Netflix might be the top dog when it comes to online video subscription services, but
Amazon Prime Video is mounting a real challenge to that title.
In fact, Amazon Prime actually has more subscribers, though many of them haven't even checked out
the company's video service.
If you're one of those people, or you're just wondering what exactly they have to offer,
here's a look at some of the hidden gems available on Amazon Prime Instant Video.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
If you love true crime dramas, then don't miss your chance to watch this gripping and
moving documentary about one of the most notorious multiple killings in recent history.
Paradise Lost chronicles the tale of the "West Memphis Three" — three teenagers tried and
convicted for the murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.
"I think the cops just can't find who done it, and they gotta put it on somebody."
It's a chilling look at both the brutal murders, and the witch hunt that led to convictions
against the three suspects, who were finally released from prison nearly two decades later.
"So like I'm the West Memphis Boogie Man.
Little kids will be looking under their bed before they go to bed. They be puttin me under there."
Monster
Roger Ebert called Charlize Theron's portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster
"one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema."
Theron ended up winning 17 awards for the role, including the Academy Award and Golden
Globe for Best Actress, with many critics and audience members failing to even recognize
Theron thanks to a truly transformative performance.
"So I'm real good with people and um, um I know how to work a rolodex."
The harrowing true crime story isn't for everyone, but if you love quality cinema, it might be
for you.
Adventureland
Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Wiig, and Bill Hader headline Adventureland,
an irreverent comedy set at a rundown amusement park.
"You don't know what I'm capable of!
Come on!
Please!"
At times touching and sweet, at others uproariously funny, Adventureland is a great summer coming-of-age
flick that mixes nostalgia with offbeat humor to create an unexpectedly moving movie experience.
"What the hell was that?"
"It's just my life."
Selma
In this critically acclaimed historical drama, Selma takes us on a journey to 1965, as Dr.
Martin Luther King and other voting rights activists lead protesters on a 54-mile-long
march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
By highlighting racial injustice with these marches — some of which were televised as
troopers beat and attacked the protesters — the disenfranchisement of black voters
finally came to an end after the passage of the Voting Rights Act later that year.
Selma doesn't pull any punches, and dramatically depicts the brutalization and killing of activists
and innocents in a seminal moment of American history that resonates as strongly now as
ever.
Under the Skin
Scarlett Johansson delivers a spellbinding performance in Under the Skin as a mysterious
alien who preys on men in Scotland.
The movie takes on the alien's perspective of our world, and she exhibits callous disinterest
in the things that make the human experience unique — the urge to comfort a crying baby,
savoring the flavor of food, or the simple enjoyment of music.
And that's the heart of this film's magnetic draw — by showing the audience our world
from an alien perspective, it makes the point clear that the meaning of everything really
is in the eye of the beholder.
Bone Tomahawk
We like Kurt Russell.
We love horror films.
We really love Tombstone.
So when a director makes a genre-bending western horror film starring Kurt Russell as a hard-nosed
lawman who has to defeat a clan of cannibals, it's pretty much guaranteed that we're going
to lose our minds over it.
Bone Tomahawk is just as awesome as it sounds, with Russell starring as Sheriff Franklin
Hunt, who must figure out how to defeat the cannibals holed up in the "Valley of Starving
Men" before they can murder more of the citizens of the small town he's sworn to defend.
Heck yeah!
Ex Machina
If you love science fiction films about robots or artificial intelligence, but hate their
constantly rehashed plots, Ex Machina is the remedy you've been searching for.
This independent movie takes common science fiction tropes and turns them upside down,
as a computer programmer Caleb accepts an invitation to administer the Turing intelligence
test to a humanoid robot named Ava.
What follows is an intricate plot with elements of sci-fi, horror, psychological drama, and
thrills to keep you entertained and engaged through numerous unexpected twists.
With exceptional writing and a stellar performance by Alicia Vikander as Ava, Ex Machina will
keep you at the edge of your seat.
And best of all?
It has dancing!
"Tryin to find a friend."
This movie's got everything!
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