The 15 Best Shows And Movies On Amazon Prime Right Now

Prime. Netflix. Hulu. Shudder... and with all we have offered to us now, we still complain that there's not enough. We are so spoiled. If we don't have instant gratification, we complain about the selection. If we don't have the selection, we complain about the stream, the bandwidth, the cost.

We are never satisfied, and yet, we lack nothing. If we really want to see something, it's out there. It just needs to be found.

When Amazon Prime first started its video department, it really was a bore. Nothing worked, and the selection was radically dull. It was worth passing on, for TV value, but good for the purpose of getting that free shipping on orders. You couldn't easily order a movie, nor could you find anything other than the ten or so movies that never seemed to rotate.

We'd been spoiled by Netflix, and Hulu was kicking' butt and taking names. Prime just wasn't keeping up... until now.

I might attribute that to the fact that, well... it's still dull, but at least they've upped the amount of things to watch. Finally, there are actually things on Prime that one would want to watch. And not only that, but someone caught on to the fact that we really do like quality entertainment.

Spend enough time on there and you will find something. I found some great stuff, only on Prime. Here are the 15 best movies on Amazon Prime, as well as the best shows on Amazon Prime, all of which are worth the watch.

1. The Romanoffs

Not what you'd expect, unless you expect a series made up of individual tales, all different, all set in different places with different characters. The thread between: all stories revolve around one member of the Romanoff family, and all stories seem to be linked by violence or murder.

This is a great series, and the stories just keeping better each time. Great acting, original ideas and a fantastic opening title scene, reminiscent of "The Young Pope."

2. The Widow

I'm always up for Kate Beckinsale, and I'm so glad to see her getting great roles. Here, Kate plays a woman who mysteriously loses her husband in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Alex Kingston joins in, along with Charles Dance for a truly suspenseful, nail biter of a story. I'm so glad it was made into a series rather than a movie, as it's completely engaging.

3. Homecoming

I'm one of those Julia Roberts believers, and I also tend to believe in the projects she associates with. Homecoming is a weird, sci-fi kind of apocalyptic Black Mirror-ish series. There's just something that isn't right here.

At first you think you're just watching something slow and well acted, until you realize you are definitely knee-deep in surrealism and science fiction. I loved it, and you will too.

4. Annihilation

The theme of the year is apocalypse, and the main ingredient in video seems to be end of days projection. Annihilation is yet another of the mystical sci-fi entries into this "we're all going to die" kind of thinking.

This one's a bit pretentious, but it's got Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac, who everyone loves a little bit. Worth a watch... once.

5. The Frame

I feel like I'm stuck between Black Mirror and Sense 8 with this one, but wow, I really liked it. It's got that high paranoia that sets it apart from the rest, and it's based on all the things we've come to know and trust, like TV.

What's that person doing on TV? Watching ME? One thing leads to another and you eventually find out just how voyeuristic things can get. Wonderfully acted by unknowns.

6. Liquid Sky

You watch this so you can say you did. Because if you lived through the 80s and didn't watch it, then you must have been stuck some place where there was nothing cool to be involved in.

Liquid Sky is that cool thing you missed out on. It's a bit of insanity, wild color, and avant-garde sci-fi. Throw in some gender fluidity and murder, and you're good to go.

7. Santa Sangre

I jumped for joy knowing I could watch this, or ANYTHING by Alejandro Jodorowsky on Prime, and here it is, one of his best. It's a gruesome tale of the circus, filled with raw gore and incredible sensitivity and beauty.

Jodo is a rare jewel of a writer-actor-director, and if you're into upping your art-film game, this is a good place to start. Not for the squeamish, but worth it if you can take it.

8. Lorena

As the blurb for the film goes, boy and girl meet, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl get married... girl cuts penis off of boy. You know, the usual love story, except this is a real story.

I remember when it happened, and I'm actually surprised it took so long to make this movie-of-the-week style doco-film. It's not good, but it is entertaining. It may even give you ideas.

9. Vikings

All seasons, all free. To hell with trying to pay for this! Vikings is right up there with Game of Thrones and any other super high-quality historical theme fiction. Great acting, incredible characters, Viking weirdness, and they are mighty weird.

If you love a good Nordic tale of woe and pride, then you'll love the living heck out of this period piece. Incredible costumes and set design to boot.

10. The ABC Murders

I think John Malkovich is making a come back, although I'm quite sure he never really left. It just seems he's in everything lately, and that is just fine with me.

Malkovich is one of those actors who ironically can play in any time period. While I like to see him as contemporary, he does wonders as Hercule Poirot, in this period piece, based on Agatha Christie's novel. Murder and mayhem, together, forever!

11. Forever

I won't tell you to watch this, but I will say that if you dig the ramblings and style of Fred Armisten and Maya Rudolph, then you can't go wrong with this semi-surrealistic comedy that's a bit more like Portlandia than it is... good.

Still, it's worth hanging in there for. Saturday Night Live alumni tend to do good things, and these two have been very successful in their efforts.

12. The Night Manager

Yes, it's old, but wow is it worth it. That's the thing about Prime: we don't need to see things in order, nor do we need to watch according to trend, and Night Manager, released a few years back is so spy-cool that it has to be seen and experienced.

What a great cast: Tom Hiddleston, who is unbearably irresistible, and Hugh Laurie, as his nemesis. These two play off each other in dastardly ways. So worth it!

13. Justified

Old and awesome. Timothy Olyphant is the bomb, and you know it. As Raylan Givens, he's such a heartthrob that I'm not even sure there was a plot, but there was, and it was great.

If you happen to love Margo Martindale, this is THE MM show for expressing that love. She's phenomenal, and it's very cool to see something set in the hollers of Kentucky.

14. Tin Star

It's not easy for me to watch Tim Roth, as he's so far from anything and everything I like in an actor, but I can't deny that he's quite good in this twisted and odd crime series.

Great location, good acting, set in the Canadian Rockies — there's something peaceful about this show, despite the apparent danger that lurks behind every scene.

15. Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape

Comedy is subjective, and not everyone likes the same thing, but if you dig the stylings of Jim Gaffigan, then Noble Ape will have you rolling on the floor, dying of laughter. This guy is funny, and he's got many, many specials, all for us to enjoy on Prime!

And coming soon on Prime: Good Omens. How on earth can we ever go wrong with Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Michael Sheen and David Tennant? Answer: we can't!

Just for the sake of it, avoid at all costs: Fleabag (we liked her in Mr. Robot, but we don't like her in Fleabag), Disobedience (incredibly boring and pretentious, trying way too hard to be cool and LGBTQ), and Bosch (we don't need to see this guy naked, do we?). You'll thank me later.

Dori Hartley is primarily a portrait artist. As an essayist and a journalist, she can be read in The Huffington Post, ParentDish, YourTango, The Daily Beast, Psychology Today, More Magazine, XOJane, MyDaily and The Stir. Her art books ‘Beauty’, ‘Antler Velvet’, and 'Mads Mikkelsen: Portraits of the Actor' are all available on Amazon.