With everyone still stuck inside it might just be the perfect time to take full advantage of that Amazon Prime subscription if you haven’t already. Much like Netflix, Prime Video is unnecessarily difficult to navigate. If you don’t already know what you’re looking for, you’re going to have a hard time finding something to watch. To help you out, we’ve slogged through the nonsense to find the 25 best movies on Amazon Prime for August 2020.
If you’re looking for even more movies to stream in July, we’ve also found the best Netflix movies, Hulu movies, and action movies on Netflix right now.
Top Gun (1986)
In times like these, we need more ’80s movies. Top Gun is one such film, with Tom Cruise playing an impulsive Navy-pilot in training. Iconic volleyball scenes, daring displays of air combat, and military drama makes this is one of the best movies to watch on Amazon right now.
Director: Tony Scott
Main Cast: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis
Runtime: 110 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Inception (2010)
After making one of the most critically acclaimed hero movies of all time with The Dark Knight, writer-director Christopher Nolan brought life to this glorious sci-fi action film. Leonardo DiCaprio, a professional thief haunted by the mistakes of his past, takes one last job. Only, instead of any normal heist that you’d expect, he is tasked with diving deep into people’s minds to either steal or plant information from inside.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Main cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe
Runtime: 148 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.8
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
While it isn’t exactly a classic horror movie, this film definitely starts out as such. Five friends head into the woods, ready to party all weekend in a peaceful country cabin, completely unaware that they have been chosen to participate in a ritualistic sacrifice. With loads of surprising twists and turns, The Cabin in the Woods does a great job of keeping you on your toes the whole way through. If you’re looking for more like this, we’ve also found the best sci-fi movies on Netflix.
Director: Drew Goddard
Main Cast: Kristen Connoly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison
Runtime: 95 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Knives Out (2019)
When a renowned crime novelist (Christopher Plummer) is found dead, the famous detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously hired to investigate the murder. Between the novelist’s dysfunctional family and the staff that loved him, the path to uncovering the truth is a complicated one.
Directors: Rian Johnson
Main Cast: Ana De Armas, Toni Collette, Christopher Plummer
Runtime: 130 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Train to Busan
Train to Busan, which hails from South Korea, is one of the more refreshing zombie films to come out in recent years. The makeup effects are convincing and the terror palpable. Watch as divorced father Seok-Woo struggles to protect his daughter and other passengers from a swarm of zombies as they all travel by train to the city of Busan, a supposed safe zone.
Director: Sang-ho Yeon
Main Cast: Yoo Gong, Yu-me Jung, Dong-seok Ma
Runtime: 121 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Escape from New York (1981)
This dystopian thriller is one of the most iconic 80’s action movies on Amazon Prime right now. The story is set in a future where crime is out of control and Manhattan has become a maximum-security prison just to deal with all of the criminals. In an attempt to escape, convicts bring down the president’s plane over the island to use as a bargaining chip. In this difficult situation, only a one-eyed warrior named Snake (Kurt Russell) is capable of saving the president from this predicament.
Director: John Carpenter
Main Cast: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine
Runtime: 99 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.2
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Way up North on the Island of Berk, a young Viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) has been struggling to live up to the standards of his dragon vanquishing people. The battle between man and dragon has been going on for as long as he can remember, but he finally finds his strength when he is unable to kill a wounded Night Fury and instead decides to befriend it.
Directors: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Main Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Runtime: 98 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Rocketman (2019)
This musical fantasy follows the fantastic and real-life story of Elton John as he hit his stride. With great performances of some of his most beloved songs, this biopic gives you a look into how Elton went from small-town boy to one of the most iconic figures in the rock and roll game.
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Main Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard
Runtime: 121 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.3
Pineapple Express (2008)
What happens when Seth Rogan and James Franco get together? Hilarity ensues. Pineapple Express is the ridiculous tale of a process server and his weed dealer as they accidentally end up on the run from hitmen and corrupt police.
Director: David Gordon Green
Main Cast: Seth Rogan, James Franco, Gary Cole
Runtime: 111 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Zodiac (2007)
If you are the type to obsess over true-crime shows and listen to true-crime podcasts whenever you can, this crime drama is right up your alley. Based on true, unsolved events that transpired in the late-1960s, we watch a cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal) become an amateur detective obsessed with catching the Zodiac Killer.
Director: David Fincher
Main Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Looking for a crime movie that doesn’t take itself to seriously? Seven Psychopaths follows a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who accidentally becomes entangled in the criminal underbelly of Los Angeles. This only happens after his buddies kidnap the Shih Tzu of a well-known gangster.
Director: Martin McDonagh
Main Cast: Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell
Runtime: 110 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.2
Logan Lucky (2017)
After becoming unemployed, construction worker Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) convinces is brother and sister to help him rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. With the help of convicted safe-cracker Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) the group attempts a heist like you’ve never seen before. A sharp sense of humor and memorable characters make this comedic crime-drama worth a watch.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Main Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig
Runtime: 119 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Fighting with My Family (2019)
Fighting with my Family is a comedy based on the true story of WWE wrestler Paige. The story follows a family of wrestlers in the UK who are doing their best to make ends meet doing what they love. Both kids find themselves dreaming of one day joining the WWE and eventually get that chance to prove themselves in the arena. But are they good enough to make the big time?
Director: Stephen Merchant
Main Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughn
Runtime: 108 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.1
The Big Sick (2017)
The Big Sick is actually based on the real-life love story of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon. The story follows Kumail as he struggles to build up a career in stand-up. After a run-in with a heckler named Emily (Zoe Kazan), a relationship quickly forms. However, the couple is faced with a family pushback and when they break up, a coma is what brings them back together.
Director: Michale Showalter
Main Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano
Runtime: 120 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) makes the impossible decision to save his team rather than complete a mission. His decision leaves stolen plutonium in the wrong hands, which could result in a catastrophe. He finds himself partnering up with a CIA agent (Henry Cavill) in a race against time to prevent a nuclear disaster.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Main Cast: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames
Runtime: 148 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.7
A Simple Favor (2018)
Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a single mother with an unsuccessful parenting vlog. After befriending a secretive upper-class woman named Emily (Blake Lively) who has a child in the same elementary school, Stephanie gets surprisingly close to this new friend. And when Emily goes missing, she decides to take it upon herself to track her down.
Director: Paul Feig
Main Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lifely, Henry Golding
Runtime: 117 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.8
Sriracha (2013)
Sriracha has skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade, largely in part to the spicy-sweet delicious flavor it packs. In this award-winning short documentary, director Griffin Hammond dives into the story of the sauce itself to celebrate one of the most successful condiments to date.
Director: Griffin Hammond
Runtime: 34 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
This comedic drama follows a week in the life of young folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Following the death of his partner, Davis struggles to make it as a musician during a harsh New York winter. With many seemingly insurmountable obstacles to overcome, the life of a folk musician is not a glamourous one.
Directors: The Coen Brothers
Main Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman
Runtime: 110 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.5
The Lighthouse (2019)
This unique and captivating horror-drama follows two lighthouse keepers (Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe) as they fight each other for survival and sanity. As it turns out, staying sane on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s isn’t nearly as easy it seems in this Oscar-nominated film.
Director: Robert Eggers
Main Cast: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe
Runtime: 110 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.6
The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator is one of the most successful action movies to come out of the ’80s, and it’s not hard to see why. With a war raging between humans and machines of the future, an indestructible cyborg killing machine (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent to the past to kill a young woman who’s unborn child holds the key to humanity’s future.
Director: James Cameron
Main Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
Runtime: 107 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Mid90s (2017)
This nostalgic drama depicts the life and struggles of being a skater kid in Los Angeles during the 90s. The main story follows a young boy named Stevie as he attempts to escape his troubled life at home. Mid90s is a deeper look at growing up and finding your place in the world.
Director/Writer: Jonah Hill
Main Cast: Sunny Suljic, Katherine Waterston, Lucas Hedges
Runtime: 85 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Odd Thomas (2014)
In this quirky supernatural thriller based on Dean Koontz’s novel of the same name, a small-town cook (Anton Yelchin) can see the spirits of the deceased. Odd’s desire to live a quiet life with his girlfriend is thrown into turmoil when a stranger arrives in town accompanied by a host of sinister entities only Odd can actually see, and soon he finds himself caught up in a mystery that puts the entire town — and possibly the world — in danger. This movie is also on Hulu if you’d rather watch it there.
Director: Stephen Sommers
Main Cast: Anton Yelchin, Addison Timlin
Runtime: 97 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.8
True Grit (2010)
Though it is a remake of a western classic, True Grit brings new life to the film. The story follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) who is out to catch the man who murdered her father. To do so, she must seek the assistance of U.S. Marshall Reuben J. Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). As the duo pursues justice, an unlikely bond begins to form between them.
Director: The Coen Brothers
Main Cast: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin
Runtime: 111 minutes
IMDb Rating: 7.6
The Avengers (2012)
When The Avengers first came out, it was a movie like no one had seen before. As the culmination of multiple Marvel storylines, including Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, and Thor, it had fans already drawn all the way in before it even hit theaters. Earth’s mightiest heroes come together to fight an alien force in this epic comic book movie.
Director: Joss Whedon
Main Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson
Runtime: 143 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Con Air (1997)
What list would be complete without one of the best Nicolas Cage movies of all time? The story follows Cameron Poe, who had come home to Alabama only to get in a scuffle with some local drunks. After accidentally killing one of the men, he gets sentenced to 7 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. When he finally gets to come home to his wife, he winds up on a prison transport plane that gets hijacked by convicts. To make his way home, he must take the plane back.
Director: Simon West
Main Cast: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich
Runtime: 115 minutes
IMDb Rating: 6.9
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