Prime Video is on a roll for 2024. There are a ton of new movies and shows on Prime Video and Freevee this February and there's certainly no lack of quality. Last month we got an impressive seven movies rated 95% or higher "fresh "on Rotten Tomatoes to kick off the new year but this month there are even more.
That's right, this month, we have nine movies that make the 95% threshold, meaning they all have near-universal acclaim. In the interest of curation, we're recommending the top five of these movies, including "Get Out," the incredible 2017 directorial debut from Jordan Peele.
While a high rating on the review aggregate site is not a guarantee of quality, it’s a useful indication that a majority of critics consider a movie worthy of a spot on your watchlist. So without further ado, here are the five best movies new to Prime Video and Freevee this month.
'12 Angry Men' (1957)
It's rare to see a film get a 100% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes — a unanimous first-ballot hall of famer in baseball may be the only feat rarer. But if any film was going to have universal acclaim, Sidney Lumet's "12 Angry Men" would be on the shortlist.
Starring Henry Fonda, this film is often considered the best courtroom drama of all time. The movie centers around the jury deliberation for a case involving an 18-year-old boy accused of killing his abusive father. Many of the jury, in addition to Fonda stars Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden, wish to return a guilty verdict but cannot if there is a reasonable doubt. Don't miss this Best Picture nominee while it's available to watch for free.
Genre: Legal drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Stream it on Prime Video for free (with ads)
'How to Train Your Dragon' (2010)
Remember how I said a 100% "fresh" rating is nearly impossible to achieve? Case in point, somehow three critics said "How to Train Your Dragon" wasn't good. And if you've watched this animated movie, you'd know what an absurd claim that is.
The movie stars Jay Baruchel as Hiccup, a 15-year-old in Berk, a Viking village subject to frequent dragon attacks. This fantasy adventure is a touching story about finding a friend in an unlikely place as well as overcoming your fears and prejudices.
That unlikely friend by the way? That would be Toothless, the Night Fury dragon that Hiccup adopts rather than killing, against the wishes of his father Stoic (Gerard Butler), the village chieftain. But who could blame him — that dragon is adorable.
Genre: Animated fantasy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Stream it on Prime Video for free (with ads)
'I Am Not Your Negro' (2016)
This powerful documentary is based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript "Remember This House," which was a collection of Baldwin's recollections of prominent civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. The manuscript was finally published in 2017 to pair with this documentary.
Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, Raoul Peck's "I Am Not Your Negro" transforms Baldwin's work into a video essay examining the history of racism in the U.S. The film encompasses five chapters, each highlighting a different arena in which racism has impacted Black America, from the portrayal of Black characters in movies to the continued and pervasive systemic racism that still impacts Black Americans today. Even from just the trailer, it forces you to take notice.
Genre: Documentary
Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%
Stream it on Prime Video
'Get Out' (2017)
"Get Out" is a fitting companion piece to "I Am Not Your Negro." Jordan Peele's first stab at directing a feature film is certainly a different take on examining the pervasiveness of racism in modern America, but it frankly lands at a similar conclusion.
Yes, this is nominally a horror movie about a Black man whose white girlfriend's family kidnaps him in a quest for immortality, and "Get Out" still excels at that. But from white people talking a bit too much about how much they love Obama, to fetishizing the African American physique, this movie is undoubtedly a take on how even the less overt displays of racism in our society are just as rampant as their less subtle counterparts. Spoiler alert: this movie excels at that too.
Genre: Psychological horror
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Stream it on Prime Video
'My Left Foot' (1989)
Daniel Day-Lewis is now considered one of the greatest actors of all time — if not the greatest. And that perception begins with "My Left Foot," an adaptation of Irish artist and writer Christy Brown's memoir of the same name. In it, Day-Lewis plays Brown, an Irish man born into a working-class family and suffering from cerebral palsy. Because of this illness, Brown is only able to fully control his left foot.
Overcoming this disability makes Brown's story inspirational, but it also adds a degree of difficulty in the physicality required for the role. Day-Lewis, however, absolutely nails the performance, which would earn him his first of six Best Actor nominations and his first of three wins in the Oscars category. It's a career performance from one of the best careers in acting, so don't miss it while you can watch it on Prime Video.
Genre: Biographical comedy-drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Stream it on Prime Video
