synopsis of One Night in Miami sounds like a buddy-buddy movie: four guys on the town, no attachments to keep them in line, and a sky-high limit to their evening’s entertainment. The side is spread. But the four men are Sam Cooke, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, and most of all Malcolm X; This city is actually a magical city. And the specific evening is February 25, 1964, when heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston crossed gloves with Clay and lost his title in an upset. The subjects that cross the lips of the characters include, of course, boxing, and women, and misogyny, but they also include other, more important subjects such as black American identity, American identity, and how the two interact. . But that doesn’t deprive One Night in Miami of its “joy” clause, with exceptional young actors (Eli Gorrie, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge, Kingsley Ben-Adir), and Regina King in her feature debut with cool confidence. Directed. His adaptation of Camp Powers’ stage play is a historical document written to gauge what these fellows might have had in person and a compelling myth rooted in off-the-record, reality. It is also thoroughly entertaining, interesting and exciting. This is not a film about pointless carousing. It’s the conversation that really matters. – Andy Crump

2. Licorice Pizza

• Release Date: November 26, 2021
• Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
• Stars: Alana Hamm, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 133 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

Licorice Pizza is writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s second take on Los Angeles in the early 1970s: a city fresh in the oppressive shadow of the Manson family murders and the end of the Vietnam War. But in his first tribute, hereditary deputy, curious counter-culture operative Dr. Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) remains earnestly engaged with his surroundings and a series of vampiric drug-trafficking operations and FBI conspiracies. I follow the threads of social insanity all the way. 25-year-old Alana Kane (Alana Haim) refuses to follow any such thread. A bored, directionless photographer’s assistant, Alana rejects any convenient plot points that might help us understand her character. What are his ambitions? She doesn’t know, she tells 15-year-old successful actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman) over dinner at a restaurant called Tell O’ The Cock. What interests and excites him? It’s hard to say. When Gary first approaches Alana while she’s working on picture day at her high school, it’s hard to imagine that licorice pizza won’t follow the playful design of a sunny Southern California love story. . Alana is instantly weird and wonderful, and when Anderson introduces her in a slow dolly shot—with a miniskirt, kitten heels, hunched shoulders, and a wonderfully angry expression—we love her as much as Gary. are forced to do. . It does, at first glance. Of course, Anderson quickly dismissed the notion that licorice pizza was going to be a straightforward romance. Anderson knows that this rambling, disjointed structure reflects what it’s like to be young, strange, and in love. Each shot, filled with dreamy pastels, sparkles with youthful nostalgia. Anderson and cinematographer Michael Bauman balance this ambiguity with unique camera control, with long takes, slow pans, and contemplative pans galore. What does Alana get out of befriending someone ten years her junior? And why does Gary always come back to Alana even when she tries her best to put him down? Like happily roaming the streets of L.A. in the midst of a citywide crisis, it’s a madness you can only truly understand when you’re living it.—Aurora Amidon.

8. Sheen

• Year: 1953
• Director: George Stevens
• Stars: Alan Ladd, Jane Arthur, Wayne Heflin
• Rating: TV-G
• Runtime: 135 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

Shane is another one of Hollywood’s great westerns and perhaps the oldest and most legendary in its execution. Heroes are really good, villains are worse than bad. It explores one of the classic Western expansion themes, cattle ranching—or the freedom and lawlessness of the open range—vs. farming, which eventually leads to civilization and settling in a place, with families and city rules. executes. Visually a character straight out of the Old Testament, Rufus Riker (Emile Meyer) is a shaggy-bearded cattle baron bent on driving farming families off the land he considers his own. A mysterious rider named Shane (Alan Ladd) arrives just in time to raise the courage of a group of homesteaders led by Starrett (Wayne Heflin). Shane and Riker, along with their companions, are relics of the past, eventually disappearing after the wives and children move in. Unlike Riker, Shane knows this, and dispels his spell in their final showdown. The future of the West is in cities and communities. Outlaws like him have no place in these new frontiers. After all these years, we know Shane was wrong. Even today, murder and lawlessness are rampant in the cities, and big business still violates the rights of the common man. The film is a reminder, however, that if communities stick together, stay strong in faith and trust each other, they can reclaim their rights and shape a collective destiny.—Joe Pettit Jr.

Manchester Seaside

• Year: 2016
• Director: Kenneth Lonergan
• Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler
• Genre: Romance
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 137 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

Loss and grief—and the messy, indirect ways people cope with emotional consequences—were the dramatic lynchpins of writer-director Kenneth Lonergan’s first two films, You Can Count on Me and Margaret. And so it is again with Manchester by the Sea, a commanding, absorbing work in which the sum of its effects may outweigh any individual scenes. In contrast to the intimate, short-story quality of You Can Count On Me, Margaret in Manchester by the Sea has the same expansive ambitions as Lonergan, which sometimes pits the action against the film’s inherently quiet modesty. presents with a tragic splendor. Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler is quietly magnetic as a man who can’t express himself when he really needs to step up and be the father figure. Lucas Hedges and Kyle Chandler are also both quite good, their characters deeply embedded in the masculine culture of the East Coast communities in which the film is set. But Michelle Williams in particular is fantastic as Lee’s ex-wife, having previously played haunted wives in Brokeback Mountain and Shutter Island. Here, though, she really pierces the heart: her character never stopped loving Lee, but her mind told her she had to if she was ever going to move on with her life. In this film, he is actually one of the lucky ones. Tragedies fall into the sea like bombs in Manchester, and the ripple effects spread everywhere. The film doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, but after all the Chandlers have passed on, the mere prospect of acceptance can feel like a hard-won victory. – Tim Grierson

10. You were never really here.

• Year: 2018
• Director: Len Ramsay
• Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, John Doman, Judith Roberts, Alex Manet, Alessandro Nivola
• Genre: Drama, Thriller
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 89 minutes
• Watch on Amazon Prime

Lynne Ramsay has a reputation for being uncompromising. In industry parlance, that means she has a reputation for being “difficult.” Frankly, the word that best describes him is “relentless.” Rare are filmmakers as in charge of their own aesthetic as Ramsay. Rarely are there filmmakers who have such control without leaving a mark of ego on screen. If you’ve seen any of the three films he made between 1999 and 2011 (Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin), you’ll have seen his faithfulness to his vision in action. is, whether that vision is disturbing, terrifying or just plain weird. She is as powerful as she is fragile. His fourth film, You Were Never Really Here — terrifying, terrifying and strange all at once — is his masterpiece, a film that gently explores the violence in his body of work. Calling it a revenge movie doesn’t do it justice. It’s like a constant scream. You Were Never Really a title here is layered, first by outlining the structure of its main character, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix, the man behind the beard that makes the Robertson clan jealous). Which, as a military veteran and former federal agent, blisters him. Savage as in his essence. Who spends his life flying between past and present, illusion and reality. Even when he physically occupies a place, he is restless.

Ambulance

• Release Date: 8 April 2022
• Director: Michael Bay
• Stars: Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Jake Gyllenhaal, Garrett Dullahant, Kerr O’Donnell, Olivia Stambolia, Jackson White, A. Martinez, Cedric Sanders
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 136 minutes
• Watch on Amazon Prime

If Ambulance, Michael Bay’s 15th feature currently engaged in a delightfully critical revision of Bay’s canon, feels as compelling as Bad Boys II, it may only be because Bay himself has become Bay. Found in the best time for. Although a couple of Angelenos fill the film because it can only come to one conclusion, Ambulance is about as clean as a Michael Bay movie can get. Within ten minutes we’re deep in the ambulance: strapped for money to pay his wife’s mounting medical bills, left to care for his infant son, Will Sharp (Yahia Abdul Mateen II) and his adopted brother Danny ( Jake Gyllenhaal agrees to join (Always). a joy to watch) on one final big score, a bank heist that inevitably goes wrong. Afterward, they shoot a cop (Jackson White) and commandeer a police ambulance, which includes the “best” EMT in LA, Cam Thompson (Aiza ​​Gonzalez) – in The Grand Gray Tapestry Just another sentient soul that is the City of Angels. . . As Danny loses control and Will increasingly accepts his fate as the offspring of a fictional bank-robbing psychopath, their bank-robber father speaks of hushed tones and incredible stories, the LAPD ‘s entire military force descends on the stolen ambulance, led by Captain Monroe (Garrett Delahunt), a man who pleases the police so much that Bay doesn’t need him. Even when FBI agent Clark (Keir O’Donnell) gets involved, he’s only invited into Monroe’s inner circle because he went to college with Danny. Bad Boys and Bad Boys II Fever Dream is about how Michael Bay thinks that cops should be psychopaths to combat the modern psychopathic world. In Ambulance, his vision of the LAPD includes state-of-the-art surveillance and world-beating artillery to rival the US government’s most elite military force—making sure it’s all really cool. looks—he also makes sure to disrupt particularly destructive pursuits. The setting (as it once dictated to Martin Lawrence the events unfolding on screen and nothing else) is especially important in the many disastrous chase sequences, where Monroe’s left-hand man, Lt. Dzhugig (Olivia Stambolia), Tells him how many tax dollars they are wasting. . Later, many, many policemen died in a hail of explosions and bullets, bodies lying haphazardly everywhere. One detects joy in these scenes, as if Bay has blown away half the LAPD in a spectacle that practically calls for applause while confronting Monroe’s dismissal of so many blatantly misdirected tax dollars. Maybe Michael Bay doesn’t see the point in unleashing psychopathic cops on a psychopathic world anymore, but maybe he never did. In BayKLA, there are no sides, no good guys and bad guys, just one person who “saves my life” or doesn’t — just people with holes in their bodies and people who don’t. The body has holes. This is Bay’s distinction between the “haves” and the “have nots”: those who have life-threatening trauma and those who do not. The film’s disposable blue-collar Italian lump, Randazzo (Randazzo Mark), puts it simply: “L.A. drivers! They’re all mamlocks.” Check out this urban wasteland of struggling Mamluks – it’s packed with more style than we’ll ever deserve. — Dom Cenacola

We need to talk about Kevin.

• Year: 2012
• Director: Len Ramsay
• Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 112 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

We Need to Talk About Kevin deals with the experience of a mother (Tilda Swinton) who is struggling after a school massacre by her son (Ezra Miller). In its narrative construction, it draws on two key tropes: the “whydunnit” thriller, in which the mystery of the criminal’s motives is a driving factor, and the family horror, in which some dark element tears apart a traditional family. They do. . . In fact, the real horror is not that a teenager has chosen total negation over the absurdity of standard family life – it’s that these are the only two choices available. Tilda Swinton is superb as a mother who is wracked with guilt over what her son has done and reflects on her own childhood, wondering what, if anything, happens when someone gives birth to a “bad seed”. , could possibly have been done differently. The heartbreaking nature of the film is perfectly encapsulated with a scene in which Kevin briefly lets go of his sociopathic tendencies while sick as a child, making Swinton’s character feel like a loving mother. There is a brief opportunity to do so, only to be emotionally turned off again. A return to health, dashing his hopes that any progress had been made. -Donald Foreman.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

• Year: 2009
• Director: Wes Anderson
• Stars: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman
• Rating: PG
• Runtime: 86 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

Combining Wes Anderson’s trademark ironic whimsy and Roald Dahl’s vaguely menacing yet utterly light-hearted realism, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Anderson’s first animated effort, uses traditional stop-motion techniques as maddeningly as Isle of Dogs. It’s ostensibly a children’s movie (Mr. Fox and his family and friends try to outdo the average peasant), but transparently for their parents, who probably read Dahl’s books in grade school. Remember stop-motion when it didn’t feel vintage. . And have been following Anderson’s work for years. But Fantastic Mr. Fox is more expansive and straightforward than Anderson’s other films. The story is greatly expanded from the Dahl original to cover the familiar Anderson themes of family, rivalry and feeling different. And with its lush autumnal palette and hijinks worthy of Max Fisher or Degnan, the result is a film that only Wes Anderson could have made.—Alyssa Wilkinson

40. The Phantom of the Opera

• Year: 1925
• Director: Rupert Julian
• Stars: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin
• Rating: NR
• Runtime: 79 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

Before the official birth of Dracula and Universal Horror, there was The Phantom of the Opera. (By the way: It’s stupid that none of the major streamers, including Netflix and Shudder, have the rights to show all the classic Universal monster series. I’d love to be able to watch Son of Frankenstein or The Wolfman streaming something on demand. Day, people! Get those licensing deals in place!) Regardless, it’s a good thing Shudder has at least one of these old classics, since it’s in the public domain. This is the original version of the Phantom, starring Lon Chaney Sr., “The Man of a Thousand Faces.” The pace is slow, the style of acting on display is totally foreign to what’s seen today — a more dramatic holdover from the vaudeville era — and you know how the classic story goes, but man: Sugar Face. It’s one of the truly horrifying faces, with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Cheney’s own son, Lon Cheney Jr., playing Wolfman. Phantom of the Opera is indispensable to Cheney’s self-made make-up, with theater patrons allegedly fainting in the aisles in 1925. – Jim Worrell

41. Walk Hard: The Davy Cox Story

• Year: 2007
• Director: Jack Kasdan
• Stars: John C. Reilly, Gina Fisher, Raymond J. Berry, Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows, Margo Martindale
• Rating: R
• Run time: 96 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

Although Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story claims to be a spoof of biopics and their extreme portrayals of artists—particularly musicians—the biopic’s exaggerations reflect the foibles and eccentricities of the artists they portray. profile, so it’s hard to distinguish satire. From a satire about musicians to a biopic. Regardless of which category the film falls into, Walkhard doesn’t really toe the fine line of being clever as it delivers a fun and funny romp with heaps of laughs. John C. Reilly, who plays rising and troubled music star Davy Cox, expertly portrays a rogue and yet relatable and understated character with a heart of fool’s gold. Looking something like Johnny Cash crossed with Tom Waits, Cox has multiple addictions, wives and musical phases. As a young boy growing up in Alabama, Cox is forced to make amends for his brother’s loss, aspiring to greatness after killing his brother by accidentally splitting him in half. , due to which he leads a life of excess and luxury. . . But Riley isn’t the only star of the film. Kristen Wiig shines as Cox’s frustrated wife and mother to their seemingly limitless children. As Cox’s disillusioned second wife and duet partner, Jenna Fisher is superb. Tim Meadows is enigmatic with a standout performance as Cox’s bandmate who can’t seem to stop quickly introducing or doing heavy drugs to Cox. Additionally, cameos by Jack White (Elvis Presley), Jack Black (Paul McCartney), Paul Rudd (John Lennon), Jason Schwartzman (Ringo Starr), Justin Long (George Harrison), Eddie Vedder, Jackson Browne and Lyle Levitt. make . Even more ridiculous. Like most of his films, Walkhard may go too far to prove itself, but there is something charming about it, which shows in its genuine love for music and commitment to the musicians. It’s clear from one of the film’s first lines (“Guys, I need Cox!”) that the project neither takes itself too seriously nor asks much of its audience. – Pamela Chillan

42. Heathers

• Year: 1989
• Director: Michael Lemmon
• Stars: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Kim Walker
• Rating: R
• Runtime: 102 minutes

• Watch on Amazon Prime

To pay homage to ’80s teens — taking care of stalwarts like John Hughes and Cameron Crowe — as much as it’s an attempt to bring the genre to its closest flavor.We are here to save you from your endless browsing habit.

Best-Movies-Prime-Video-Feature

How many hours have we all lost in endless streaming scrolls? Intent on getting a little kickback, you peruse title after title, intent on finding just the right movie, ultimately unsure what to choose despite the overwhelming options. Don’t worry, the Collider crew did all the scrolling for you, scanning the catalog for the best picks for a fun night out. now.

What’s more, we’ll be updating the list regularly with additional picks, so you won’t run out of content anytime soon. The list spans genres, decades, and categories, so there should be something for everyone, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for below (and you’re a multi-platform streamer), So be sure to check out our picks for the best TV shows and the best movies on Netflix.

• Related:
• The best comedy series and TV shows on Prime Video right now

• Editor’s note: This article was last updated on December 3.

• Just added: Thelma and Louise

Thelma and Louise (1991)

• thelma_and_louise_featured-1 Image by MGM
• Director: Ridley Scott Run Time: 129 Minutes | Genre: Road Crime Comedy Drama

• Cast: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Brad Pitt, Michael Madsen

When he’s not doing science fiction, Ridley Scott has eclectic tastes. 1991 Thelma & Louise exhibit A. The story of a pair of female fugitives—played by Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in the title roles, respectively—is a film about friendship. Abused by the men in their lives, the girls decide to take a road trip one day, but when a drunk tries to rape Thelma outside a bar, and Louise shoots him dead, they Choose to run from the law. It’s a fresh spin on the road movie, keeping in mind its main characters and the reason they go on. Despite being the catalyst for their escape and, ultimately, how the film ends, the tone is generally light, fun and funny. However, this is not tongue-in-cheek. In this, the stakes are high, the tension is palpable. These women are friendly, although it would be wrong to take inspiration from them. Its most indelible moments, outside of the closing minutes, are those featuring a young Brad Pitt as a hitchhiking cowboy. – Brandon Michael

• Watch Prime Video

Hellraiser (1987)

• Pinhead and the Cenobites in ‘Hellraiser’ Photo by New World Pictures
• Director: Clive Barker | Run Time: 93 Minutes | Genre: Horror

• Cast: Andrew Robinson, Claire Higgins, and Ashley Lawrence

Clive Barker’s name has become synonymous with the horror genre, just as his first feature-length film Hellraiser has become a symbol of leather-clad, sadomasochistic, pain-worshippers. Both descriptors are apt, though there’s more to Barker’s original 1987 film than mere fetishism. Here is a deep myth, rather original story that began in Barker’s novel “The Hellbound Heart” and was released in numerous sequel films, comic books, novels, video games and more. And it all started with Hellraiser, a film that explores the connected feelings of pain and pleasure on many levels. The main players are Larry Cotton and his second wife Julia, who cheated on her with her brother Frank shortly after their marriage. It sets up one of the strangest yet richest myths in cinema history: Julia’s obsession with Frank continues after his death, and she is rejuvenated when Frank himself comes back to life. . However, Frank needs fresh blood to return to full health, blood that Julia is happy to provide by bringing the men back to Frank’s abandoned childhood home and sacrificing them. And yet, gruesome as it is, it is mundane compared to the arrival of the Cenobites, beings from another dimension who are plagued by physical experiences that illustrate the extremes of pain and pleasure. Their design and presence are truly fantastic and the practical effects on display here are just as awesome today as they were in 1987. If you haven’t seen the original or any of the sequels, Hellraiser is the place to be. . To start. If you’re not careful, this movie will tear your soul apart. – Dave Trumbore

• Watch Prime Video

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

• lord-of-the-rings-return-of-king-viggo-mortensen-social-feature image via New Line Cinema
• Director: Peter Jackson | Run Time: 201 Minutes | Genre: Fantasy

• Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Leo Tyler, Sean Aston

If you find yourself hankering for The Hobbits, Prime Video is the place to go. Not only do they have the latest series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Peter Jackson’s entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, but they also have his Hobbit films. This should keep you busy for a long time. Of the six films, Return of the King may have the best action, though it’s in close competition with two.

House of Gucci (2021)

• Adam Driver and Lady Gaga at House of Gucci Image by MGM
• Director: Ridley Scott Run Time: 158 Minutes | Genre: Biographical Crime Drama

• Cast: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino

If you are looking for a straight biographical film, House of Gucci is probably not for you. Well, sure, the Ridley Scott film follows the romance between Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci and shows how it rocked the iconic fashion brand the film is named after. . But the real fun of watching House of Gucci lies in the performances of its star-studded cast. From Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani to Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci, there are so many great and campy characters that bring so much energy to this film. Although the film received fairly poor reviews, it managed to find fans who consider it a misunderstood camp classic. – Remus Noronha

• Watch Prime Video

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

• The-Wolf-of-Wall-Street-Leonardo-DiCaprio
• Director: Martin Scorsese | Run Time: 179 Minutes | Genre: Crime Comedy Drama

• Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, and Christine Miliotti

You know there are tons of movies about the dark side of fame and money, usually featuring rock stars, actors, or entrepreneurs. Well, Jordan Belfort is one kind of entrepreneur. The Wolf of Wall Street is a biopic based on Belfort’s 2007 memoir of the same name. It’s also a crazy ride filled with drugs, corruption, and ridiculous antics. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort and Jonah Hill as his right-hand man and business partner, Donny Azov. The film chronicles Belfort’s rise and fall as Wall Street’s most ruthless stockbroker, using every dirty trick in the book and inventing a few new ones along the way. – Remus Noronha

• Watch Prime Video

No Time to Die (2021)

• No Time by Daniel Craig Image by MGM.
• Director: Kari Joji Fukunaga | Run Time: 163 Minutes | Genre: Detective Action Drama

• Cast: Daniel Craig, Jeffrey Wright, Rami Malik, Lashana Lynch, Anna D’Armas

The final installment of Daniel Craig’s run of James Bond films, No Time to Die isn’t the best Bond film of all time. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a great movie, it’s just that it has really strong competition. While all of Craig’s films are known for their emotional narratives, No Time to Die is a veritable roller coaster of emotions that culminates in a bittersweet ending with some healing. And action! The film is quite action packed, including some really well choreographed chase sequences. Rami Malik’s villainous role is kind of disappointing given the actor’s talent, but the film is still a must-see for any 007 fan. – Remus Noronha

• Watch Prime Video

Emergency (2022)

• emergency-rj-cyler-sebastian-chacon-donald-watkins-features-image via Prime Video
• Director: Kerry Williams | Run Time: 105 Minutes | Genre: Satirical Comedy Drama
• Cast: RJ Siler, Donald Ellis Watkins, Sebastian Chacon, Sabrina Carpenter

At its most superficial level, Emergency is a classic college comedy about three friends having a wild night. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find a fascinating satire about the world’s justice system for young people of color and the anxieties the judgment creates among its victims. Shawn, Conley, and Carlos are just normal college students who just want to party with the goal of hitting seven frat parties in one night. Unfortunately, their night is derailed when they find an unconscious (and young) white woman at Carlos’ house. Now, the smart thing to do would be to call the police but unfortunately, being men of color, the three friends are more worried about how the cops will perceive the whole incident. And so begins a crazy adventure with an escalating series of painful events. It is a piece of satire with excellent performances and a very relevant story in our times. – Remus Noronha

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A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

• A Quiet-Place-Part-2-Social-Exclusive Photo by Paramount Pictures
• Director: John Krasinski Run Time: 97 Minutes | Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Horror Thriller

• Cast: Cillian Murphy, Emily Bunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Djimon Hounsou

2018’s A Quiet Place is considered one of the most unique horror films of the last decade so you can guess when we say that the film’s 2021 sequel A Quiet Place II is probably even better. The post-apocalyptic film picks up where the first film left off and expands the world of the franchise in exciting new ways. Emily Blunt, Millionaire Simmonds, and Noah Jupp return as the Abbott family, with Digimon Honsu and Cillian Murphy entering the world as exciting new characters. Blunt and Simmonds are once again brilliant as the mother-daughter duo and Murphy’s performance shows exactly why they are one of the best actors working in the industry right now.

Neon Demon (2016)

• Neon Demon Image by Gaumont and Wild Bunch
• Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Run Time: 117 Minutes | Genre: Horror Thriller

• Cast: Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Abbey Lee, Jenna Malone, Bella Heathcote

Nicholas Winding Refn sure knows how to make a divisive movie. Like Only God Forgives before it, Refn’s Neon Demon was panned at Cannes and met with backlash from critics and moviegoers alike. This is not too surprising. It’s frank and funny, and seemingly dedicated to making the audience uncomfortable as often as possible. It’s also stunningly beautiful, but leave it to Refn to make a shallow film about the perils of being shallow. Elle Fanning stars as Jessie, a manipulative young monster who has “that thing” that everyone wants, and she knows it. Quickly climbing the ranks of the fashion industry, Jessie believes in her hype and goes full narcissism, drawing the ire of three seasoned industry professionals who envy her youth, effortless beauty and instant success. . Along the way, the mess gets really crazy.

Neon Demons has got beautiful women covered in blood, gorgeous Technicolor visions of cannibalism and narcissism, and a lot of necrophilia. Likewise, it’s a stunning visual marvel and it never abandons character in favor of shock, it embeds them in each other. Neon Demon may not have much to say, but what it does, it says beautifully. — Haley Fouch

• Watch Prime Video

The Lost City of Z (2016)

• Lost-City-of-Charlie-Hunming-Robert-Patinson-image via Amazon Studio
• Director: James Gray | Run Time: 140 Minutes Genre: Adventure Drama

• Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Sienna Miller

James Gray is often called a throwback director, but The Lost City of Z is the furthest he has lobbied into the great past of cinema. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) is a disaffected military man who can’t get promoted because of his “poor choice of relatives,” but then catches the world’s attention when he discovers an ancient civilization in the Amazon. which may predate the western world. It covers more than two decades of his life and Gray uses that time economically. It never feels like Z is pushing past important touchstones and stops short of explaining how World War I is a Western war, because we’re no more advanced than the Amazonian “savages” who Fawcett is constantly defending the British Empire. . Time as something as winding and cruel as the Amazon River.

There are arrows, the distribution of family bloodlines and their importance to both the Western world and the local tribes, there is fog, a badass Robert Pattinson and a runny nose exhortation by Hunnam. It is flawless and economical. The broader story puts him in the realm of thoughtful and immense profiles of greatness that David Lane used to create. But don’t think it’s not modern. Gray resonates with ideas that would have been revolutionary not only in 1905, but throughout much of Hollywood history. It’s about a small batch of white men who believe that their society and empire is built on false pride. And the pride of their social order not only looks down on the other cultures they enslave, it also starts world wars and keeps women in service to their fellow man – even society. Even at the cost of hiring an incompetent man who they think can carry his weight. . Just because of its high level. Gray may be making movies like he lived in the 1970s, but he’s making them better — for modern times — by taking the time to add meaning beneath the grand adventure. – Brian Formo

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Peterson (2016)

• Adam-Driver-Peterson Image via Bleecker Street
• Director: Jim Jarmusch | Run Time: 113 Minutes | Genre: Romantic Drama

• Starring: Adam Driver, Golshafat Farahani, Rizwan Manji, Barry Shabaka Henley, Chastain Harmon

Jim Jarmusch’s 2016 film is decidedly simple. Peterson follows a bus driver (Adam Driver) for a week in Peterson, New Jersey. He is named after the town he lives in and we follow him as he narrates to commuters, buys a Harley Quinn guitar for his girlfriend (Gol Shaft Farhani), along with his bulldog. Goes to his local pub at night and when he writes poetry at the beginning and in the middle of his shift. There are other things, of course, but Patterson is powerful and warm in his modesty, the way he slows everything down to tell Patterson’s poetic work in progress.

With perfect synchronicity from a meditative drone and a calm demeanor to the driver, Patterson is able to convey the most difficult task of an artist’s thought process as everything becomes still and elongated as he scribbles down his thoughts on a pad of paper. Is. It might not sound sensational, but it’s a hot cup of tea and Jarmusch playfully dips the bag while stirring it into the tea. As a picture of the relationship of famous artists – one that follows a strict routine.

Neon Demon (2016)

• Neon Demon Image by Gaumont and Wild Bunch
• Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Run Time: 117 Minutes | Genre: Horror Thriller

• Cast: Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Abbey Lee, Jenna Malone, Bella Heathcote

Nicholas Winding Refn sure knows how to make a divisive movie. Like Only God Forgives before it, Refn’s Neon Demon was panned at Cannes and met with backlash from critics and moviegoers alike. This is not too surprising. It’s frank and funny, and seemingly dedicated to making the audience uncomfortable as often as possible. It’s also stunningly beautiful, but leave it to Refn to make a shallow film about the perils of being shallow. Elle Fanning stars as Jessie, a manipulative young monster who has “that thing” that everyone wants, and she knows it. Quickly climbing the ranks of the fashion industry, Jessie believes in her hype and goes full narcissism, drawing the ire of three seasoned industry professionals who envy her youth, effortless beauty and instant success. . Along the way, the mess gets really crazy.

Neon Demons has got beautiful women covered in blood, gorgeous Technicolor visions of cannibalism and narcissism, and a lot of necrophilia. Likewise, it’s a stunning visual marvel and it never abandons character in favor of shock, it embeds them in each other. Neon Demon may not have much to say, but what it does, it says beautifully. — Haley Fouch

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The Lost City of Z (2016)

• Lost-City-of-Charlie-Hunming-Robert-Patinson-image via Amazon Studio
• Director: James Gray | Run Time: 140 Minutes Genre: Adventure Drama

• Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Sienna Miller

James Gray is often called a throwback director, but The Lost City of Z is the furthest he has lobbied into the great past of cinema. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) is a disaffected military man who can’t get promoted because of his “poor choice of relatives,” but then catches the world’s attention when he discovers an ancient civilization in the Amazon. which may predate the western world. It covers more than two decades of his life and Gray uses that time economically. It never feels like Z is pushing past important touchstones and stops short of explaining how World War I is a Western war, because we’re no more advanced than the Amazonian “savages” who Fawcett is constantly defending the British Empire. . Time as something as winding and cruel as the Amazon River.

There are arrows, the distribution of family bloodlines and their importance to both the Western world and the local tribes, there is fog, a badass Robert Pattinson and a runny nose exhortation by Hunnam. It is flawless and economical. The broader story puts him in the realm of thoughtful and immense profiles of greatness that David Lane used to create. But don’t think it’s not modern. Gray resonates with ideas that would have been revolutionary not only in 1905, but throughout much of Hollywood history. It’s about a small batch of white men who believe that their society and empire is built on false pride. And the pride of their social order not only looks down on the other cultures they enslave, it also starts world wars and keeps women in service to their fellow man – even society. Even at the cost of hiring an incompetent man who they think can carry his weight. . Just because of its high level. Gray may be making movies like he lived in the 1970s, but he’s making them better — for modern times — by taking the time to add meaning beneath the grand adventure. – Brian Formo

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Peterson (2016)

• Adam-Driver-Peterson Image via Bleecker Street
• Director: Jim Jarmusch | Run Time: 113 Minutes | Genre: Romantic Drama

• Starring: Adam Driver, Golshafat Farahani, Rizwan Manji, Barry Shabaka Henley, Chastain Harmon

Jim Jarmusch’s 2016 film is decidedly simple. Peterson follows a bus driver (Adam Driver) for a week in Peterson, New Jersey. He is named after the town he lives in and we follow him as he narrates to commuters, buys a Harley Quinn guitar for his girlfriend (Gol Shaft Farhani), along with his bulldog. Goes to his local pub at night and when he writes poetry at the beginning and in the middle of his shift. There are other things, of course, but Patterson is powerful and warm in his modesty, the way he slows everything down to tell Patterson’s poetic work in progress.

With perfect synchronicity from a meditative drone and a calm demeanor to the driver, Patterson is able to convey the most difficult task of an artist’s thought process as everything becomes still and elongated as he scribbles down his thoughts on a pad of paper. Is. It might not sound sensational, but it’s a hot cup of tea and Jarmusch playfully dips the bag while stirring it into the tea. As a picture of the relationship of famous artists – one that follows a strict routine.

Best Amazon Studios Original Movies, Rated

• BY
• Douglas Laman
• Updated on October 14, 2022.
• Sorry Justin Timberlake fan, ‘Wonder Wheel’ didn’t make this list.

• amazon-best-originals-ranked

While Netflix may be the most prominent name in the modern pop culture scene when it comes to original streaming movies, Amazon Studios has also managed to leave an impressive mark when it comes to its contributions to cinema. While recent years have seen Amazon Studios expand its output to include more mainstream-friendly fare like Tomorrow’s War, most Amazon films feature films from Todd Haynes to Richard Linklater to Asghar Farhadi. Challenging artists’ art house fares.

Going this route means that Amazon hasn’t always delivered the kind of widely-watched movies that a certain Borat post-movie has, but it already has an impressive library of features as a result. which push the boundaries of cinematic storytelling as often as they challenge those who watch them. Amazon Studios’ eleven best releases, ranked from “worst” to best below, exemplify the unique creative energy of this streamer’s output that makes them unlike any other major platform in the ongoing streaming wars. . This was evident from the start, as seen by Amazon’s opening original film and the first title on this list.This list was updated in October 2022 to include Uncle Frank.

• Related:
• The best movies on Amazon Prime Video right now.

12. Chi-Raq (2015)

• chi-raq Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-raq’; Image via Amazon Studios
• Running Time: 2 Hours 7 Minutes | Genre: Musical Crime Comedy | Director: Spike Lee

• Cast: Nick Cannon, Wesley Snipes, Teona Paris, Jennifer Hudson

Is Spike Lee’s 2015 film Chi-Raq (Amazon Studios’ first release) dirty? Indeed. But it’s also a deeply ambitious work, starting with the fact that all the dialogue is told in a rhyming scheme. It’s a bold choice, emblematic of Lee’s broader swings in the project, which oozes with frustration at the ongoing societal woes that disproportionately affect America’s black population. The ancient story of Lystrata proved to be an excellent basis for setting a modern Spike Lee film around. The production is further enhanced by a star-studded lead turn by Tina Paris, who consistently fills the screen with charming charisma. Warts, like an odd supporting turn from John Cusack, and all, Chi-Raq embodies the passion that makes Spike Lee such an interesting filmmaker.

• Watch Prime Video

11. Uncle Frank (2020)

• Uncle Frank 2020
• Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes Genre: Comedy Drama | Director: Alan Ball

• Cast: Paul Bettany, Sophia Lillis, Peter Makdessi, Judy Greer

Uncle Frank is a beautiful — and often hilarious — coming-of-age story about a closeted gay man (Paul Bettany) who takes a road trip from New York to South Carolina with his 18-year-old niece Beth (Sophia Lillis). A family funeral. When his partner Wally (Peter Makdisi), with whom he has been secretly living for a decade, unexpectedly joins them on the road, secrets are revealed, and complications arise. Set in the 70s, Uncle Frank is a story of acceptance, forgiveness and growing up. As with most of Alan Ball’s work, the family dynamics are excellent and relatable, making for an impressive and entertaining watch. – Taylor Gates

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10. A Child Nation (2019)

• Running time: 1 hour 29 minutes Genre: Documentary | Director: Nanfu Wang, Jeling Zhang

For the documentary One Child Nation, Nanfu Wang (who co-directed the project with Jeling Zhang) tackles China’s former policy of limiting families to just one child. This includes a trip back to her native China, where Wang, now a mother herself, confronts and tells the stories of those who were directly affected by the one-child policy. These individuals range from those who have lost children to those who are concerned about how they were assigned (and handled) the removal and abandonment of children. Wang’s presence in One Child Nation has a deeply vulnerable and personal quality, which extends to how she recalls blindly supporting the policy and the leaders who implemented it. The propaganda that once shaped Wang’s vision of his homeland is now sweeping the horrific effects of the one-child policy into the modern world. The excellent feature One Child Nation sheds light on these lives and hardships, drawing an interesting parallel between China’s one-child policy and America’s restrictions on abortion that have warned Western audiences that women’s autonomy But the restrictions are not limited to China.

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9. The Master (2022)

• master-regina-hall-1
• Run Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes | Genre: Psychological Horror Thriller | Director: Mariama Diallo

• Cast: Regina Hall, Zoe Rainey, Amber Grey, Molly Barnard

• One of the most exciting yet fascinating films to come out of the recent Sundance Film Festival, Master is a horror about the organized forces of hate.

Time (2020)

• Time Documentary by Amazon Studios
• Runtime: 1 Hour 21 Minutes | Genre: Documentary | Director: Garrett Bradley

Every second counts. That’s the phrase that sticks in Sybil Fox Richardson’s mind as she works day and night to free her husband, Rob, from 60 years in prison. Between watching footage of Sybil dutifully working to accomplish this mission, director Garrett Bradley shows Rob playing with his kids, paying attention to Sybil, and just being a normal human being. Filled the screen with video footage. Documentary Time is an important work to rehabilitate the humanity that America’s prison industrial complex confines to dead bodies in cells. The piece’s raw emotion and careful direction from Bradley make this project as compelling as it is fascinating.

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4. Peterson (2016)

• Adam Driver in Paterson
• Running time: 1 hour 58 minutes Genre: Drama | Director: Jim Jarmusch

• Cast: Adam Driver, Golshafat Farahani, Barry Shabaka Henley, Cliff Smith

Jim Jarmusch’s relaxed filmmaking style is in rare form here in capturing the daily life of a bus driver in New Jersey. Patterson gradually introduces the audience to a variety of fun people (and an adorable bulldog), all told through the eyes of the titular protagonist, Adam Driver. Come for Jarmusch’s signature brand of leisurely observational direction, stay for Driver’s thoughtful performance that conveys so much emotion through subdued line delivery and body language. Through the work of artists like him, Patterson becomes another Jarmusch gem who urges the viewer to recognize how important the mundane parts of primitive existence are.

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3. One Night in Miami… (2020)

• Image courtesy of Amazon Studios in Miami at Night
• Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes Genre: Drama | Director: Regina King

• Cast: Kingsley Ben Adair, Eli Gorey, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.

One Night in Miami… is Regina King’s directorial debut, and she certainly brings this Camp Powers stage and screenplay to life with a deep respect for these real-life figures. The film is a fictionalized account of a real-life, secret meeting between boxing champion Cassius Clay (Eli Gorrie) when he meets his faith icon Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben Adair), singer-songwriter and record producer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr. ) is wrestling with. . .), and star NFL running back Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge). Each character has their own demons to deal with and they slowly open up to each other. They fight as they argue that instead of just being successful without giving back to the community, the black community needs to be role models. The influence of racism on these influential figures is felt throughout the film. It’s a deeply moving film that features these larger-than-life figures first as people and later as legends. Despite being shot in a closed-room style that evokes drama, One Night in Miami… doesn’t feel like many other stage-to-screen adaptations from its origins. The denouement is incredibly heartbreaking and moving. With unforgettable performances from the main cast and brilliant direction, One Night in Miami… is an amazing, unforgettable experience. – Monita Mohan

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2. I’m not your Negro.

• I’m not your nigger.
• Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes Genre: Documentary | Director: Raul Peck

How fitting that a great American author, James Baldwin, would receive such a wonderful documentary about his life. I Am Not Your Negro uses Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript as a springboard to explore relevant themes connected to the black American experience. . These include the “heroes” in American cinema as well as the socially embedded forces that keep black people down in society.

The narrator, Samuel L. Jackson, reads Baldwin’s words aloud, addressing these themes not only to make the reader appreciate the man’s gift with the written word, but also to see how his worldview first appeared. is more urgently needed. A retrospective look at Baldwin’s life would have made for a great documentary. But director Raoul Peck goes the extra mile with I’m Not Your Negro in blending past and present to illustrate Baldwin’s eternally relevant nature.

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1. You Were Never Really Here (2018)

• Were-you-really-ever-here-Joaquin-Phoenix-Social.
• Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes Genre: Neo-Noir Crime Psychological Thriller | Director: Len Ramsay

• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, Ekaterina Samsonov

Lynne Ramsey has never shied away from taking a terrifying journey into a damaged psyche through masterpieces like Ratcatcher or We Need to Talk About Kevin. For You Were Never Really Here, Ramsay takes this thematic form to exciting new places. In a transfixing tonal balance only a filmmaker can assure, You Were Never Really Here is simultaneously Ramsey’s darkest film yet.

The best documentaries on Prime Video.

• BY
• Sarah Fielding
• Updated 1 day ago.
• Looking for a true story? Settle in now with the best documentaries on Prime Video.

Best documentaries Prime Video

There’s something really fascinating about watching a true story play out in front of you. Unlike a fictional narrative, documentaries don’t have clean endings, there’s no guarantee of what’s going to happen. In summary: they feel like a more accurate representation of what the world is capable of, good and evil, nurture and abandonment. Often a documentary provides a way to dive deeper into a story that hasn’t been fully explored before, perhaps to answer long-held questions once and for all.

• As Prime Video continues to compete with Netflix to deliver compelling offerings to its viewers, its growing documentary selection reflects that. Here we feature some of the best documentaries on the platform, with options for all interest groups, from casual true crime to the search for a long-forgotten band to girl power.

• For more documentary recommendations, check out our list of the best true crime series on HBO or Netflix.

• Editor’s note: This article was updated on December 2022 to include the Goodnight OP.

• Related:
• The best movies on Amazon Prime Video right now.

Lucy and Desi (2022)

• Lucy-and-Desi-Lucille-Ball-Desi-Arnaz-Social-Features Image via Prime Video
• Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes Director: Amy Poehler

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Capturing the highs and lows of Lucy and Desi’s life is a documentary carefully crafted by Amy Poehler. From their early days as a new couple in Hollywood to the height of I Love Lucy and the crazy end of their lives, the documentary is an honest look at one of TV’s favorite couples. From their own personal struggles to the struggles they faced in the industry, especially as Cubans living in America, Desi, Lucy and Desi never lean toward sensationalism or melodramatics, instead they portray Dr. rely on the star power of their subjects to propel With live audio clips from Lucy and Desi, it’s an intimate look into their lives, humanizing them beyond their television personas. For lovers of lassi and desi, this is not to be missed. – Therese Lexon

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Good Night OP (2022)

• Goodnight oppyImage via Prime Video
• Run Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes | Director: Ryan White

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) narrates Goodnight Opie, Ryan White’s documentary that reveals an incredible true story of strength, intelligence and faith. Goodnight OP spends time with NASA engineers and scientists as they build the fascinating exploration rover named Opportunity, which is sent on a three-month mission to Mars, only to survive for 15 years. Featuring interviews with NASA employees as well as footage from the original mission, Goodnight OP dives into the far reaches of our solar system with an uplifting message and exciting adventures. — Yale Tighell

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Dyer and I (2014)

• Dyer and me
• Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes Director: Frederick Cheng

Following the creation of Raf Simons’ first haute couture collection as the new artistic director at the iconic brand, Dior and I reveal the challenges and triumphs of working in the glamorous, high-pressure world of high fashion. In addition to giving us an exclusive look at the truly fascinating designs, the documentary allows us to meet the people who make it all possible. Runway fans are sure to be instantly captivated by the portrait of Simons and his team, as well as insight into the traditions of this unique business. – Taylor Gates

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Flight/Peril (2022)

• Flight/Danger Documentary Poster Planes That Make Money Image via Prime Video
• Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes Director: Karim Aamir, Umar Malik

Flight/Danger is a devastating yet important film about a group of everyday people who find themselves caught up in tragedy after two Boeing 737 Max planes crash in 2018 and 2019. The documentary features multiple perspectives, including the victims’ families, their lawyers, and the brave journalists who covered the crash. The film exposes how corporations try to avoid responsibility for their negligence and dangerous practices and pays tribute to those who refuse to let them off the hook. – Taylor Gates

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Sour Grapes (2016)

• Sour Grapes photo by Dogwoof, London
• Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes | Director: Ruben Atlas, Jerry Rothwell

Sour Grapes is a fascinating documentary about the unexpectedly seedy world of fine wine by Ruben Atlas and Jerry Rothwell. The documentary opens in auction markets where rare spirits are sold before focusing on a single criminal mastermind who found his way into these exclusive communities of wine collectors. Sour Grapes uncovers a forger who defrauded top auction houses and tampered with wine stocks.

Generation Wealth (2018)

• Photo via Sundance Institute
• Running time: 1 hour 46 minutes Director: Lauren Greenfield

Generation Wealth had the prestigious honor of being the opening night documentary at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival – and for good reason. It explores an age-old question we all still struggle to answer: Can money buy happiness? The general consensus is of course not, but it’s more complicated than that, and this documentary shows it. Behind all the glitz and glamour, there is a dark, gloomy tone that pervades. Come for the luxury – designer clothes, mansions, and jets – and stay for the fascinating character studies of the world’s super-wealthy. – Taylor Gates

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Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

• dear-zachary-documentaryImage via MSNBC Films
• Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes Director: Kurt Cohn

A heart-wrenching story of a man’s son trying to find out who his father was after he was brutally murdered. Filmmaker Kurt Coyne documents the life of his best friend Andrew Bagby after his murder, trying to piece together the clues that lead to his death while also celebrating Andrew’s life. Beloved Zachary is beloved in the true crime documentary community for being honest, heartwarming, outrageous and devastating. Coen chronicled Andrew’s life in a way that only a best friend could, and the documentary eventually led a lawmaker to introduce “Zachary’s Bill” in Canada’s parliament, guaranteeing children’s rights. Assists with defense in hearings and custody disputes. For those interested in true crime, this one is not to be missed. Available through Amazon Prime subscription. – Therese Lexon

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Lorena (2019)

• lorena-bobbitt-documentaryImage via Amazon Prime Video
• Running time: 1 hour 28 minutes Director: Joshua Ruffey

Lorena recounts an absolutely shocking story of the 1993 attack. This four-part documentary follows the lives of Lorena and John Bobbitt. Lorena was arrested after she cut off her husband John’s penis. Lorena accused John of domestic violence and marital rape, and, not surprisingly, the story was quickly picked up by the news media. Directed by Joshua Ruffey, Lorena investigates the case and the media storm that turned the story into the butt of many jokes. The documentaries use archival footage to shed light on the scandalous coverage of the case and can leave you feeling both frustrated and enlightened. – Therese Lexon

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The Imposter (2012)

The-poster-documentaryImage via Picturehouse

Run Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes | Director: Bart Layton

How does a 20-year-old criminal fool an entire family into thinking he is their missing 13-year-old son? Bart Leighton documented the compelling 1997 case of Frederick Borden in The Impostor. The Imposter begins as a story about Nicholas Barclay’s missing person case, but it soon dives into Bourdain’s life as a man, showing how he targets the weaknesses of families and He was able to play on their frustration with his manipulation. Layton’s documentary is a fascinating piece of work as he not only talks to Barkley’s family, but to Borden himself about how he managed to pull it all off.

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Stories We Tell (2012)

• Stories – We Tell – Through Mongrail Media
• Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes Director: Sarah Polley

Sarah Polley One of the best documentaries of the 2010s is The Stories We Tell. The film is autobiographical as Polly explores the secrets of her own family and examines her parents in all their complex humanity. It’s a wonderful work of memory and memory with some wonderfully creative ways to unravel the story of your parents. It’s clearly not an easy story for Polly, but she perseveres with daughter’s love and bravery in the eyes of the filmmaker. The only downside to the film is that after you finish, you’ll wish Polly would stick to documentaries because she’s clearly a master of the format. – Matt Goldberg

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Vale (2021)

• val-document-social image via Amazon
• Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes Director: Leo Scott and Ting Po

What if you dedicated your life to acting and then illness took it away from you? What will you be left with? Will it just be your job or do you want to keep creating no matter what? That’s the beautiful question at the heart of Val Kilmer’s beautiful documentary. Although the documentary explores Kilmer’s most notable cinematic work thanks to the wealth of video footage Kilmer has worked on over the years, including Top Gun, Batman Forever, The Doors, and more, the film The heart is where Kilmer is now after his work. Voice damaged by throat cancer. Rather than a simple story of perseverance, we get Kilmer’s own words through videos and narration provided by his son Jack Kilmer, who looks a lot like his father. Val is a unique take on an actor who never aspired to film stardom, but instead sought artistic expression and how that expression came about.

• The 35 Best Documentaries of 2010
• BY
• Chris Cabin
• Published on August 3, 2017.
• From ‘Bridging the Gap’ to O.J. to Made in America, this decade has given us some incredible nonfiction.

• I’m-not-your-negro piece.
• Austrian filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, who died in the summer of 2018 at the age of 93, once said that archival images are inherently flawed because they lack imagination and, by extension, But, leech the power of movies made from these images. And stimulate thought. In his view, the attempt to reframe experience into a historical event is a surrender to the pre-existing structures of the past, a strategic withdrawal from the realities of time and the challenges of memory. To accept an image created by someone else is also to accept the framing of the narrative that the photographer or cinematographer is creating in it, and this comes with more than one moral and artistic concession.

• It is unclear whether Lanzmann was fully aware of how widespread and fanatical image manipulation would become in the 2010s, but it is clear that he saw the dangers in believing that clear images of the past and Narratives will never be deleted or changed. As the Obama era gave way to the Trump years, image litigation and the practice of image-making have become an important social activity, primarily online but with real-world implications. On Snapchat, you can give yourself big glowing eyes, add reflections, and smooth sane features to represent yourself. Bursts of 120 or 280 characters along with images, memes, gifs, and short video create a model of personality for the public to ignore, condemn, embrace, and celebrate on Twitter. None of this is necessarily new, but it has increased dramatically in intensity and scope. What exactly is documentary, a film style largely misunderstood as being associated with telling the truth, what must be done to preserve it?

• The best documentaries of the 2010s, including those that contradict Lanzmann’s findings, not only question the concrete meaning of a given image or audio fragment, but also debunk that idea. That the messiness of life can be experienced first hand. In any honest way through the traditional narrative above. Ezra Edelman’s O.J. – Made in America refuses to either portray East James Simpson as a victim or allow for a sincere portrayal of a unique monster. They are both and people. Amid anti-Russia hysteria and the rampant demonization of left-wing or third-party candidates, Adam Curtis’s hypernormalization offers a far more chilling and persuasive argument for the rise of President Donald Trump, rooted in an ideology of government. Is. And the ruling class is needed. Control and reinforce old, wildly inaccurate narratives of America and its citizens. Even documentaries made entirely of archival footage, such as Let the Fire Burn and The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu, are reviving and denouncing what they see as poor, half-blind images of the past. See as How to structure statements as fair and polite presentations.

• The best documentaries of 2010 are also the most dubious whether or not this fact is worn on the film’s sleeve, and that’s what I looked for when compiling this list of the 35 best documentaries of the 2010s. . In the interest of complete transparency, I’ve given myself a few ground rules for making this list, which basically include no more than two films by any director and each film that has been released to the masses on the big screen. Showing up included. There must be evidence. The point was to show a level of diversity in both style and approach and distributor, and to avoid making half of my top ten from the work of Frederick Wiseman, the best American filmmaker of all time. Pick up a camera is the most influential documentary director. At 89, Wiseman represents the elevation of the cinematic form as a genre or style beyond the confines of documentary, even if he has Sandy Tan’s Miracle Shirkers or Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of The Method of kill makes no claim to innovation. Wiseman the Artist, as many films as can be found below, has come to represent a history that nevertheless neatly sums up the arc of the 2010s: what’s old is new again.

• 35. Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
• The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
• Much of the recent discussion of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk revolves around the visual power of the film to be imagined, whether in 70mm prints or in IMAX. It’s hard to argue, but Nolan’s bloodless technical exercises bear no resemblance to Andre Ujica’s cumbersome assemblage of footage of the wildly corrupt ex-Romanian president of the title. Seeing the grand exhibitions in his honor, the grand house of the legislature and even his intimate meetings.

• 7. Dead souls
• Dead Souls Image by Icarus Films
• At nearly 500 minutes, Wang Bing’s mesmerizing Dead Souls deserves to stand tall among the great long watches of the 2010s. It has as much to do with the ethical use of this extended time as it does with the serious stakes of its subject – the survivors of re-education camps in China’s Gobi Desert, which were run by Chairman Mao in the 1950s. were established by to purge the rightists from society. . . Beyond the lavish, engaging interviews, the director takes a note from one of his predecessors, the late Claude Lanzmann, and constantly looks at Gansu’s scenes of campuses as he relies on archival footage or still images. Instead of doing, look today. As he relies on the incomplete memories of ex-prisoners to recount the mass deaths from the plague of starvation in the camps and the disintegrated lives of many returning prisoners, Bing explores present-day Gansu and its inhabitants. uses seemingly calm long shots of Explain that campaigns to erase any physical evidence of the camps also seek to deny a history of political horrors that have never been fully atoned for in any concrete way. If the director’s more scholarly formal leanings risk turning it all into a medicated political exercise in remembering, he manages to find something muddled and deeply sympathetic in his lengthy interviews, to explore the personalities that remain. Sorts out the ashes of painful experiences. As Uyghurs and Kazakhs are currently being herded into labor camps in Xinjiang, decades after the camps in Gansu were closed, it is a testament to the important, irresponsible role of memory in retelling the history of history that the souls of the dead. become more important. shirkers Image via Netflix
• Consolation prizes aren’t that bad. Had Shirkers’ original version, Sandy Tan’s lost experimental crime caper, been released in any form, it would likely live on as a lo-fi masterpiece in the corners of cinephilia. Sadly, that never happened. What was left of the film, which was stolen and hidden for years by Tan’s crazy creative partner, has now become something bigger and more fascinating in the form of this sensational documentary, which shows Tan reliving his life. Remembers the long and bumpy road to claim. The original work of an old white man who apparently celebrated the artistic confidence in others that he himself lacked. Much like the zine culture that fueled Tan’s writing and directing passion, the film navigates a blur of visually chaotic excitement and creative control, one of emotional reckoning, obscure memories, and relentless imagination. The explosion cuts together. In its own way, it serves as a natural mirror image for Orson Welles’s voluptuous The Other Side of the Wind, one of the great cinematic resurrections of the decade, but for better or worse, the chains of a formidable artistic legacy. is independent of

5. O.J. Made in the USA.

• oj-simpson-made-in-americaImage via ESPN
• Even when parsing the darkest parts of O.J. Simpson’s life in the sprawling O.J. Made in America, director Ezra Edelman is also careful to point out how innovative and ground-breaking The Simpsons was in terms of marketing and presenting itself as a quintessential All-American. Here was a man who starred in movies, appeared on TV and in a famous Hertz ad campaign, worked as a sports commentator before hitting the daily news cycle as an accused murderer. He was good for all time zones, and yet there’s a constant, eerie feeling in the series that his own idiosyncrasies, personal turmoil, and denial of belonging to his race and the black community made him so controlling. Vala became so fiercely protective of his image. Or was he just an egotistical monster?

• In a way, Edelman’s vision of the oriental James Simpson is a classic story of oppression, in which a master image-maker seizes his facade, lashes out and finally breaks as a result. The breadth of what O.J.: Made in America covers, however, makes it clear that the sentiments affecting Simpson were not unique to him, and diffused across the sports realm or, for that matter, America as a whole. Didn’t happen.

• 4. The act of murder
• The act of murder
• Whenever you plan to watch this true, horrifying account of the military-led genocide of alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and any and all intellectuals in Indonesia in the mid-60s, take a day off. intend to Joshua Oppenheimer’s radical, wholly singular feature not only summons the horrific terror of the time but also meets the living men who were responsible for the firing squads that led the genocide, called He goes to film Oppenheimer to recreate his actions in his own style. Then in the film’s final moments there is something like violent psychosis, rampant self-abnegation, pop culture anxiety, and finally the awakening of Oppenheimer,

• 7. Dead souls
• Dead Souls Image by Icarus Films
• At nearly 500 minutes, Wang Bing’s mesmerizing Dead Souls deserves to stand tall among the great long watches of the 2010s. It has as much to do with the ethical use of this extended time as it does with the serious stakes of its subject—the survivors of the re-education camps in China’s Gobi Desert, which Chairman Mao established in the 1950s. turned on. They were established to purge the righteous from the society. . . Beyond lavish, engaging interviews, the director takes a note from his predecessor, the late Claude Lenzmann, and constantly revisits Gansu’s campus scenes as he relies on archival footage or still images. Look today instead. As he relies on the incomplete memories of ex-prisoners to describe the mass deaths from the plague of starvation in the camps and the fragmented lives of many returning prisoners, Bing portrays present-day Gansu and its inhabitants. Explores. Uses seemingly calm long shots to explain that the campaign to erase any physical evidence of the camps also seeks to deny a history of political horrors that have never been fully atoned for in any concrete way. If the director’s more scholarly formal leanings risk turning Remembering It All into a medicated political exercise, he manages to find some nuance and deep empathy in his lengthy interviews, so that the figures that remain remain. can find Sorts out the ashes of painful experiences. As Uyghurs and Kazakhs are currently being herded into labor camps in Xinjiang, decades after the camps in Gansu were closed, it is a testament to the important, irresponsible role of memory in rewriting history that the dead The spirits of be more important. . .

6. Polytheists

• Shirkers photo via Netflix
• Consolation prizes aren’t that bad. Had Shirkers’ original version, Sandy Tan’s lost experimental crime caper, been released in any form, it would likely live on as a lo-fi masterpiece in the corners of cinephilia. Alas, that never happened. What was left of the film, which was stolen and hidden for years by Tan’s crazy creative partner, has now become something bigger and more fascinating in the form of this sensational documentary, which shows Tan living his life. do Remembers the long and difficult road to claim. An original work by an older white man who apparently celebrated the artistic confidence in others that he himself lacked. Like the zine culture that fueled Tan’s writing and directing passion, the film navigates a blur of visual chaos and creative control, emotional reckoning, obscure memories and relentless imagination. The explosion cuts together. In its own way, it serves as a natural mirror image for Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind, one of the decade’s great cinematic revivals, but for better or worse, a formidable artistic legacy. There are chains. is independent of

5. O.J. Made in America.

• oj-simpson-made-in-americaImage via ESPN
• Even when parsing the darkest parts of O.J. Simpson’s life in the sprawling O.J. Made in America, director Ezra Edelman is also careful to point out how innovative and down-to-earth The Simpsons was in terms of marketing and presenting itself as a quintessential All-American. Here was a man who starred in movies, appeared on TV and in a famous Hertz ad campaign, worked as a sports commentator before hitting the daily news cycle as an accused murderer. He was good for all time zones, and yet there’s a constant, terrifying sense in the series that his own idiosyncrasies, personal turmoil, and refusal to belong to his race and the black community made him so controlling. Wala became a fierce protector of his image. Or was he just an egotistical monster?

• In a way, Edelman’s vision of an oriental James Simpson is a classic story of cruelty, with a master portraitist grabbing his face, whipping him and finally breaking as a result. O.J.: Made in America covers, however, making it clear that the sentiments that afflicted Simpson were not unique to him, and extended to the realm of sports or, for that matter, America as a whole. It didn’t happen.

• Whenever you plan to watch this true, horrific account of the military-led genocide of alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and any and all intellectuals in Indonesia in the mid-60s, take a day off. . Joshua Oppenheimer’s radical, utterly singular feature not only invokes the horrors of the time, but also meets the living men who were responsible for the firing squads that led the genocide, called He Goes. to Film is Oppenheimer to recreate his actions in his own style. . Then in the final moments of the film there is something like violent psychosis, rampant self-destruction, pop culture anxiety, and finally Oppenheimer’s awakening.

7. Dead souls

Dead Souls Image by Icarus Films

• At nearly 500 minutes, Wang Bing’s mesmerizing Dead Souls deserves to stand tall among the great long watches of the 2010s. It has as much to do with the ethical use of this extended time as it does with the dire stakes of its subject—the survivors of re-education camps in China’s Gobi desert that Chairman Mao established in the 1950s. had done I had set it on. They were established to purge the righteous from society. . . In addition to lavish, engaging interviews, the director takes a note from his predecessor, the late Claude Lenzmann, and constantly revisits Gansu’s campus scenes as he relies on archival footage or still images. Look today instead. As he relies on the incomplete memories of ex-prisoners to describe the mass deaths from starvation and plague in the camps and the fragmented lives of many returning prisoners, Bing draws on present-day Gansu and its Describes the inhabitants of shows Explore uses seemingly calm long shots to illustrate that the campaign to erase any physical evidence of the camps also attempts to deny a history of political horrors that have never been fully atoned for in any concrete way. was given . If the director’s more scholarly formal leanings threaten to turn all this remembering into a medicated political exercise, he manages to find some substance and deep empathy in his lengthy interviews, so that the data remains. Can explore the ashes of painful experiences. As Uyghurs and Kazakhs are now herded into labor camps in Xinjiang, decades after the camps in Gansu were closed, it is a testament to the important, irresponsible role of memory in rewriting history that the spirits of the dead . are more important. . .

 Polytheists

• Shirkers photo via Netflix
• Consolation prizes aren’t that bad. Had Shirkers’ original version, Sandy Tan’s lost experimental crime caper, been released in any form, it would likely live on as a lo-fi masterpiece in the corners of cinephilia. Alas, that never happened. What was stolen and hidden in the film by Tan’s crazy creative partner, has now become something bigger and more fascinating in the form of this sensational documentary, which shows Tan living his life. . Remember the long and difficult path to making a claim. An original work by an older white man who apparently celebrated an artistic confidence in others that he himself lacked. Like the zine culture that fueled Tan’s writing and directing passion, the film navigates the blurring of visual chaos and creative control, emotional reckoning, obscure memories and relentless imagination. The explosion cuts together. In its own way, it serves as a natural mirror image for Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind, one of the great cinematic revivals of the decade, but for better or worse, a formidable artistic legacy. Is. There are chains. is independent of

• 5. O.J. Made in America.
• oj-simpson-made-in-americaImage via ESPN
• Even when parsing the darkest parts of O.J. Simpson’s life in the sprawling O.J. Made in America, director Ezra Edelman is also careful to point out how innovative The Simpsons was in terms of marketing and presenting itself as a quintessential All-American. Here was a man who starred in movies, appeared on TV and in a famous Hertz ad campaign, worked as a sports commentator before hitting the daily news cycle as an accused murderer. He was good for all time zones, and yet there’s a constant, nagging sense throughout the series that his own idiosyncrasies, personal turmoil, and refusal to belong to his race and the black community made him so controlling. Is. . Wala became a fierce protector of his image. Or was he just an egotistical monster?

• In a way, Edelman’s vision of East James Simpson is a classic tale of cruelty, in which a master portraitist grabs his face, whips him and finally breaks as a result. The O.J.: Made in America cover, however, makes it clear that the sentiments affecting Simpson were not unique to him, and extended to sports or, for that matter, America as a whole. It didn’t happen.

The act of killing

• The act of killing
• Whenever you plan to watch this true, horrific account of the military-led genocide of alleged communists, ethnic Chinese, and any and all intellectuals in Indonesia in the mid-60s, take a day off. . . . Joshua Oppenheimer’s radical, singular feature not only invokes the horrors of the time, but also meets the living men who were responsible for the firing squads that led the genocide, called He Goes. For the film, Oppenheimer is recreating the action in his own style. . Then there’s the film’s final moments of violent psychosis, self-destruction, pop culture anxiety, and finally Oppenheimer’s awakening.