Spring is almost upon us and with a new month brings a new selection of the best movies you can watch onPrime Videothis month. Be it a classic drama starring one of the greatest actors of all time or some of the best films from the last year, you’re going to want to read on.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Available on:March 1
Director:Sidney Lumet| Run Time:96 min| Genre:Drama
Cast:Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam
There is nothing quite like a movie with a bunch of characters talking about justice and the heavy task of finding the truth as they reckon with our deeply imperfect legal system. Okay, well that may mostly describe the1957 classic12 Angry Men, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Directed by the lateSidney Lumetfrom a play byReginald Rose, it centers around a group of strangers who come together on a jury tasked with coming to a verdict in a murder trial. When they all first arrive, it seems like it is going to be a short deliberation. That is until Juror 8, played by the always greatHenry Fonda, begins to question the evidence they have been presented and encourages them all to think deeper. The journey to get to the truth is a thorny one, with arguments increasingly playing out between the men, but the craft on display remains sharp all these decades later.
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Being John Malkovich (1999)
Director:Spike Jonze| Run Time:113 min| Genre:Drama, Comedy, Fantasy
Cast:John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich
What would it be like if you could become an actor? Say one by the name ofJohn Malkovich? That is at the core of the surrealist dramedyBeing John Malkovich, a delightfully dark collaboration between directorSpike Jonzeand writerCharlie Kaufman. A simple overview of the story is that it places us in the perspective of a struggling puppeteer who learns of a portal in a miniature office that will put the consciousness of any who goes into it in the body of Malkovich. The reality that it holds is far more interesting and worth losing your mind in.
Cloverfield (2008)
Director:Matt Reeves |Run Time:85 min |Genre:Horror, Science Fiction
Cast:Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan
If there was ever a staple of found footage, it isMatt Reeves’Cloverfield. It begins with a group of friends who are throwing a going-away party in New York City when their world is thrown headfirst into chaos after a mysterious and enormous being crashes down. Left with limited options, the group documents their attempt to escape the city on a handheld camera before they and their home are destroyed completely. Though there have been a couple of sequels following it that vary wildly in quality, this film that started it all still holds up as its very best even more than a decade later. Sure, there are some rough patches here and there. However, the enduring strength of its unsettling sequences of terror crossed with spectacle still leaves a mark. From the stunning opening all the way to the devastating conclusion, it is a disaster movie with a scrappy sensibility that also has a surprisingly strong emotional core.
Good Will Hunting (1998)
Director:Gus Van Sant| Run Time:126 min| Genre:Drama
Cast:Gus Van Sant
As it turns out,Good Will Huntingremains a really solid movie. How do you like them apples? Okay, the jokes that we all remember are also only a small part of what this story of a brilliant yet troubled young man growing up in Boston has to offer. In particular, it is well-acted across the board and has a genuine heart that packs a great deal of honesty about what it means to find your way in the world. There are just so many scenes that capture this so completely that come together to make for a surprisingly gentle, frequently silly, and enduringly moving work.
The Silent Twins (2022)
Available on:March 7
Director:Agnieszka Smoczynska| Run Time:113 min| Genre:Drama
Cast:Letitia Wright, Tamara Lawrance, Leah Mondesir-Simmonds
ThoughThe Silent Twinsis a recent movie that didn’t show up on many’s radars last year, that only makes it all the better that you see it now. Based on the true story of two identical sisters,JuneandJennifer Gibbons, who became known for how they would only communicate with each other, this unconventional yet riveting cinematic biography settles into something special that grows on you the longer you reflect on it. While many films that draw from reality are content to just take you through the events without immersing you in them, this film makes you feel the joy and sadness of its central characters.
Jackass Forever (2022)
Available on:March 10
Director:Jeff Tremaine| Run Time:96 min| Genre:Documentary
Cast:Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius
Any list of the best movies to watch withoutJackass Foreveron it would be one that is woefully incomplete. A historic achievement in documentary filmmaking that captures both the lows of genital punishment and the highs of the brotherly bonds formed along the way, it is the best from the group yet. Risking life and limb in pursuit of increasingly dangerous stunts, it isn’t going to be for all tastes. However, that has always been central to the experience of these raucous films as the charm of these maniacal clowns becomes crossed with the cringe at the chaos unfolding before you.
Nope (2022)
Available on:March 21
Director:Jordan Peele| Run Time:130 min| Genre:Science Fiction, Horror
Cast:Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea
We now come to not just the best movie on this list, butone of the absolute best of last year.Nopeis somehow only writer-directorJordan Peele’s third filmandis also his most visually strikingas it tells the story of two siblings, played by a dynamicDaniel Kaluuyaand a career-bestKeke Palmer, that discover something strange happening on their family farm. In the event you haven’t seen it, there is no better time to remedy that oversight. If you have, there is plenty more to appreciate on subsequent watches that reaffirm how spectacular it all is.
