Staying at home during the COVID-19 quarantine provides a chance to catch up on your binge-watching. Many people seem to be into the “Tiger King” series on Netflix. Not me. Since I never watched “Parks and Recreation” when it was on NBC, the comedic adventures of the local government in Pawnee, Indiana have been helping me get through. But you can only binge-watch a show for so long. Sometimes you need a movie to help change things up. Sadly, streaming services aren’t great at helping you find all the films they currently have to offer. Last week, I wrote about twelve movies on Netflix worth checking out. This week, I’m offering up a dozen ideas from films currently free on Amazon Prime. I even have a couple suggestions for those of you looking for something different to binge.
The Big Sick
The Big SickI wrote about this charming movie in my Top Films of the 2010s post. It’s not the kind of flick that generally makes best of the decade lists, but it’s one the films that made me the happiest when I watched it during the last decade. That experience should count for more than most critics usually let it. The film is based on the real-life love affair between Muslim immigrant Kumail Nanjani and American Emily V. Gordon and has more laughs and heart than most rom-coms combined. The news these days is a never-ending stream of bad news. The Big Sick is a perfect antidote.
Brittany Runs a Marathon
Brittany Runs a MarathonAmazon Studios produced this feel-good story that won the Audience Award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The story centers around an overweight, hard-drinking, late-twentysomething slacker who desperately needs to make a change in her life. A local doctor, who sniffs out her phony symptoms as an attempt to score some Adderall, pushes her to get in shape. Brittany starts running one block at a time, and eventually sets her sights on the New York City marathon. Her journey to get to that race is both funny and thought-provoking.
Citizen X
Citizen XAmazon has a partnership to show some of the older movies that were made for HBO, and this true crime story is one of the best things that network has ever produced. It’s based on the real-life case of a serial killer who targeted young children in the Soviet Union in the 1980s. The government wouldn’t officially acknowledge that crimes like that could exist in the glorious worker’s state, but a few people still worked against the system to solve the case. Donald Sutherland won an Emmy award for playing an army colonel who helps the lead detective (the always solid Stephen Rea) navigate the complicated Soviet bureaucracy in the pursuit of justice.
The Great Escape
The Great EscapeThis World War II epic is, without a doubt, one of the all-time great action and suspense movies. Very loosely based on an actual event, the story follows a group of captured Allied soldiers who attempt to break-out of a German POW camp. Steve McQueen stars in what might be his most iconic role. His exploits with both a baseball and a motorcycle are legendary. James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Donald Pleasance are also part of the large ensemble cast. Clocking in at just under three hours, The Great Escape is a fantastic way to kill off a big chunk of a day stuck at home.
James Bond
James BondAmazon Prime is currently featuring every James Bond flick except those starring Daniel Craig. It’s a great chance to catch up on classic Bond. If you only want to watch one, Goldfinger is my pick. It’s Connery in top form and the best translation of an Ian Fleming novel to the big screen. If you want to binge the entire series, here’s the complete list. Those in bold are the ones to catch if you only want to watch a few. Those in red can be skipped if you’re keen to avoid the real stinkers.
Sean Connery: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever
George Lazenby: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (Don’t be put off by the fact you have no idea who George Lazenby is. It’s one of the best Bonds. If Connery had starred, it might have been the best.)
Roger Moore: Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill
Timothy Dalton: The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill
Pierce Brosnan: GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day
Middle Men
Middle MenThis little-seen flick tells a based on actual events, but still highly fictionalized story set during the early days of the internet. Two druggie slackers (Giovanni Ribisi and Gabriel Macht) somewhat improbably invent a way to charge customer credit cards to view porn online. Luke Wilson stars as a straight-laced businessman who gets involved with them and a menagerie of other characters, including a Russian mob boss, a crooked lawyer (played with menace by James Caan), and, of course, plenty of porn stars. While the story may sound salacious, it actually plays as more of a morality tale about Wilson’s character losing his way and trying to make it back home.
Rango
RangoUnpopular opinion: I am not a big fan of the Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I do, however, really like Rango, an animated western collaboration between Depp and Pirates director Gore Verbinski. Depp plays a very out of place chameleon who was formerly a pet. After being lost by his owner on a desolate highway, he wanders into an old west style town and eventually becomes the sheriff. Ultimately, he has to solve a mystery about the water supply to save the town and himself. Like the best Pixar films, it’s got enough slapstick to entertain kids coupled with an intelligent story filled with plenty of pop culture references to amuse adults. The film won the Best Animated Film Oscar in 2012.
Some Like it Hot
Some Like it HotLast year, I wrote a post about my Top 10 Billy Wilder Movies. Wilder was one of the best directors of the 20th Century, and Some Like it Hot is his comedic masterpiece. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are two musicians on the run from the mob posing as members of an all-female band. Marylin Monroe’s raw sexual presence was too risqué for the keepers of the production code (a precursor to the rating system), but audiences didn’t care and flocked to the movie in droves. It’s number one on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Comedies List.
Star Trek
Star TrekAlmost all the Star Trek movies (except the J.J. Abrams’s reboots) and TV shows are available on Amazon Prime right now. I’m sticking with the classic cast for this post, and if you don’t know Captain Kirk from Mr. Spock, now is as good a time as any to learn which one has green blood. By all means, check out the TV show if you want to kill about sixty hours. If you’d prefer to stick to the movies, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn is the pick if you only want to check out one. If you’re going to binge the films, here’s how to approach them:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – It’s the first movie, but don’t start with it. I like the film better than most, but it’s not the best introduction to the series. Come back after you have watched two through four.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn – A classic any sci-fi fan should be familiar with.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – It’s not the best, but not the worst. You will absolutely need to watch it after number two, though. Christopher Lloyd, of all people, plays a Klingon commander and does an offbeat but great job.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – The most non-Trek of the movies as they travel back in time to the 1980s to save the whales (seriously), but it’s also one of the most (justifiably) popular.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier – Blech. The worst. Skip it.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – A nice return to form for the final film in the series. It came out after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the story is fitting for the end of the Cold War with the Klingons serving as stand-ins for the Russians. Christopher Plummer plays a devious Klingon general in another inspired casting choice.
Super 8
Super 8This movie set in the late 1970s about teenagers investigating paranormal activity in their small town came out well before Stranger Things borrowed the idea. J.J. Abrams is now best known for rebooting both Star Trek and Star Wars, but with that work behind him, I hope he can get back to making more movies like this one. Even though it has the usual big-budget trappings of action and aliens, the story feels more personal, with the main character’s love of film obviously echoing Abrams’ adolescence. Steve Spielberg produced, and his influence can be felt throughout as well.
To Catch a Thief
To Catch a ThiefAnother chance for me to promote an old post! This movie was on my list of Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Films. It is not the typical Hitchcock and is closer to a romantic comedy than anything else the master of suspense ever directed. Filmed on the French Riviera, Cary Grant plays a possibly retired jewel thief with Grace Kelly as either the object of his affections or a potential target. Hitchcock loved to direct huge movie stars, and both of the big names he uses here are at the top of their game in this enchanting entertainment.
Up in the Air
Up in the AirIf I took the time to put together a list of my favorite movies from the first decade of the 2000s (and one day I might!), this film would probably be on it. George Clooney plays a corporate hatchet man earning tons of frequent flier miles traveling the country to lay off employees after the Great Recession. Anna Kendrick is a young go-getter with much to learn after proposing the layoffs be done via video conference. Often underutilized actress Vera Farmiga completes the main cast as another well-traveled professional who Clooney’s character hooks up with. A deft mix of comedy and drama leads the story into some unexpectedly profound territory.
If I am feeling ambitious one of these days, I might follow this up with some streaming ideas on Hulu and Disney+.
