An Oscar winner, an action remake and two Michelle Pfeiffer films
If you’re looking for something new to watch on Amazon Prime Video this month, you’ve come to the right place. While Amazon can make it tricky to find what you’re looking for, we’ve thumbed through the entire list of what’s new on Prime Video in March to pick the best of the best. That includes a newly minted Oscar winner, a star-fronted action remake and two Michelle Pfeiffer movies that truly show off the actress’ range.
Check out our picks for the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in March 2024 below.
The Oscar-winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, “American Fiction” is a sharp, funny story about an acclaimed Black novelist whose latest manuscript gets rejected for not being “Black enough.” Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) then decides to get back at them by writing what he thinks is a stereotypical “Black” story as a joke – only for publishers to fawn over his latest book. While a book he hates becomes a runaway success, Monk struggles with his own familial and romantic issues at home. This is a layered and tremendously entertaining film that marks the directorial debut of Emmy-winning “Watchmen” and “Succession” writer Cord Jefferson. – Adam Chitwood
Who knew that a glossy “Road House” remake would be this controversial? The new movie, which sees Jake Gyllenhaal fill in for Patrick Swayze as a former UFC fighter turned “cooler” at a dingy roadside bar in Florida, has besieged by scandal – between producer Joel Silver getting removed from the project, to director Doug Liman publicly distancing himself from the movie as a protest for Amazon’s lack of theatrical exhibition, to a recent lawsuit claiming that the movie utilized AI voice reproduction during the writers’ strike as a way of skirting copyright expiration. Honestly, none of this really matters, considering how cool the first trailer was, how tantalizing the supporting cast is (including Jessica Williams, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen and Conor McGregor) and how well-regarded the original movie has become over the years. We cannot wait to visit “Road House,” controversy be damned. – Drew Taylor
The video game adaptation “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” a movie that asks the age-old question: What if the Chuck E. Cheese or Showbiz Pizza was haunted by the spirit of dead children? Part of the fun of the movie is playing up the inherent creepiness of those jittery audio-animatronics that would play music while sugar-fueled kids play Skee-Ball. And this is especially true since Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, responsible for the characters in “The Dark Crystal” and the first “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (truly the height of Chuck E. Cheese’s) came up with the animatronic creatures for this movie. And there is a pretty involving mystery at its heart, too, as a beleaguered security guard (Josh Hutcherson) works to uncover the truth behind a series of disappearances somehow connected to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, the spooky decrepit pizza joint. Plus, this is one of those PG-13 horror movies that still has enough edge to delight every nightmare-seeker in your family. – Drew Taylor
Tim Burton’s 1992 sequel remains one of the best, boldest and sexiest Batman movies ever made – and it holds up tremendously well. “Batman Returns” is the superior follow-up to Burton’s 1989 hit, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Michelle Pfeiffer is phenomenal with her turn as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, with the character serving as a tempting mirror of Bruce Wayne’s own dichotomy and a more violent path towards vigilantism. There’s also Danny DeVito’s snarling Penguin, and perhaps most terrifying of all Christopher Walken’s soulless businessman Max Schreck. With a Christmas setting and Burton pushing the Gothic aesthetics to the extreme, this is one of the best Batman movies ever made. – Adam Chitwood
A tremendous family film if there ever was one, 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon” is an uplifting, deeply compassionate animated adventure. Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup, a Viking living in a village with his father who struggles to fit in. When he befriends a dragon – creatures thought by the Vikings to be violent and terrifying – Hiccup begins to see the world differently, and in turn convinces his friends and family to check their prejudices and consider the world from a different point of view. – Adam Chitwood
Released in 2013 at the height of the Judd Apatow brand of comedy, “This Is the End” marked the directorial debut of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (who also wrote the script) as they tackled a truly wild vision for a comedy: what if these comedy stars played exaggerated versions of themselves who had to contend with an apocalypse? Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride and Jay Baruchel are the main anchors for this hilarious and surprisingly sweet comedy, which hosts a boatload of cameos from Rihanna to Emma Watson to Paul Rudd. – Adam Chitwood
“What Lies Beneath” is both a product of its time and perfect for the current era’s obsession with true crime stories. Made by director Robert Zemeckis while the “Cast Away” production took a yearlong break for Tom Hanks to lose weigh, this thriller stars Harrison Ford as a successful doctor whose wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, begins to believe their Vermont home is haunted by a ghost. Marital strife ensues and this Hitchockian thriller builds to a truly brilliant sequence in the third act involving a bath tub. – Adam Chitwood
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