Amazon’s Prime Video has classic movies made 30 years ago, as well as newer gems released within the last handful of years. Right now, the streaming service is home to both one of the most underrated movies of 2025 and a Hugh Grant dramedy that deserves to be remembered better in the scope of his career. The streamer also has a late ’90s crime thriller that won two Oscars in 1998 and helped introduce American audiences to Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.
With all of that in mind, here are the three best movies you can watch on Prime Video this weekend.
“Black Bag” (2025)
“Black Bag” was one of the best movies released last year, but you could be forgiven for not knowing that. This slick spy thriller from “Ocean’s Eleven” filmmaker Steven Soderbergh came and went without making much noise when it briefly hit theaters in March 2025. Those who did catch “Black Bag” at that time know just how special it is, though. Written by “Jurassic Park” screenwriter David Koepp, the film follows a British intelligence officer (Michael Fassbender) who is assigned to investigate a list of suspected traitors within MI6, one of whom just so happens to be his wife (Cate Blanchett).
Featuring perfectly pitched, confident turns from Fassbender, Blanchett and the rest of its supporting actors, “Black Bag” makes simple dinner table conversations feel just as tense and thrilling as political assassinations and drone strikes. Here is a film that knows exactly what it is, and it argues its ideas — namely, that marriage is just as much about lie detection as it is about honesty — with enough style to leave you grinning from ear to ear.
“About a Boy” (2002)
“About a Boy” may not be as oft-quoted or iconic as “Notting Hill” or “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” but it ranks high on the list of Hugh Grant‘s early-career comedies. Based on the 1998 Nick Hornby novel of the same name, the film follows a chauvinistic bachelor (Grant) who attends single parent meetings to meet women. His life is turned upside down when he meets and becomes a quasi-mentor to a troubled 12-year-old boy (Nicholas Hoult) who forces him to accept a level of responsibility he has long refused to adopt.
The film has no reason to work as well as it does, but directors Paul and Chris Weitz fill “About a Boy” with enough heart that its protagonist’s transformation from unlikable sod to endearing heartthrob completely works. The directors pull that off thanks, in no small part, to the comedic, empathetic supporting performance given by Toni Collette as the single mother of Marcus and Rachel Weisz’s striking, memorable turn as the woman whose affection is enough to make Grant’s Will want to actually change. None of this may sound very new or unique, and it’s not. But the way that “About a Boy” so thoroughly fills your heart and wins you over is.
“L.A. Confidential” (1997)
A noir crime thriller for the ages, “L.A. Confidential” is hard-boiled, brutal and effortlessly gripping. Directed by Curtis Hanson and based on James Ellroy’s 1990 novel of the same name, the film creates a corruption-ridden, desperate portrait of 1950s Los Angeles that is overflowing with distinctly drawn characters and memorable performances from then-up-and-coming stars like Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce. An ensemble story, it follows a group of cops with very different limits and ideas of justice as they each grapple with the corruption both within Los Angeles’ celebrity culture and their own ranks.
The film marches through its story, building its momentum, stakes and tension with each expertly crafted scene and twist. Everything has already palpably boiled over by the time “L.A. Confidential” reaches its blood-soaked climax, which caps the film off with moments of violence and hope that feel both inevitable and hard-won. It’s one of the best crime films ever made.
