5 critically acclaimed Prime Video movies to watch this week (July 27-August 2)

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | Anze Furlan/Shutterstock Published Jul 27, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT As an entertainment enthusiast, Keeley is a streaming content author and expert at How-To Geek with over a decade's experience writing about film and television. Her focus is on streaming content lists and guides. Keeley also writes film and television reviews, recaps, features, and lists for Loud and Clear Reviews, and she writes streaming content features for Pocket-Lint. Her reviews are featured on Rotten Tomatoes, and she also has bylines at Collider and Fansided Entertainment's Show Snob and Bam Smack Pow divisions. If she's not in front of the TV, dissecting content with her husband, you can just wait one minute—she'll be right back. Sign in to your How-To Geek account This week on Amazon Prime Video, we continue to explore some of the platform’s critically acclaimed movies. From gripping true stories to searing character studies, each of our selections pulls you into its authentic world and, at just the right time, releases you with its indelible impression, showcasing its cinematic commitment. Our top pick is a 2008 war thriller that not only won the Oscar for Best Picture but also made Oscar history for an entirely different reason. What was it? Read on to find out! 5 Backdraft The deadliest secret about fires you didn't know The 1991 action thriller Backdraft made firefighting iconic in popular culture and revolutionized practical fire effects in cinema. It also popularized the scientific term in public vocabulary by bringing the dangerous ventilation phenomenon of a backdraft into mainstream awareness. For the unfamiliar, a backdraft occurs when a fire burning in a confined, oxygen-depleted space receives a new source of fresh air, instantly igniting hot gases and creating a violent fireball and blast wave. Kurt Russell (Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) and William Baldwin (Flatliners) star as firefighting brothers Stephen and Brian, who have been rivals since childhood. While Stephen is a veteran firefighter battling a string of deadly blazes across Chicago, Brian works with an old-school arson investigator (Robert De Niro) to scrutinize the crimes of a dangerous arsonist. The movie earned three Oscar nominations and was widely lauded for its realistic special effects, intense fire sequences, and ability to treat fire like a living, breathing character. In addition to its memorable performances, it also features immersive sound design that brilliantly captures the roaring, destructive fury of raging infernos and dynamic cinematography as cameras race through burning buildings and place viewers directly in the heat of danger. Backdraft Release Date May 24, 1991 Cast Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glenn, Rebecca De Mornay, Jason Gedrick, J.T. Walsh, Anthony Mockus Sr., Cedric Young, Juan Ramírez, Kevin Casey, Jack McGee, Mark Wheeler, Richard Lexsee, Beep Iams, Ryan Todd, John Duda, Robert Swan, Clint Howard, Ron West, Kevin Crowley, Carlos Sanz, Jane Jenkins Runtime 137 minutes Director Ron Howard Writers Gregory Widen Producers John Watson, Pen Densham, Richard Barton Lewis Main Genre Action Executive Producer(s) Brian Grazer, Raffaella De Laurentiis 4 The Report Political thriller based on actual events Adam Driver (Star Wars sequel trilogy) and Annette Bening (Dutton Ranch) star in the Golden Globe-nominated The Report, which offers a compelling indictment of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) post-9/11 “enhanced interrogation” practices. Daniel J. Jones (Driver) is an idealistic Senate staffer tasked by Senator Dianne Feinstein (Bening) with investigating the CIA’s post-9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program. His painstaking six-year investigation uncovers the shocking lengths to which the agency went to hide a brutal secret from the American public. Those lengths include evidence of torture, illegal “black sites,” and a widespread cover-up of the program’s failures. Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones $229 $359 Save $130 As a sobering political drama, The Report is gripping and intelligent, with outstanding lead performances by Driver and Bening. The critically acclaimed movie was also commended for its efforts in turning a dense 6,700-page government investigation into an engaging and urgent watch without relying on cheap Hollywood clichés. It doesn’t force the facts but instead allows viewers to sit back and simply bear witness to what is unfolding on screen. The Report Release Date November 15, 2019 Cast Corey Stoll, Alexander Chaplin, Jon Hamm, Linda Powell, Tim Blake Nelson, Guy Boyd, Ted Levine, Adam Driver, Maura Tierney, Victor Slezak, Michael C. Hall, Annette Bening, John Rothman Runtime 118 minutes Director Scott Z. Burns Writers Scott Z. Burns Main Genre Drama Cinematographer Eigil Bryld Producer Jennifer Fox, Michael Sugar, Danny Gabai, Steven Soderbergh, Scott Z. Burns, Kerry Orent, Eddy Moretti Production Company Unbranded Pictures, Margin of Error, Topic Studios, Vice Media Sfx Supervisor David McElfresh Studio(s) VICE Studios, Unbranded Pictures, Margin of Error, Topic Studios Distributor(s) Amazon Studios 3 The Proposition A gritty, unforgiving Australian Western The Proposition is a gritty 2005 moral tale about a man forced to choose between the lives of his two brothers in the lawless Australian Outback. Its narrative explores the deep bonds of family loyalty, the impossibility of bringing British civilization back to a wild frontier, and the ways in which violence destroys the human soul. Set in the 1880s in the dusty, unforgiving landscape of the Outback, Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) stars as Captain Morris Stanley, a British lawman trying to bring order to the area. When he captures the outlaw Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce, Memento) and his younger brother Mikey (Richard Wilson, All Saints), he offers Charlie a deal—ride out and kill their notorious and psychopathic older brother Arthur (Danny Huston, The Constant Gardener), and Mikey will be spared from the gallows. Directed by John Hillcoat (The Road) and written by the musician and screenwriter Nick Cave, The Proposition is praised as much for its intense direction as for its haunting script and accompanying score. Its thought-provoking narrative, raw performances, and stark cinematography are widely noted, as is its unique take on the Western genre. In exploring the dark and bloody reality of colonial expansion, it strips away classic Western romanticism in favor of an intense, gritty, and violent survival story. The Proposition Release Date September 12, 2005 Cast Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt, David Wenham, Emily Watson Runtime 104 Minutes Director John Hillcoat Writers Nick Cave Main Genre Crime Budget $2 Million Studio(s) Surefire Films, Autonomous, Jackie O Productions, Pictures in Paradise, The Pacific Film and Television Commission, The Film Consortium Distributor(s) Sony Pictures Releasing 2 127 Hours A true survival story with harrowing consequences Director Danny Boyle’s (28 Days Later franchise) intense survival story about rock climber Aron Ralston’s life-threatening adventure in a remote Utah canyon will leave you breathless. James Franco (Freaks and Geeks) stars in 127 Hours, which details every second of Ralston’s real-life experience. An avid mountaineer, Ralston set out on April 26, 2003, to explore Bluejohn Canyon in southeastern Utah. His mistake was that he not only went alone but also failed to tell anyone where he’d be. While descending into the canyon, an 800-pound boulder shifts, pinning Ralston’s right hand and wrist against the wall. With only a small backpack containing two burritos, very little water, a video camera, and a multi-tool, he does his best to survive. After five long days of being trapped in the dark, freezing chasm, he breaks the bones in his forearm and uses the dull blade of his multi-tool to cut through skin, tissue, tendons, and nerves, ultimately freeing himself. As a movie based on events too insane to be true, 127 Hours earned six Academy Award nominations and boasts a 93% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. It is widely celebrated for Boyle’s energetic direction, striking cinematography, and Franco’s emotionally powerful lead performance. 127 Hours Release Date November 12, 2010 Cast James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Lizzy Caplan, Elizabeth Hales, Patrick Gibbs Runtime 94 minutes Director Danny Boyle Writers Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy Budget $18 million Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures, Searchlight Pictures 1 The Hurt Locker A fierce, multi-Oscar-winning war tale Boasting a 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, director Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker swept the 82nd Academy Awards, winning 6 Oscars in total. Its most notable win was for Best Picture, but the movie also made history when Bigelow became the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director. Following the death of their well-respected staff sergeant in the Iraq War, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit—i.e., the bomb squad—is saddled with a different team leader. Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner, Mayor of Kingstown) is an inveterate risk-taker who seems to thrive on war, and there’s no denying his gift for defusing bombs. However, his maverick personality and reckless way of handling his work quickly place him at odds with his squad. The movie earned widespread critical acclaim because of its heart-pounding tension, intense character study of an adrenaline-addicted soldier, and raw, visceral direction. Bigelow's use of gritty, documentary-style handheld cameras to capture the dust, heat, and claustrophobia of Baghdad allows viewers to feel the real danger of the Iraq War. Furthermore, its focus on slow, meticulous bomb-defusing sequences in place of standard action explosions combines with its depictions of how modern combat changes people to create a powerful sense of psychological dread. The Hurt Locker Release Date July 31, 2009 Cast Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, David Morse, Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly, Ralph Fiennes, Christian Camargo, Christopher Sayegh, David Gueriera, Nabil Koni, Sam Spruell, Sam Redford, Erin Gann, Malcolm Barrett, Kristoffer Ryan Winters, J.J. Kandel, Hani Al Naimi, Anas Wellman, Kate Mines, Yousef Shweihat, Feisal Sadoun, Barrie Rice, Imad Daoudi, Justin Campbell Runtime 131 minutes Director Kathryn Bigelow Writers Mark Boal Producers Greg Shapiro, Nicolas Chartier Main Genre Drama Budget $15 million Studio(s) Summit Entertainment Distributor(s) Summit Entertainment Executive Producer(s) Tony Mark Cinematic commitment Together, these movies highlight the depth and range of critically acclaimed storytelling available on Prime Video, proving that great cinema does so much more than just entertain. Though they span multiple genres, they maintain a shared commitment to cinematic excellence, and that’s why we love them. Subscription with ads Yes, via Prime membership or $9/month Simultaneous streams 3 Live TV No Price Included with Amazon Prime subscription ($15/month or $139/year) or $9/month standalone