I have a hard time finding movies I’d actually want to watch on Amazon Prime’s home screen. The service seems to recommend the same handful of movies over and over again. And these recommendations tend to favor the service’s own Prime movies from the last few years, regardless of quality.
As such, I decided to do a bit of a deep dive into what’s worth watching in the Amazon Prime film library as of right now.
In making this list, I found myself getting more excited to relearn about movies I’d heard about in the recent past. To that end, I only included movies that debuted in the 2010s. But know that Amazon Prime has many notable films from earlier.
Read on for the full list of 31 movies. You can watch all of their trailers below.
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In this drama, a Black man fights against gentrification in San Francisco. He wishes to return to the neighborhood in which he grew up, but the area has become too expensive. The life of actor Jimmie Fails, who has a lead role, inspired the script.
Runtime: 2 hours, 1 minute
Notable Cast: Jimmie Fails, Danny Glover and Jonathan Majors
“Midsommar” (2019)
In this horror movie, a woman finds herself trapped at a Swedish festival. This remote gathering occurs only once every 90 years. A pagan cult runs the festival and uses natural beauty to mask their intentions. Although the movie focuses on the cult-led horrors, the story also has a bad breakup subtext plot.
Ari Aster directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 2 hours, 27 minutes
Notable Cast: William Jackson Harper, Florence Pugh and Jack Reynor
“The Report” (2019)
In this drama based on real events, the Senate Intelligence Committee investigates the CIA’s use of torture. The investigation focuses on the CIA’s actions following 9/11. The name comes from the committee’s report on the abuse and the subsequent fallout.
Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Notable Cast: Annette Bening, Adam Driver, Ted Levine and Jon Hamm
“Knives Out” (2019)
In this mystery comedy, a rich crime novelist has a mysterious death at his 85th birthday party. His family members begin fighting over the inheritance, and a famed private eye comes in to investigate whether a murder occurred.
The movie earned one Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Rian Johnson directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Notable Cast: Toni Collette, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ana de Armas, Chris Evans, Don Johnson, Katherine Langford, Christopher Plummer, Michael Shannon and Lakeith Stanfield
“The Lighthouse” (2019)
In this psychological thriller, two lighthouse keepers live together on an isolated island in New England in the late 19th century. The conditions of the isolation drive both of them toward psychological distress. Although they must work together in the profession, they increasingly become adversarial.
The movie earned an Academy Award nomination for “Best Cinematography.”
Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes
Notable Cast: Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson
“Landline” (2017)
In this comedy, a family in the 1990s deals with various romantic troubles. The parents are drifting apart. The children don’t have their lives in order. They all might need to find answers to life’s desires outside of their familial unit.
Runtime: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Notable Cast: Jenny Slate, Edie Falco and John Turturro
“The Peanut Butter Falcon” (2019)
In this comedic drama, a young man with Down syndrome escapes his assisted living facility in North Carolina with the dream of attending a wrestling school. He hides on a boat that happens to belong to a crab thief on the run. The two become friends as they sail south and try to hide from their respective pursuers.
Runtime: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Notable Cast: Jon Bernthal, Thomas Haden Church, Bruce Dern, Zack Gottsagen, John Hawkes, Dakota Johnson and Shia LaBeouf
“Rocketman” (2019)
In this musical drama, the glamorized life of Elton John plays out through song and sparse dramatic dialogue. John leaves his middle-class life to pursue fame and ultimately gets tangled up in a lifestyle that almost destroys him. In the story, John keeps singing through the ups and downs, always attracting a crowd.
The movie earned one Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Runtime: 2 hours, 1 minute
Notable Cast: Jamie Bell, Taron Egerton, Bryce Dallas Howard and Richard Madden
“The Skeleton Twins” (2014)
In this comedic drama, a brother and sister reunite after they both attempt suicide. After surviving, they decide to live with each other in their New York hometown. The brother moves into the house of his sister and her husband. While the husband wants a kid, the sister is sleeping with her scuba instructor.
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Notable Cast: Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Luke Wilson
“Under the Silver Lake” (2018)
In this conspiracy comedy, a young man believes he has uncovered a secretive and powerful network and looks for hidden messages in Los Angeles to find out what’s really going on.
“Under the Silver Lake” earned a nomination for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Runtime: 2 hours, 19 minutes
Notable Cast: Andrew Garfield and Riley Keough
“Miss Sloane” (2016)
In this political thriller, a feared lobbyist faces a congressional hearing. Her work involving a gun manufacturer has led to possible ethics violations. The lobbyist must test her power against the power of the state.
Runtime: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Notable Cast: Jessica Chastain, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mark Strong
“The Cabin in the Woods” (2011)
In this horror satire, college students face a torrent of horror cliches while vacationing in a remote cabin. After various battles, the students learn that they’re part of an experiment. The film attempts to critique the genre of torture porn.
Drew Goddard directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Joss Whedon.
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Notable Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchinson
“Eighth Grade” (2018)
In this coming-of-age comedic drama, an eighth-grade girl plays an extrovert on her little-known vlog, but experiences shyness and anxiety in face-to-face interactions. She stumbles into some older friends who show her the exciting and scary possibilities of the coming high school experience.
Bo Burnham directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Notable Cast: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton and Emily Robinson
“Super 8” (2011)
In this coming-of-age monster movie, a group of kids in Ohio at the end of the 1970s accidentally film a train derailment that lets loose a mysterious creature. The kids don’t fully understand what they saw but can tell something’s off in their town over the following days. When the U.S. government comes to capture the creature, the kids get caught up in a decades-spanning conspiracy.
J.J. Abrams directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes
Notable Cast: Gabriel Basso, Kyle Chandler, Joel Courtney, Noah Emmerich and Elle Fanning
“Rango” (2011)
In this animated comedy, a pet chameleon gets stranded in Nevada’s Mojave Desert after falling out of his owner’s car. He must adapt to the harsh lifestyle of the desert, avoiding hawks and gunslinging snakes. While the chameleon wears a tropical shirt, the creatures he encounters still have a Wild West aesthetic, so he sticks out as an outsider.
The movie earned one Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Notable Cast: Abigail Breslin, Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher and Timothy Olyphant
“Jackass 3” (2010)
In this stunt comedy, the “Jackass” crew does various camera stunts, including hidden camera pranks, slapstick pain and acrobatic daredevil feats. This is the third movie in the “Jackass” series. A fourth movie has a scheduled 2021 debut.
The movie earned 12 Academy Awards and holds the record for most wins by a single movie. Just kidding. It won nothing and received no nominations.
Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Notable Cast: “Jackass” crew including Ryan Dunn, Johnny Knoxville, Wee Man, Bam Margera, Steve-O and Chris Pontius
In this action spy thriller, the Ethan Hunt character searches for missing plutonium. Because a separate mission went awry, a CIA agent monitors Hunt and his team. The team must try to do their task while internal leaders question their methods ― as in the past movies.
Runtime: 2 hours, 27 minutes
Notable Cast: Henry Cavill, Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames
“A Quiet Place” (2018)
In this sci-fi horror, a family tries to survive an apocalyptic environment. Blind monsters with strong hearing lurk everywhere. The family must stay as silent as possible to not attract these dangerous creatures.
The movie earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Editing.
John Krasinski directed and co-wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Notable Cast: Emily Blunt and John Krasinski
“Honey Boy” (2019)
In this biographical drama, Shia LaBeouf develops into one of the most famous actors of his generation while experiencing a turbulent relationship with his family.
“Honey Boy” won a Special Jury Prize: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival.
Shia LaBeouf wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Notable Cast: Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe, Shia LaBeouf and FKA Twigs
“Logan Lucky” (2017)
In this heist comedy, a family bands together to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The FBI catches on to the plan. The family decides to try to pull off the heist despite unfavorable circumstances. The added attention of a NASCAR race at the speedway will make success near impossible.
Steven Soderbergh directed.
Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes
Notable Cast: Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Riley Keough and Channing Tatum
“The Handmaiden” (2016)
In this psychological thriller, a Korean con man tries to steal a rich Japanese woman’s inheritance. The con man teams up with an orphaned pickpocket to carry out the plan. This story takes place in the 1930s, the time of Japanese colonial rule in Korea.
Park Chan-wook directed and co-wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Notable Cast: Cho Jin-woong, Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri
“Hereditary” (2018)
In this horror film, a family deals with the grief of losing a matriarch. They didn’t know much about the secretive life of this family member. Shortly after this death, the family realizes that something is haunting them. An investigation into the life of the matriarch leads to horrific details that may affect the descendants forever.
Ari Aster directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Notable Cast: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro and Alex Wolff
“True Grit” (2010)
In this Western, a young farm girl attempts to avenge the murder of her father. She hires an aging lawman to help track down the killer. The unlikely duo teams up with a Texas ranger who also wants to capture this man.
The movie earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture.
The Coen brothers directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Notable Cast: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld
“First Reformed” (2017)
In this drama, a parishioner persuades a dying priest that pollution-oriented companies are evil and the priest debates whether to make a grand, violent gesture to fight back against one such corporation.
“First Reformed” earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Paul Schrader directed and wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Notable Cast: Ethan Hawke, Cedric Kyles and Amanda Seyfried
“Blow the Man Down” (2019)
In this comedic thriller, a young woman kills a violent man in self defense, but then secretly disposes of the body with her sister, leading to a secret they struggle to keep in their small town.
“Blow the Man Down” won Best Screenplay at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Notable Cast: Sophie Lowe, Margo Martindale and Morgan Saylor
“You Were Never Really Here” (2017)
In this thriller, a politician hires a mercenary to find and save his kidnapped daughter. The mercenary has instructions to destroy the human trafficking network through violence. During the mission, the hired figure discovers blatant political corruption.
Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Notable Cast: Joaquin Phoenix and Ekaterina Samsonov
“Suspiria” (2018)
In this art-horror, a woman enrolls in a prestigious dance academy in Berlin during the late 1970s. Although the dancer doesn’t know this at first, witches run the dance academy. Excellence in art intertwines with incredible violence.
Luca Guadagnino directed.
Runtime: 2 hours, 32 minutes
Notable Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton (in multiple roles)
“The Big Sick” (2017)
In this romantic comedy, a comedian starts a relationship with a woman. This new romantic partner becomes ill almost immediately. The woman goes into a coma, and the man must decide what to do. He decides to keep visiting her in the hospital, and he waits alongside her parents. The story is based on the real-life relationship of the co-writers, Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani.
The movie earned one Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Michael Showalter directed.
Runtime: 2 hours
Notable Cast: Holly Hunter, Zoe Kazan, Kumail Nanjiani and Ray Romano
“Last Flag Flying” (2017)
In this drama, three Vietnam War veterans reunite to honor the death of one of their sons. The son died in the Iraq War. They decide not to bury the Marine at Arlington National Cemetery. Instead, the trio takes the casket on a road trip up the East Coast.
Richard Linklater directed and co-wrote the screenplay.
Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Notable Cast: Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne
“Brad’s Status” (2017)
In this comedy, a father goes through a midlife crisis while helping his son tour prestigious colleges. The aging dad runs a nonprofit organization, but he feels like he hasn’t accomplished as much as the rich friends from his youth. The story questions the value of everything and what should be enough.
Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Notable Cast: Austin Abrams, Ben Stiller and Jenna Fischer
“Cold War” (2018)
In this historical drama, a musical director falls in love with a singer during the Cold War in Poland. The duo tours the country to promote national pride. The man sneaks out of his oppressive motherland, but the woman doesn’t follow him.
The movie earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Pawel Pawlikowski.
Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes
Notable Cast: Tomasz Kot and Joanna Kulig