The holiday season is here, and with it comes plenty of stress. If you’re looking to unwind, the best way to do that might be to find some time to watch a movie. Once you’ve done that, though, you’ve still got to pick the film you want to watch. That alone can be as stressful as buying Christmas gifts.
There are plenty of great titles on Amazon Prime Video, but narrowing in on the one you want can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve got you covered with three underrated titles that are all worth your time. Whichever one you decide to watch, you probably won’t regret it.
We also have guides to the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
State and Main (2000)
One of the great movies about Hollywood ever made, State and Main tells the story of a film crew that descends on a small New England town, totally disrupting life there. There’s a neurotic screenwriter who can’t seem to figure out how the movie should end, a leading man who is carrying on affairs that are both inappropriate and possibly illegal, and a director trying to make it all work.
The townsfolk, meanwhile, are slowly corrupted by the Hollywood world that they are suddenly thrust into, all in the name of making great entertainment for a mass audience. State and Main features a starry cast that includes Alec Baldwin as a sexually voracious leading man and Sarah Jessica Parker as an insecure actress. The film’s selling point, however, is the witty screenplay by David Mamet, who clearly has some axes to grind about Hollywood filmmaking.
You can watch State and Main on Prime Video.
Amistad (1997)
Often regarded as one of Steven Spielberg’s least-successful movies, Amistad is much more interesting than its reputation suggests. The movie tells the story of a slave ship crossing the Atlantic in 1839. When the slaves aboard that ship lead a rebellion, they are eventually held captive in Connecticut, and their release becomes a subject of heated debate.
When a young lawyer is recruited to argue in their favor, the movie turns toward a meditation about the nature of race in America, and the readily apparent unjustness of slavery that was apparent to even those who were living through it. Throw in Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-nominated performance as John Quincy Adams, and you’ve got a heck of a movie.
You can watch Amistad on Prime Video.
Deep Cover (1992)
Telling the story of an undercover cop who is working to take down the biggest drug dealer in Los Angeles, Deep Cover features one of Laurence Fishburne’s greatest performances. From front to back, the movie is riveting, tense, and appreciates the depth its main character has to go to earn the trust of the county’s biggest kingpin.
Wicked‘s Jeff Goldblum proves just at adept as Fishburne is at nailing the tricky material, and Deep Cover ultimately proves to be one of the most satisfying crime movies ever made by the time the credits roll.
You can watch Deep Cover on Prime Video.
