Amazon Prime Video has tons of movies for you to watch this summer — the only hard part is figuring out what’s worth streaming.
Watch With Us has curated a brief list of three underrated movies on Prime Video that should appeal to viewers who like a little drama, some action and a lot of terrific performances.
Sports fans should check out Ford v Ferrari, a racing car drama with Christian Bale giving one of his best performances ever. Kieran Culkin just won an Oscar for A Real Pain, but in our opinion, he should’ve won for Igby Goes Down, a family dramedy that is perfect to watch right now or at any time of the year.
‘The Brave One’ (2007)
After radio host Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is attacked and her fiancé is killed by three men in NYC’s Central Park, she becomes filled with fear and rage. Determined to gain some control over her life, she buys a gun on the black market. When she finds herself in the middle of a random convenience store robbery, she shoots and kills the burglar, sparking a thirst for vigilante justice that quickly grows out of control. As Erica hunts the men who attacked her, will she lose the most important thing of all — herself?
The Brave One is a female-centered version of the 1974 classic Death Wish, except there’s less ambiguity in portraying Erica’s crimes. For the most part, they are justified, and the film does an excellent job of making you feel Erica’s need to avenge the wrongs that have happened to her.
The ending is a bit too neat for a complicated story like this one, but whatever flaws the film has are neutralized by Foster’s powerful performance as the fed-up Erica. Her acting here is just as good as it was in The Silence of the Lambs, and she shows a brutal, violent streak that Clarice Starling never possessed.
The Brave One is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Ford v Ferrari’ (2019)
The Brad Pitt movie F1 races into theaters this week, but if you want to experience similar thrills at home, take Ford v Ferrari for a test drive. The movie’s title refers to the bitter rivalry between Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) and Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone), but it’s really about the men who drive their cars, specifically legendary racer Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon).
The two men are like oil and water, but they have to team up to help Ford, an American car company not known for racing, to compete against Ferrari, a European company that specializes in building cars that drive fast and win races. Shelby doesn’t like Ken’s arrogance, and Ken isn’t a big fan of Shelby’s stubbornness, but together, they may just have what it takes to beat Ferrari and achieve an unlikely win for Ford.
Ford v Ferrari is a dad movie in the best sense, as it chronicles a 1960s-era bromance between two men who don’t really have much to say to each other. Damon is typically solid as the determined Shelby, but it’s Bale who impresses the most as Ken, a man who is devoted to his family as much as he is to the sport of racing. It’s one of the actor’s best roles, and he was rightly nominated for an Oscar for his subtle performance.
Ford v Ferrari is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Igby Goes Down’ (2002)
The Catcher in the Rye was never made into a feature film, but if it had, it would look something like Igby Goes Down. Kieran Culkin stars as Igby, a disaffected 17-year-old who is always rebelling against his rich but distant family. After getting kicked out of numerous prep schools and a military academy, he is sent to live with his godfather, D.H. Banes (Jeff Goldblum), for the summer. But as Igby’s troubles are only just beginning, as he strikes up a romance with Banes’ mistress, Rachel (Amanda Peet), and finds out some family secrets he wishes were better left hidden.
Igby Goes Down doesn’t hide its affinity for J.D. Salinger’s seminal creation. It’s actually part of the fun in watching it, as you get to see what Holden Caulfield would like in a feature film. Culkin’s snarky sullenness is perfect for Igby, who wallows in cynicism as a way to avoid feeling any real emotion.
The supporting cast is terrific, with Susan Sarandon standing out as Igby’s distant mother and Goldblum getting the bulk of the laughs as Igby’s deceptively charming godfather. The movie uses key New York City landmarks like Central Park and the Twin Towers to conjure a funny/sad vibe — it’s a romance and elegy of youthful optimism that, as Igby gradually discovers, is over all too soon.
Igby Goes Down is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
