What we love about Amazon Prime Streaming is that we never really know what to expect on the first of the month. Sometimes it’s filled with excellent original content, sometimes it’s all about the indie hits, and still other times we’re looking down the barrel of some great blockbusters. This month, we’re getting a little bit of everything. Here are the 9 best titles coming to Amazon Prime Streaming in January:
Capote
January 1
One of our favorite films of all time, Capote follows legendary novelist and writer Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman) as he travels to a small town in Kansas with friend Nelle Harper Lee (Catherine Keener) following the murder of a local family. After some time, Capote finds himself in direct access of the men accused of the murder, and manages to become emotionally attached to one of the killers, Perry Smith (Clifton Collins Jr.). After Smith and his accomplice Richard “Dick” Hickock (Mark Pellegrino) are convicted, Capote continues correspondence with Smith, even looking for ways to appeal the conviction. It’s a story of placing loyalty, and how difficult that can be for some.
Street Smart
January 1
Before he was cast as the literal voice of God, Morgan Freeman was pimp Fast Black. The 1987 classic also stars Christopher Reeve as Jonathan Fisher, a newspaper report who gains notoriety after writing a fictitious “exposé” on local prostitution. After his exposé goes whatever the 1970s equivalent of “viral” is, Fisher gains the attention of Black, who thinks that one of his characters too closely resembles him. After Black goes to prison on suspicion of murder, he tries to silence the reporter who made everything up. The plot here is okay, but we really just recommend it because it’s super weird watching Morgan Freeman play the role of gun-wielding flesh peddler.
All is Lost
January 1
All is Lost is an incredible film about one of our greatest fears: Being lost at sea and having to fight for survival. Robert Redford stars in this open-water thriller as a captain of a sailboat that gets torn to pieces after colliding with a wrecked shipping container. Redford’s performance is nothing short of unbelievable, and the things his character endures makes Tom Hanks in Castaway look like a Bahamian vacation.
Requiem for a Dream
January 1
You know we couldn’t see Requiem for a Dream on the list of releases and not include it here! This now cult classic stars Jared Leto as Harry and Marlon Wayans as his best friend Tyrone, as they deal with their heroin addiction in Coney Island, New York. It’s a strange film to say the least. There are weird game shows, conversations about unrealistic beauty standards, amphetamines, parents, sleazy doctors, and a whole slew of other weird and ridiculous goings on. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth the 101-minute runtime.
Doctor Who: Season 10
January 1
Season 10 of the iconic British science-fiction TV show also makes its way to Amazon Prime Streaming this month. Fans of Doctor Who know that this season marks the departure of Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor, and while we won’t spoil the fun, we will note that all 12 episodes from Season 10 drop on the first of the month!
Reservoir Dogs
January 1
Ugh! What can be said that already hasn’t been said about this incredible classic from the now-legendary Quentin Tarantino? The film that put Tarantino on Hollywood’s map, Reservoir Dogs is a story about a simple diamond heist gone very, very wrong. Its all-star cast includes the likes of Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Chris Penn, Lawrence Tierney, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Edward Bunker, and whether you’re a fan of Tarantino’s or not, this film, if nothing else, is an excellent demonstration of how good dialogue and proper plot can do more for a movie than any kind of flash or pomp. It was made for $1.2 million, but is considered one of the most important American films of all time.
Zodiac
January 1
When people talk about thrillers, Zodiac is one of those movies that doesn’t take long to make its way to the top of the conversation. Zodiac tells the real-life story of one of America’s most heinous serial killers during his/her rise to infamy in the 1960s and ‘70s. It stars the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards and Chloë Sevigny, and is praised for its dialogue driven plot, peppered with all the suspense and mystery you can handle. The best part is that it’s not a cheap shot and doesn’t take gory shortcuts to get to its point. Instead, the film spends a lot of effort on its historical accuracy, ‘70s “mood,” and on recreating what the investigation—and hysteria—surrounding the murders was really like.
A Ghost Story
January 7
A film about family, loss, legacy, and longing, A Ghost Story is one of those rare and beautiful films that forces viewers to take a step back and contemplate life and everything in it. It stars Casey Affleck as C, a ghost who returns to his suburban home to look in on his widowed wife, M (Rooney Mara). As he watches her life move on without him, he also goes back into his own memories and through time to relive the best memories of his life—of all of life—and see what makes the human heart beat. It’s a real incredible exploration of love and grief, and it’s less lovey-dovey than it is philosophical and full of heart.
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
January 12
What can only be described as Amazon’s answer to Netflix’s Black Mirror, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is a British-American science fiction anthology series based on the writings of famous author Philip K. Dick. Each show is completely different from the last and takes place in an alternate world, and while the stories sound super interesting, it’s the cast that really stole our attention: Steve Buscemi, Anna Paquin, Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston, Richard Madden, to name a few. Season one aired in the U.K. back in September, but us Yanks are only getting it now. Either way, we’re expecting big things!
