Best Amazon Prime Movies – The New York Times

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By Jason Bailey
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As Netflix pours more of its resources into original content, Amazon Prime Video is picking up the slack, adding new movies for its subscribers each month. Its catalog has grown so impressive, in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming — and at the same time, movies that are included with a Prime subscription regularly change status, becoming available only for rental or purchase. It’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve plucked out 100 of the absolute best movies included with a Prime subscription right now, to be updated as new information is made available.
Here are our lists of the best TV shows and movies on Netflix, and the best of both on Hulu and Disney+.
The writer and director A.V. Rockwell begins this wrenching character drama in New York City circa 1994, nicely recapturing the look and feel of Gotham indies of that era. But that’s not just window dressing. While ostensibly telling the story of a young woman trying to raise her son after a stint at Rikers Island, Rockwell adroitly incorporates relevant reminders of the city’s history into her characters and their ongoing struggle, reminding us that “quality of life” policing and the dirty business of gentrification are never purely policy issues. Yet it’s more than just a polemic; Teyana Taylor is shattering as the mother in question, Josiah Cross is charismatic and sympathetic as her son as an older teenager, and the revelations of the closing scenes are wrenching and powerful. (If you like atmospheric coming-of-age dramas, try “Eve’s Bayou.”)
Watch it on Amazon
The French artist Park Ji-Min makes an astonishing film debut in the leading role of this “startling and uneasy wonder” from the writer and director Davy Chou. She stars as Freddie, born in South Korea but adopted and raised in Paris, who (cue the title) returns to Seoul for reasons unclear. She claims she has no interest in tracking down her birth parents but does so anyway, setting into motion a chain of events that significantly change who she is and what she wants. Chou’s direction is blissfully confident — even when you’re not sure where he’s going, his command of mood and tone carry the picture through — and Park is a real find, an actor who is able to convey seemingly contradictory emotions simultaneously. (Admirers of this one may also enjoy the similarly emotional and thought-provoking “One Fine Morning.”)
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