Amazon Prime movies that you might have missed
Happy holidays! Over the next few weeks a deluge of films that deserve a viewing are coming online. Amazon Prime has a ton of stuff well worth checking out: some funny flicks and some serious chillers, alongside Christmassy films to put sparkle in your stocking. Sit tight and get Alexa to log into Amazon Prime. Then do it again because you forgot your password. Then spend a few hours on the phone with tech support.
But after that, load up the thing! Sit back, relax, and resume a conversation with your favorite AI about Amazon’s best movies.
Falling Down (1993)
Michael Douglas (Wall Street) stars in this stirring exploration of America’s pent-up social anxieties. Joel Schumacher (The Phantom of the Opera) paints a vision of a disturbed world just a few minutes from collapse, and it’s actually kind of a horror story in how close it parallels 21st-century life. Packed full of prophecy, Falling Down is a psychological drama which shows off Douglas’ acting chops.
Mars Attacks (1996)
Okay. This one is a little stupid. A complete parody of the sci-fi genre, this film does boast a very talented cast, from Jack Nicholson (playing two roles!), Pierce Brosnan (The World Is Not Enough), Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future), Natalie Portman (Annihilation), to the great shlock singer Tom Jones. An entertaining pace and acceptance of its absurdity can make Mars Attacks enjoyable.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s novel is one of the most disturbing films of all time. Banned in the United Kingdom for ultraviolence, A Clockwork Orange is a masterwork of psychological social satire. With a sickeningly infectious sadism, Kubrick manages to make you feel discomfort like no other director. Once you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you. The abyss now pwns your life. It has a mortgage on it. All hail the abyss!
The Fugitive (1993)
Harrison Ford hasn’t had many special roles outside of Indiana Jones & Han Solo, but The Fugitive is actually a pretty entertaining thriller. Ford plays a bloke on the run trying to prove he didn’t commit a murder. Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men) is also pretty good and the general feel of the film is nicely kinetic.
Jack Frost (1998)
Jack Frost is a horror film. Sorry, Frostheads, your family-friendly flick is utterly terrifying. Michael Keaton (Birdman) stars as a terrible father who after a brutally violent car accident, as often happens, is trapped inside the body of a snowman. It’s not a film about heartfelt loss & adventure, but rather a horror about the reality of consciousness being locked inside a body: unable to escape, only scream out into the void. Merry Christmas!
Mindhorn (2016)
If you’re a fan of cult British comedy, Mindhorn is an absolute treat. Julian Barratt, from Nathan Barley and The Mighty Boosh, stars in this film following a washed-up television star brought back into the fold by the real police to help solve a sticky situation. With a brutally quick pace reminiscent of Hot Fuzz, Mindhorn is a genuine laugh riot.
Office Christmas Party (2016)
Office Christmas Party follows a group of people who end up trashing a corporate tower for some reason. This is more or less something you just put on in the background. Jason Bateman (Ozark) and Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters) are pretty entertaining in it, but T.J. Miller’s appearances might not be so charming anymore. Ahem.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
A Christmas classic! Chevy Chase (Caddyshack) stars in this film about the pressures put upon the head of a patriarchal household. Skirting the edge of its PG-13 rating, this tale about the Griswold family’s disastrous Christmas is actually pretty heartwarming: a story about what we truly value every Christmas, family. Nah, just kidding. Just load it up to watch Clark Griswold get totally destroyed. Yeauh!
Bad Santa 2 (2016)
Not exactly as well received as its predecessor, Bad Santa 2 has Billy Bob Thornton (again) as a very naughty guy (again) who dresses in Santa gear to commit bad crime things (AGAIN). This sequel isn’t really all that charming, but it will remind you of the pretty fun original.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
From the mind of Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and the lens of Spike Jonze (Her) comes a seriously cerebral yet completely absurd fantasy, featuring a doorway you can crawl through in order to inhabit the mind of actor John Malkovich (The Man in the Iron Mask). Tackling wide-ranging subjects from the reality of fame to the entrapment of consciousness, this psychological dramedy is rife with melodrama. Aside from all, that it’s an utterly compelling story. It’s just so, so different. Plus, you get to watch a fictionalized Malkovich argue with customer support about his towel purchase.
