Need something new to watch this month? Summer is in full swing, but with the pandemic still underway, there's not a summer blockbuster to be found. Fortunately, we've got streaming. While Netflix keeps jamming out new original movies, Amazon Prime Video has a lot of great old favorites hitting their streaming service in August 2020, along with a pair of last year's best feel-good films, and one of this year's most fascinatingly flawed releases.
In terms of old favorites, Christopher Nolan's Inception is arriving on the streaming service just in time to get you through your Tenet envy, and if you're looking to get away from the summer heat, Nancy Meyers' The Holiday has all the wintery cottagecore aesthetic you crave. As for those feel-good movies, we've got Dora and the Lost City of Gold and The Peanut Butter Falcon, and if you want to get weird with it, Josh Trank's Capone is now streaming for all to see.
Get the details on our picks for the best new movies on Amazon Prime below, and you're looking for everything hitting the streaming service this month, you can find the full list of new movies and TV shows here.
3:10 to Yuma
Available: August 1
Director: James Mangold
Writers: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas
Cast: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Ben Foster, Dallas Roberts, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw, Logan Lerman
I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Western out there, which is what made it such a surprise when I completely fell for James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma remake. Christian Bale stars as a financially stricken Civil War veteran on the brink of losing his family’s farm when he captures the infamous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe). Determined to escort and deliver Wade to the authorities, they have to make it before the 3:10 to Yuma train departs, saddling up for a hell of an adventure full of shoot-outs, horse chases, and campfire bonding. Bale and Crowe’s chemistry keeps the story of the unlikely frienemies crackling along, and Mangold makes a sumptuous meal of the Western setting, updating what needs to be updated while leaning into some tried and true genre traditions.
Inception
Available: August 1
Writer/Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine
As the saga of Tenet continues to unfold, at least Amazon subscribers have easy access to one of Christopher Nolan’s great films this month. All of Nolan’s films are thought experiments to some extent, but his mind-bending 2010 action-thriller Inception is one of the highlights of form meeting function in his career. The film basically follows dream mercenaries, folks who delve into the unconscious mind and plunder it for goods, in this case, a bit of corporate espionage and emotional warfare. Led by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb, who’s dealing with a whole host of dangerous unresolved trauma in his subconscious, the team travels through each other’s mindspaces for a wild adventure that exists on parallel planes with complex time dilations. You know, that classic Nolan shit.
Hans Zimmer spawned a million imitators with his booming score, and Nolan shoots the hell out of his dream worlds, surprisingly banal and sexless though they may be. And then there’s that cast. Joseph Gordon-Levitt positively owns the physicality of that iconic tumbling action set-piece; Tom Hardy is having the time of his life daring us all to dream a little bit bigger, darling; and DiCaprio grounds it all in the kind of complex, emotionally raw performance that have become the bread and butter of his celebrated career. Just to name a few. It’s a good movie! You may have heard that somewhere before, not sure.
The Holiday
Available: August 1
Writer/Director: Nancy Meyers
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell
It’s a bit early in the year to be tuning into Christmas cinema, for my taste, but I got to give it up for Nancy Meyers’ 2006 romance The Holiday, which always seems to be in season. It’s hard to make a great Christmas movie, especially in contemporary times when earnest holly jolly spirit is hard to come by and the seasonal trappings to often feel corporate, calculated, or disingenuous. But The Holiday hits that rare mark, putting the focus on being a great romantic comedy first, which makes the added dose of holiday spirit gravy.
Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet star as two women on opposite sides of the globe fed up with their lives, who decide to do a house swap. Hollywood producer Amanda (Diaz) sets off for the quiet cottage life while British journalist Iris (Winslet) prepares to soak up some California sun, and once they settle in, they both unexpectedly fall in love. Diaz and Jude Law make a wonderful if appallingly gorgeous pairing, but teaming Winslet with Jack Black is the inspired and unexpected piece of casting. It pays off because they have cracking chemistry (everyone has chemistry with everyone and everything in this movie, including those signature Nancy Meyers dream homes), and with the added bonus of outrageously adorable British children, a painfully sweet subplot about an aging movie legend (played by aging movie legend Eli Wallach) finally getting his due, and a fearless commitment to keeping it light and fluffy, The Holiday is an easy, breezy feel-good watch any time of year.
Top Gun
Available: August 1
Director: Tony Scott
Writers: Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, and Tom Skerritt
You can say it’s cheesy, you can say it’s melodramatic, but boy is Top Gun a hell of a film. Tony Scott’s chronicle of elite fighter pilots was a massive hit when it opened in 1986, solidifying its place in the American cultural zeitgeist for generations to come, and it remains an incredibly a good time. Top Gun is all about male camaraderie, and in that sense may be the best “bromance” movie ever made. The love between these characters—even two as contentious as Maverick and Iceman—is genuine, and the film celebrates masculinity while simultaneously embracing the more sensitive aspects of male relationships. Tom Cruise delivers one of his best performances, Kelly McGillis is fiercely independent, and Val Kilmer plays a hell of a prick. Kick the tires, light the fires, and boot this up on Amazon ASAP. – Adam Chitwood
Dora and The Lost City of Gold
Available: August 3
Director: James Bobbin
Writers: Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson
Cast: Isabela Merced, Eugenio Derbez, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Danny Trejo
Looking for a fun adventure film that’s safe for the whole family? Based on the international children’s TV sensation Dora The Explorer, the 2019 action-adventure Dora and The Lost City of Gold stars Isabela Merced as the beloved character with director James Bobbin (The Muppets) keeping a nice balance of action, humor, and of course, a bit of education. Merced is the real highlight, capturing Dora’s wholesome energy and unstoppable adventurousness, and she’s wonderfully paired with international superstar Eugenio Derbez as a gleefully goofy explorer.
The Peanut Butter Falcon
Writer/Directors: Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, Dakota Johnson, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Jon Bernthal, Thomas Haden Church
If you missed 2019’s feel-good film of the year, do yourself a favor and add The Peanut Butter Falcon to your watchlist right now. Who doesn’t love an offbeat underdog story? Zack Gottsagen stars as a young man with Down Syndrome who breaks out of his assisted living facility and teams with a thieving fisherman on the run (Shia LaBeouf) to pursue his dream of becoming a wrestler. There’s just nothing not to like about this warm and fuzzy tender tale, which occasionally nudges into saccharine territory, but is just too pure and sweet to deny, all the same. LaBeouf is one of the most compelling and unpredictable actors of his generation, and the best surprise here is the warmth and gentleness he doesn’t get hired to bring to the table as often as he should. He’s matched by Gottsagen’s infectious, radiant joyfulness and a lovely, tender performance from Dakota Johnson as a social worker trying to find her lost charge. Optimism and relentless kindness are in short supply these days, but The Peanut Butter Falcon has nothing but good vibes to share.
Capone
Available: August 10
Writer/Director: Josh Trank
Cast: Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, Jack Lowden, Noel Fisher, Kyle MacLachlan, Matt Dillon, Al Sapienza
Capone is a fascinating, deeply flawed movie that I can’t in all good conscience call one of the “best” new movies on Amazon this month. But I can recommend that you watch it for Tom Hardy’s typically committed, off-the-wall performance as the infamous criminal, which introduces us to another Hardy Original Voice for the ages and lets the brilliant actor go HAM, as always, on turning the scenery into a six-course meal. Capone was a passion project for filmmaker Josh Trank, which means that even when it misfires, it does so with zeal, leaning into Hardy’s performance with the same intensity the star leans into the role. As Collider’s Vinnie Mancuso put it: “Hardy is uniquely magnetic because watching him act in even the most normal roles is like watching a tiger during feeding time; a completely mundane task charged with unpredictability.”