The Best Movies And Tv Shows To Watch On Prime This Month

I've scoured the new releases of Amazon's Prime and FreeVee platforms this month to present the best new movies and series the streaming services have to offer.

"There's something for everyone" is a cliche, but it applies to the best of Prime's June releases. Megaton blockbuster Oppenheimer is treat for fans of "serious" movies. There's a new season of The Boys on offer if you're the kind of person who likes a clever twist on the superhero genre. Prime's original documentary I am: Celine Dion will be a treat for the "My Heart Will go on," singer's fans. Or you could enjoy Nick Cannon's Counsel Culture if you're struggling with what it means to be a man. I'm going to spend June watching Godzilla movies though, because I'm that kind of person.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Christopher Nolan's biopic about the inventor of atomic weapons took home seven Oscars, including best picture, and it also made over $900 million at the box office. Cillian Murphy stars as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, a complex, driven visionary tasked with creating the most destructive weapon in human history to fight the Axis powers during World War II. Spoiler: he succeeds, but Oppenheimer, both the movie and man, end up wondering if atomic weapons were actually such a great idea.

Starts streaming June 18.

The Boys, Season 4

The Boys, as they say, are back in town. In season four, the world is on the brink of collapse as evil Victoria Neuman gets closer to the Oval Office. If this were a normal superhero show, weirdos wearing underwear and capes would spring into action on behalf of mankind, but this is The Boys, so the corrupt, arrogant superheroes are causing the trouble in the first place, and only the titular team of un-super-powered CIA agents can stop them.

Starts streaming June 13.

Skyfall (2012)

In Skyfall, director Sam Mendes jettisons the campy gadgets and goofiness and goes for a "modern Bond" blend of intensity and breeziness that works perfectly with Daniel Craig's nuanced portrayal of the secret agent. The third James Bond movie starring Craig, Skyfall's Rotten Tomatoes score is 92%, and the Bond fan community generally places this flick in the company of the best films in the long-running series. If you know anyone who hasn't seen a Bond movie, this is a great way to jump in.

Starts streaming June 1.

I Am: Celine Dion

This original Prime documentary explores singer Celine Dion's struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, a rare neurological disease. Described in a press release as an "emotional, energetic, and poetic love letter to music," I Am: Celine Dion takes viewers from the dressing room to the recording studio to the stage and captures an intimate look at the superstar singer's private life and struggles.

Starts streaming June 25

My Lady Jane

The real Lady Jane Grey was a Tudor noblewoman who became Queen of England in 1553 but only ruled for nine days before being beheaded. This Prime original series explores what might have happened if The Nine Days' Queen had kept her head. Based on the best-selling YA novel of the same name by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, My Lady Jane is "an epic tale of true love and high adventure set in an alt-universe of action, history, fantasy, comedy, romance, and rompy-pompy," according to Amazon's promotional material.

Starts streaming June 27.

Counsel Culture

I'm intrigued by this upcoming Prime talk show. Based on host Nick Cannon's podcast of the same name, Counsel Culture is billed as a "safe space and a brave place for men to be vulnerable," but is a panel of dudes discussing mental health, masculinity, dating, and other dude topics the kind of thing men want to watch? Time will tell. Cannon is joined by therapist Dr. Mike Dow and psychiatrist Dr. Ish Major, and guest co-hosts include Howie Mandel, Lamar Odom, DeSean Jackson, and more.

Starts streaming June 6.

Marlon Wayans: Good Grief

Speaking of men sharing their feelings, in his new special Good Grief, stand-up comedian/actor/maker Marlon Wayans gets real about the death of his parents, but does it in a funny way. Filmed at Harlem's famous Apollo theater, Wayans's comedy-meet-therapy performance is based on the motto that "all grief is good grief," and touches on topics like which Wayans brother is funniest, and how remarkable it is that the matriarch of the Wayans family raised "five millionaires but only one crackhead."

Starts streaming June 4

Mean Girls (2024)

Written by and starring the supernaturally talented Tina Fey, this Gen-Z remake of the beloved 2004 movie adds original songs to the teen comedy mix. Up-and-comer Angourie Rice plays Cady Heron, a new girl at North Shore High School who is forced to navigate the backbiting cliques that make high school such a fantastic time. The cast includes Reneé Rapp, Jon Hamm, Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Tina Fey, and Tim Meadows, so if you like crowd-pleasing comedies with can't-miss performances, check out Mean Girls.

Judy (2019)

Judy explores the over-sized life of iconic movie star Judy Garland, specifically, her last years in London, when films like The Wizard of Oz were a distant cultural memory and Garland was too broke to pay her hotel bill. Trying to stage another in an endless series of "comebacks," Garland juggles her professional responsibilities with her fierce protectiveness over her children, all while battling alcoholism and drug addiction. Darci Shaw plays young Judy, but the movie really belongs to Renée Zellweger, whose portrayal of time-has-caught-up-with-her Judy is heartbreaking.

Starts streaming June 26.

Godzilla Movie Marathon

I associate Godzilla movies with the 1960s and 1970s, but there's more in the Godzilla cinematic universe than cheesy, guy-in-a-rubber-suit flicks from 50 years ago: There's cheesy guy-in-a-rubber-suit flicks made more recently! In June, Prime is streaming eight made-in-Japan Godzilla movies released between 1999 and 2004, including Godzilla Vs. Spacegodzilla (1999), Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2004), Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1999), and Godzilla, Mothra, And King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2003). All of these, I assume, are amazing.

Starts streaming June 1.

Last month's picks

The Idea of You

Based on a novel by Robinne Lee that began as a piece of Harry Styles fan fiction, romantic comedy The Idea of You stars Anne Hathaway as Solène, a 40-year-old single mom who goes to Coachella and unexpectedly falls in love with Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine), the 24-year-old singer in August Moon, a band playing the main stage. The Idea of You is sitting at a 90% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers praising Hathaway's excellent performance, the romantic chemistry between the movie's leads, and the film's easygoing, character-driven comedy.

Starts streaming May 2

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

To accompany the release of The Idea of You, Prime is dropping an older take on the May/December romance genre: 1955's All That Heaven Allows. Jane Wyman plays a rich widow whose life is defined by the opinions of her snooty children and the squares at the country club. Rock Hudson plays the dashing young landscaper/free spirit she falls in love with. Upon its release, All The Heaven Allows was regarded as a well-made melodramatic romance, but director Douglas Sirk was archly satirizing 1950s middle-class mores and Hollywood romance clichés, a piece of cinematic misdirection that wasn't noticed until decades later.

Starts streaming May 1

Outer Range, season 2

The set-up of Outer Range will seem familiar for fans of TV neo-Westerns: Josh Brolin plays Royal Abbot, a Wyoming rancher fighting to protect his land. But the series takes a wildly unexpected turn toward the supernatural when Abbot discovers a mysterious, perfectly round hole on the edge of his property and otherworldly events begin occurring around the ranch. The first season of Outer Range left a lot of unanswered questions. Let's hope season 2's answers live up to the promise of the premise.

Starts streaming May 16

The GOAT

Remember back around 2004, when reality television was everywhere and shows like The Surreal Life had washed-up celebrities live together to see what would happen? The GOAT feels like a throwback to those halcyon days. Hosted by Daniel (Tosh.0) Tosh, The GOAT features 14 "reality superstars" like CJ Franco from F Boy Island and The Bachelorette's Joseph Amabile living together in GOAT Manor and competing for $200,000 and the honor of being named the greatest reality star of all time.

Starts streaming May 8

The Outlaws, season 3

Created by and starring Steven Merchant, co-creator of the U.K. version of The Office, The Outlaws serves up very British comedy with a side order of Christopher Walken. It follows a pack of minor scofflaws from different walks of life who come together to do community service for their crimes. Things get complicated when they discover a cache of hidden money and decide to keep it, angering the drug dealer it belongs to. Now is an excellent time to catch up on the first two seasons if you are unfamiliar.

Starts streaming May 31.

58th Academy of Country Music Awards

All your favorite country stars will be on-hand to do-si-do at the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards. Billed as "Country Music’s Party of the Year," this year's event will be hosted by Reba McEntire, who is also slated to perform new music during the show. It's a really interesting time in country music, as the often-staid genre confronts a new wave of performers. The "entertainer of the year" category, for instance, pits neo-traditionalists like Cody Johnson against new school iconoclasts like face-tattooed, hip-hop influenced artist Jelly Roll.

Starts streaming May 16

Whiplash (2014)

Winner of three Academy Awards, Whiplash tells the story of Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), a student drummer who longs for jazz perfection, and his complicated relationship with his ruthless teacher/band leader Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), a man who will do anything to get his students to perform at the peak of their talent. A movie that turns music instruction into a thriller with its tight pacing and editing, Whiplash has more than earned its Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%.

Starts streaming May 1

Amélie (2001)

Amazon's FreeVee isn't the first movie platform I go to for French magical-realist cinema, but it is streaming Amélie in May, so maybe I'm wrong. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's portrayal of an awkward Parisian waitress (Audrey Tautou) and her strange hobbies will satiate any desire you have ever had for the twee and magical, but it manages to avoid cramming in so much whimsy that you feel sick.

Starts streaming May 1

Bottle Rocket (1996)

Starring Owen and Luke Wilson and directed by Wes Anderson, Bottle Rocket is one of the highlights of the 1990s indie movie craze. The story of a group of eccentric nobodies trying to pull off an ambitious heist, Bottle Rocket's quirky vibe is both of-its-moment and timeless. Even with a relatively low budget and a lack of feature film experience, Wes Anderson's talent is undeniable, and his fingerprints are on every frame of this endearing and strangely affecting movie.

Starts streaming May 1