The trouble with Amazon Prime Video is that, in spite of its great roster of movies to watch, many of them are so buried that you might never even know they were 6. If you’re trying to find something to watch on the streamer and coming up blank, then you’re in luck.
We’ve pulled together a list of 6 great Prime Video movies that are well worth checking out, including at least one you might have totally forgotten about. Between the three titles, there’s sure to be something for you to enjoy:
Pop Culture Jeopardy! – 2024
Do you ever throw on Jeopardy! to watch with the family and feel embarrassed that you don’t get any of the questions right? Maybe you watch the kids bury their faces in their phones because they’re bored and don’t understand the questions anyway. Pop Culture Jeopardy! is a fun alternative that you can watch with the whole family, and everyone will feel like an expert, or at least enjoy some good laughs.
The format is the same, though multiple people play together, and instead of Ken Jennings, you get Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost as host. The questions relate to pop culture knowledge — movies, music, and celebrities. The winnings? Prizes and the chance to show your friends just how smart you are with the right subject matter.
Stream Pop Culture Jeopardy! on Amazon Prime Video.
Captain Phillips – 2013
Telling the true story of a freight ship that was kidnapped by Somali pirates, Captain Phillips follows the pirates and the crew of the ship as they contend with one another amid perilous circumstances.
Anchored by one of Tom Hanks’s very best performances and directed with grounded verve by Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips is thrilling right up until its final moments, even if you know exactly what will happen. Hanks’s final scene here, in which he is finally safe enough to feel what he’s been feeling the whole movie, is one of the best scenes of the decade.
You can watch Captain Phillips on Amazon Prime Video.
If you’re trying to find something to watch on the streamer and coming up blank, then you’re in luck.
We’ve pulled together a list of 6 great Prime Video movies that are well worth checking out, including at least one you might have totally forgotten about.
Sweet Smell of Success – 1957
An older movie, but one that absolutely holds up all these years later. Sweet Smell of Success tells the story of an incredibly influential newspaper columnist who recruits a publicist to find a way to split up his sister’s relationship.
As the publicist gets increasingly ruthless, the movie becomes a study of how those with power wield influence and how public opinion is honed and molded by these people. Featuring two dynamic central performances from Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster, Sweet Smell of Success knows just how rotten this country is, and it’s endured for that reason.
You can watch Sweet Smell of Success on Prime Video.
On Call – 2025
How many police procedurals can you watch? Do you really need another one in your life? You might! On Call is a brand-new Amazon original created by Dick Wolf, the man behind some of the biggest police procedurals ever to grace the small screen, like Law & Order and the Chicago franchise.
Set in Long Beach, Traci Harmon (Troian Bellisario) is a veteran training officer, and Alex Diaz (Brandon Larracuente) is her rookie partner. Each episode follows their investigations into local emergency calls, all while grieving the loss of another officer.
There’s a massive discrepancy in how critics and audiences view this show, according to Rotten Tomatoes, with a 50% versus 90% score.
This may have deterred some potential viewers from watching. But considering the positive audience reception, many praised how the show is “believable,” it’s one of those “watch and make a call for yourself” types of shows. Give On Call a few half-hour episodes and go from there.
Stream On Call on Amazon Prime Video.
Gerry (2002)
Even as Matt Damon was blooming into a full-on movie star, he was still making time for smaller movies like Gerry. Starring Damon and Casey Affleck as two friends both named Gerry who get lost in Death Valley after they wander off a hiking trail and slowly realize how much danger they are in.
Directed by Gus Van Sant, Gerry is bracingly honest about how terrifying it would be to get lost in the desert, even as the two friends try their best to keep high spirits. Van Sant carefully emphasizes how much silence passes between the two, and the film’s final moments are as devastating as they are riveting.
You can watch Gerry on Amazon Prime Video.
The Rig (2023-)
A supernatural thriller, The Rig is about people aboard a Scottish oil rig stuck in the North Sea when a fog completely envelops them. This isn’t ordinary fog, however; it contains spores that affect crew members who come in contact, leading to an even more dangerous situation. Thankfully, a scientist on the ship theorizes that an ancient parasite was released from the ocean floor and caused the lethal disaster. He’s possibly the only one who can figure out how to stop the spread.
If you tend to agree more with critics than viewers, The Rig has the opposite issue to On Call: critics generally like it, according to Rotten Tomatoes, but viewers aren’t so fond. With Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) and Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Silo) at the helm, it’s worth checking out for that reason alone. Pertaining to the recently released second season, Craig Mathieson of the Sydney Morning Herald says the storytelling has “creepy momentum” even if “the budget constraints still show.”
Stream The Rig on Amazon Prime Video.
