More new to Prime Video movies are hitting Amazon’s streaming service in October 2023. These films are arriving on Prime Video either for the first time or returning after a stint elsewhere, and we've found the critically acclaimed titles worth watching.
Amazon Prime membership comes with the perk of being able to watch the best movies on Prime Video, one of the best streaming services. Dozens of new titles join the library every month, which can make it difficult to pick just one to view on movie night.
That’s why we’ve narrowed down the list to seven films with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 90% or higher, essentially an A grade. Here are the best new to Prime Video movies to stream right now.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A banging ensemble cast, including the likes of John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline, makes this heist comedy tick. It’s rare that comedies earn Oscar nominations, but A Fish Called Wanda nabbed four and even won one for Kline. The plot involves stolen diamonds and double-crossing. British gangster George Thomason (Tom Georgeson) plans a jewel heist with his hapless assistant Ken Pile (Michael Palin).
They recruit American grifter Wanda Gerschwitz (Curtis) and weapons expert Otto West (Kevin Kline). But when the job goes awry, George hides the diamonds and Wanda attempts to seduce his lawyer Archie Leach (Cleese) to find them.
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Stream on Prime Video
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
School shootings are, tragically, all too common, but in the Columbine massacre in 1999 shocked the country. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in U.S. history (until Parkland in 2018). Columbine sparked public debate about gun control laws, bullying, teen cliques and mental health, and documentarian Michael Moore explores all of those topics in his Oscar-winning documentary.
Moore pulls no punches as he deploys his usual style as a provocative agitator. He harangues Kmart executives about selling bullets, torches actor Charlton Heston about supporting the National Rifle Association and uses ironic musical selections to highlight the violence present in American culture.
Genre: Documentary
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Stream it on Prime Video
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
This harrowing true tale of decency in the face of atrocity is set during the Rwandan genocide in the spring of 1994. Tensions between the Hutu-controlled government and Tutsi rebels have boiled over into death and violence. Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) is a Hutu who manages the Hôtel des Mille Collines. He’s happily married to his Tutsi wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), with whom he has three children.
When a Hutu militia begins a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Tutsi, Paul refuses to watch his friends and neighbors get slaughtered and allows them to take shelter in the hotel. With the U.N. forbidden to intervene, he’s left on his own to find a way to protect his family and the refugees.
Genre: Biographical drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Stream it on Prime Video
Moneyball (2011)
Brad Pitt puts his considerable charm to great effect to turn a movie about math into a compelling ride. That’s no mean feat (pun intended). Billy Beane is the general manager of the Oakland A’s, who have a limited budget to assemble a competitive team that could vie for a World Series.
Instead of outspending the richer clubs, Billy decides to outsmart them. He hires Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), an Ivy League economics whiz who suggests challenging traditional methods of evaluating players. They use Peter’s sabermetrics system to recruit bargain-bin players who are flawed but have big potential.
Genre: Sports drama/comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Stream on Prime Video
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Before Kenneth Branagh turned to directing and starring in Agatha Christie adaptations, he made a name for him directing and starring in William Shakespeare adaptations like this one. He plays Benedick, the witty counterpart to the equally-sharp Beatrice (Emma Thompson). They’re meant for each other, but first, they’ve got to get over their initial mutual dislike.
Their love/hate relationship runs parallel to the one between the beautiful Hero (Kate Beckinsale) and the smitten Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard). After getting engaged, the two team up with the local prince, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) in a matchmaking scheme. But crossed wires and miscommunications threaten to derail all of the budding romances.
Genre: Romantic comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Stream it on Prime Video
Sicario (2015)
Denis Villeneuve is a master of thrills, whether they involve violent criminals, mysterious aliens or bioengineered humans. One of his earlier Hollywood forays is this gripping drama featuring some of the best actors working today, including Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin.
After a deadly raid on a Sonora Cartel safe house, FBI agent Kate Macer (Blunt) is recruited to join a task force led by shady CIA agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) and Mexican operative Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro). As they pursue the cartel’s leaders, Kate finds herself herself questioning her own morals and whether justice should be gained at any cost.
Genre: Action thriller
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Stream it on Prime Video
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
As seen in Much Ado About Nothing, “love turns into hate” is a tale as old as time. And it’s told again in this charming film, which served as inspiration for the 1998 rom-com classic You’ve Got Mail. Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are employees at a general store in Budapest who argue about almost everything.
Both have been writing to anonymous pen pals, not realizing that they are each other’s mystery correspondents. When they set a date to finally meet their pen pals, they’re in for quite the surprise. But can they set aside their first impressions and embrace the love that’s been building between them on the page?
Genre: Romantic comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Stream it on Prime Video
Dr. No (1962)
The first film in the legendary James Bond franchise, Dr. No kicked-started a global phenomenon that is still running to this very day. Based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name, Dr. No stars Sean Connery as Agent 007. And while the Scottish actor would go on to play the superspy six more times, Dr. No is often cited as among his very best Bond efforts.
This action caper sees James Bond (Connery) travel to Jamaica after the mysterious disappearance of an M16 agent. Once there the suave spy meets the beautiful Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) and also encounters the sinister Dr. No, a scientific megalomaniac with a plan to disrupt the U.S. space program from his sprawling island headquarters. Dr. No is a cinema classic in pretty much every sense of the word and holds up remarkably well even more than six decades later. - Rory Mellon
Genre: Spy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Stream it on Prime Video
From Russia with Love (1963)
Connery returns as Bond in his second outing in the role, From Russia with Love. Considering the well-documented difficulties the production team faced shooting this 1963 spy movie, it’s somewhat remarkable that this flick turned out to be a massive critical (and commercial) success, but that’s exactly what happened. It’s another 007 winner.
In From Russia with Love, Bond battles a secret crime organization known only as Spectre. Setting a trap for the spy, Spectre operative Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) enlists the help of an unwitting assistant in the form of shop clerk Tatiana (Daniela Bianchi) to lure Bond into a trap. Meeting in Istanbul, 007 soon senses that something is afoot and must rely on all his wits to escape from the secret crime cabal that is willing to go to any extremes in order to get revenge. - Rory Mellon
Genre: Spy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Stream it on Prime Video
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