The Best Amazon Prime Original Movies

“Landline,” with a cast topped by honored actors John Turturro and Edie Falco, is about two sisters growing up in New York in the 1990s who discover their dad is having an affair – and then find out his cheating is not the exception. “A zippy and friendly episodic comedy and coming-of-age story,” said Brad Wheeler of the Globe and Mail.

This is the much-anticipated biopic of Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), two of the pioneers of television sitcoms, and their tumultuous marriage. Amber Wilkinson of The Times (UK) said “Not only does she get the tone of Ball right, Kidman also captures the comedy star’s forthright energy, an essential fearlessness and truthfulness about herself that Sorkin also evidently admires.”

“The Lost City of Z” is the true story of British explorer Percival Fawcett (played by Charlie Hunnam), who disappeared seeking a lost city in the Amazon in the 1920s. The movie also stars Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller. Kristen Yoonsoo Kim of Brooklyn Magazine said “‘The Lost City of Z’ feels like a gem dug out from a time capsule.”

In “Annette,” a standup comedian (Adam Driver) and an opera singer (Oscar winner Marion Cotillard) have a daughter who possesses an extraordinary gift. Robert Levin of Newsday called it “a grandiose melodrama in which everyone involved recognizes exactly what the material demands and goes right after it.”

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Louis Wain, an English artist who gained prominence in the late 19th century with his surreal paintings of cats, which suggested to contemporaries that he was losing his sanity. Hannah Flint of Time Out said “‘The Electrical Life of Louis Wain’ is “an effervescent movie, one that reflects the colorful whimsy of Wain’s work and a far more vivid image of Victorian and Edwardian England than your usual period film.”

Funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen reprises his role as Borat, the faux-Kazakh jokester supposedly released from a Kazakh prison for bringing shame to his country. He heads to the U.S. with his 15-year-old daughter (Maria Bakalova) in this mockumentary on American culture. Mark Beaumont of NME said that “such dedication to his comedy prompts as much amazement as hilarity; even when left to his own devices Baron Cohen wastes no time.

Comparisons to Bollywood musicals are inevitable in this energetic film about an English school boy who dreams of becoming a drag queen. “While it may not dive too deep into its subject matter, ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ still explores issues of identity and acceptance in an entertaining and heartfelt way,” said Mike Reyes of CinemaBlend.

Headlined by A-listers Donald Glover and Rihanna, “Guava Island” is about a young musician who wants to stage a music festival to lift the spirits of an oppressed island. Critic Deena ElGenaidi said “In many ways, ‘Guava Island’ accomplishes exactly what it set out: create a fun, colorful, anti-capitalist romp that leaves viewers smiling.”

A strong cast led by Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell, and Bryan Cranston distinguished “Last Flag Flying.” Three former Vietnam War veterans are reunited for a sad occasion – burying the son of one of them, killed in Iraq. Instead of burying him in Arlington National Cemetery, they take his casket on a journey up the coast to New Hampshire, a trip that stirs memories of the war they fought more than a generation earlier. Ed Potton of The Times (UK) found the film “as funny as it is moving.”

You might be reminded of “Groundhog Day” by “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things.” It’s the story of two people (Kathryn Newton and Kyle Allen) caught in a time loop, who seek the things that are making their perfect day perfect. Critic Audrey Fox found the movie to be “a rare little gem: a well-written, clever, genuinely poignant teen romantic comedy.”

Michael Sheen and Maria Bello star as the parents of a young man who goes on a killing spree at his college campus and then kills himself. The parents flee to her brother’s house to avoid the media. As they try to figure out what caused their son to commit the tragedy, tension between them grows. Kelly Jane Torrance of Washington Examiner said “‘Beautiful Boy’ is raw, real and a difficult film to watch.”

“Late Night” stars Emma Thompson as a talk-show host and Mandy Kaling as a woman comedy writer brought on as a diversity hire who helps keep the show afloat. Stephen Romei of The Australian said “Kaling and Thompson are going after something different, and while it’s acerbically funny at times it also feels quite real and of the moment.”

In this film based on a real-life character, after John Callahan (Joaquin Phoenix) is crippled in a car accident while intoxicated, he enters rehab, supported by his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) and rehab sponsor (Jonah Hill). He discovers he has a gift for drawing. Callahan’s edgy cartoons are eventually picked up by newspapers across the nation. Kevin Maher of The Times (UK) said the film “avoids all slick and easy sympathy votes and instead dwells exclusively in the difficult and vigorous mess of a human life on the edge.”

Charlie Day and Jenny Slate play total strangers who meet and discover that they each have just been dumped by their partners. When they find out on social media that their exes have moved on to new relationships, they resolve to get them back. Richard Whittaker of the Austin Chronicle remarked that “Slate and Day have an awkward, witty relatability that can power through the unconvincing (and pretty stalkerish) behavior the script demands.”

Critics hailed the directing debut of Andrew Patterson, a film about a switchboard operator and a radio disc jockey in New Mexico in the 1950s who discover a mysterious audio frequency. Adam Nayman of The Ringer raved that “The technical proficiency of Patterson’s debut is off the charts, and it’ll be interesting to see if and how this gifted filmmaker manages to maintain his independence.”

A film that resonated more with Rotten Tomatoes audiences than critics, “The Aeronauts” is about an English scientist (Eddie Remayne) and a wealthy widow (Felicity Jones) who embark on a perilous journey in a hot air balloon in 1862 in a quest to fly higher than anyone. In the process they uncover aspects of themselves. “From very unpromising beginnings, ‘The Aeronauts’ lifts and lifts to become something highly entertaining and surprisingly exciting,” said Olly Richards of NME.

Alan Ball wrote as well as directed this film about a gay man from South Carolina living in Manhattan in the 1970s who returns home for his father’s funeral and faces long-suppressed trauma from his childhood. Richard Whittaker of Austin Chronicle said “‘Uncle Frank’ revolves around Uncle Frank, and (Paul) Bettany’s career-great performance as a man who knows where the gaps are in his life, and how much his whole relationship with his family is about holding his breath.”

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver), a staffer for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is tasked with finding out the extent of the CIA’s use of torture on accused terrorists. Clarisse Loughrey of the Independent (UK) said “Director Scott Z. Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But that’s the point.”

Jillian Bell plays a party girl who finds out from her doctor how unhealthy she is. She decides to lose weight and begins to run, intending to participate in the New York City Marathon. Critics enjoyed the directorial debut of Paul Downs Colaizzo (who also wrote the screenplay). David Stratton of The Australian said “Bell is terrific in the title role and the film as a whole is a confident combination of the amiable and the uncompromising.”

“Paterson” is the name of both a New Jersey city and the title character. Paterson (Adam Driver) follows the same routine every day – walking his dog, having a beer, and writing poems, a hobby wholly encouraged by his wife Laura (Golshifteh Farahani). Zebib K.A. of Spectrum Culture found “‘Paterson’ to be a “lovely, original, naturalistically paced dreamscape, this is a film where a bus driver/poet observes the mundane yet beautiful moments of life.”

Regina King’s directorial debut, based on true events, rang up a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 98%, equaling the highest score of any film on this list. The night in the title is when Cassius Clay, soon to change his name to Muhammad Ali, upset reigning heavweight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall. Celebrating with the new champion were three iconic African-American figures: activist Malcolm X, singer Sam Cooke, and football great Jim Brown.

Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea” is about a janitor who gives up his job in Boston to be the guardian of his deceased brother’s son in the town he grew up in. David Stratton of The Australian said “Not a moment in the film is wasted; though on the long side, this is from start to finish a rewarding and strangely beautiful drama with a conclusion that is immensely satisfying in its touching understatement.”

Shia LaBeouf starred in and wrote this story about a 12-year-old boy whose success as a television performer becomes complicated when his alcoholic, abusive father gets back in his life. Critic Chris Stuckmann said “The movie feels very raw. LaBeouf’s voice is very unfiltered through this movie…. You can tell that he’s working through things as he writes the movie.”

This cross-cultural rom-com stars Kumail Nanjiani as a Pakistani stand-up comedian who falls for an American graduate student and worries what his traditional Muslim parents will think of her. When she gets sick, the comedian has to face her parents, whom he bonds with.”‘The Big Sick’ feels authentic yet familiar, endearing and consistently funny – a curious mix that provides a real-life example of how Nanjiani and Gordon’s life together imitates art,” said Brian Eggert of Deep Focus Review

A drummer with a punk band is confronted with hearing loss and the possibility that his career – and, in his mind, his life – might be over. Tara Brady of the Irish Times hailed the film, calling it “a drama that’s as visceral and hard-hitting as its protagonist’s drum solos.”