April has arrived, bringing with it a bouquet of new movies to Prime Video. It isn’t easy to know where to start when highlighting the best new movies on the streaming service this month.
Arguably leading the pack is Christopher Nolan's riveting World War II drama "Dunkirk," but there are also plenty of '90s favorites on this list that I'm sure plenty of viewers will be eager to revisit, like "Dazed and Confused" and, my personal favorite, the Coen Brothers' iconic dark comedy "Fargo."
Jane Austen fans will be happy to know that "Sense and Sensibility," one of the most acclaimed adaptations of her works, is now on Prime Video. Or, if you're looking for something more action-packed, you can also check out "A Fistful of Dollars," a classic spaghetti Western that launched Clint Eastwood's career.
To help you figure out what to watch, we're highlighting new to Prime Video movies that have scored at least 90% on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. While a high score isn't a guaranteed hit, it is a solid testament to a movie's quality. So, let’s dive into the most critically acclaimed new Prime Video movies you can watch this month.
'Dunkirk' (2017)
![Dunkirk - Trailer 1 [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/F-eMt3SrfFU/maxresdefault.jpg)
War movies usually aren't my cup of tea, but Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning World War II drama had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.
"Dunkirk" is a fictional tale that unfolds amid the very real events of World War II, specifically the 1940 evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of northern France. After a surprise attack leaves them surrounded by Nazi German forces, the soldiers are forced to retreat to Dunkirk’s beaches only to realize they're stranded with rescue nowhere in sight. That hope is reignited when a fleet of British civilians sets out to help, using any available boat to ferry the soldiers to safety.
Instead of following a linear narrative, "Dunkirk" expertly weaves together three separate timelines and groups of characters involved in the battle and evacuation. And even though it’s a war film, it doesn’t dwell on the more graphic aspects of the battle. To me, it felt more like a cinematic thriller than your typical war movie.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Stream it now on Prime Video
'Fargo' (1996)
Fans of the "Fargo" TV series will be happy to hear that the movie that started it all is now back on Prime Video. This black comedy earned the Coen brothers an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and won Frances McDormand an Academy Award for Best Actress.
She stars as Marge Gunderson, a Minnesota police chief whose Midwest-nice demeanor belies a razor-sharp intuition. She's in for the surprise of a lifetime when she crosses paths with Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), an inept car salesman and an even worse criminal.
In a harebrained scheme to settle his debts, Jerry hires hitmen (Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi) to kidnap his wife and extort his rich father-in-law for ransom. Of course, this being a Coen brothers movie, everything goes sideways almost immediately. With Marge on the case, it's only a matter of time before the jig is up, but desperation can make people do crazy things with a wood chipper (if you know, you know).
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Stream it now on Prime Video
'Sense and Sensibility' (1995)
![SENSE AND SENSIBILITY [1995] - Official Trailer (HD) - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2WGq2Rbs1Qg/maxresdefault.jpg)
1995 really was the Year of Jane Austen in Hollywood. "Sense and Sensibility" was one of three movie adaptations of her beloved novels to hit theaters that year.
The story follows two sisters, Elinor (Emma Thompson) and Marianne (Kate Winslet), who face a hard decision after their father dies and the Dashwood family falls on hard times. With few options but to marry into wealth, Marianne finds herself torn between two suitors (Greg Wise and Alan Rickman). Meanwhile, Elinor’s love interest, Edward (Hugh Grant), is entangled in a prior engagement. Cue the drama and romantic turmoil.
Directed by Ang Lee, "Sense and Sensibility" is often cited as one of the best Austen adaptations of all time. Much of its acclaim stems from Emma Thompson’s Oscar-winning screenplay, with the film racking up an additional six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Stream it now on Prime Video
'Dazed and Confused' (1993)
"Dazed and Confused" is one of those quintessential coming-of-age high school movies — it basically set the template for "Super Bad," "Book Smart" and all the others that came after it. If you're looking for a healthy dose of nostalgia to return to simpler times, this one will take you back.
Directed by Richard Linklater, it takes place over a single day — specifically, the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin, Texas, in 1976. While it features now-classic tropes like nerds vs. jocks, freshman hazing, and wild parties, "Dazed and Confused" was essentially the first to explore them, and that's part of why it remains so influential to this day.
What elevates "Dazed and Confused" are all the actors involved, including several before-they-were-famous stars, like Matthew McConaughey (this is where his iconic "Alright, alright, alright" comes from), Ben Affleck and Parker Posey, just to name a few.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Stream it now on Prime Video
'A Fistful of Dollars' (1964)
Westerns dominated the Golden Age of Hollywood, so much so that it inspired our neighbors across the pond to start making their own, and thus the subgenre spaghetti Westerns was born. Directed by Sergio Leone, "A Fistful of Dollars" is a landmark entry featuring Clint Eastwood in his breakout role as the iconic Man with No Name, a gunslinging drifter.
Looking for an easy score, he sets his sights on the lawless town of San Miguel. But he quickly learns that a violent feud between two powerful families, the Rojos and the Baxters, is tearing the town apart.
Seeing an opportunity in their battle for control, he expertly pits the two sides against one another, manipulating them for his own gain while adhering to his own complex moral code. However, the situation grows more complicated when he becomes involved in the plight of a woman (Marianne Koch), who has been taken from her family.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Stream it now on Prime Video
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