5 new to Prime Video movies with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes

The start of a new month means a fresh batch of new movies on Amazon Prime Video . Naturally, the streamer’s offering in December 2023 includes new holiday picks like Cane Candy Lane and Your Christmas or Mine 2, but among the festive flicks are some critically acclaimed movies that deserve to be in your watchlist. All the movies on this list have all pulled an impressive 90% or higher on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes .

It should be noted that a high RT score doesn’t guarantee that you will enjoy a movie, but it’s a good indicator that most critics feel it’s worth checking out. These Prime Video picks span multiple genres as well from insightful documentaries to classic dramas that have stood the test of time. If you’re looking for something to watch in between marathoning loads of the very best Christmas movies this month, then these 5 movies are a great place to start.

The third installment in the very enjoyable Barbershop franchise, Barbershop: The Next Cut is a more-of-the-same sequel, but that’s not a bad thing. In The Next Cut, Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) is still running his barbershop in the city of Chicago, but due to financial difficulties has merged his business with a beauty salon owned by Angie (Regina Hall). While this partnership might have saved both shops for now, the growing crime rate in the neighborhood is starting to impact customers.

It’s up to Calvin, Angie and their eccentric friends to devise a scheme that just might bring about some real change. Genre: Comedy Rotten Tomatoes score: 90% Stream it on Prime Video Lisa (Regina Hall) never thought she’d become the general manager of a highway-side sports bar, but she’s come to love her position steering the ship at Double Whammies. A protective den mother to her female staff, she loves her colleagues and even enjoys taking care of the restaurant’s quirky customers.

But Lisa’s unshaken optimism and resolve are firmly shaken over a seemingly never-ending day when life batters her from just about every single angle possible. Hall won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her performance and became the first African-American to win the award. Genre: Comedy Rotten Tomatoes score: 91% Stream it on Prime Video Described as “a gem of world cinema” by The Guardian , I Wish is a Japanese coming-of-age story written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.

It tells the story of two young brothers who live in different cities after their parents divorce. Koichi (Kohki Maeda) lives with his mother, while his younger brother Ryunosuke (Oshiro Maeda) lives with their father in the city of Fukuoka. Hearing a strange rumor that a wish-granting miracle can happen when two bullet trains pass each other, Koichi and Ryunosuke gather up their friends and embark on a mission to reunite their family once again.

An utterly charming exploration of childhood, I Wish is not to be missed. Genre: Drama Rotten Tomatoes score: 93% Stream it on Prime Video Often cited as one of the great American movies ever made, In the Heat of the Night cleaned up at the 40th Academy Award scooping both Best Picture and Best Actor (for Rod Steiger), and its reputation has only grown over the decades since. Even all these years later it still offers a compelling mystery and a social message that remains relevant.

It opens with a black detective named Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) being arrested when a wealthy industrialist is found dead in Sparta, Mississippi. Once his identity is revealed, Tibbs is set free with plans to leave town on the next possible train, but he’s convinced to stick around and help solve the case. Genre: Drama Rotten Tomatoes score: 96% Stream it on Prime Video Every Body is an inspirational documentary that aims to dispel misconceptions about and provide vital information for the intersex community.

More than just an educational tool, Every Body is also a deeply emotional but highly fulfilling doc in its own right. It focuses on three individuals who faced shame, secrecy and even unauthorized surgery in their childhoods, but all of them emerged from these tricky situations as successful adults. By refusing to conceal their bodies or who they truly were, they were able not just to survive their trauma but move beyond it.

Reviewers highlighted its essential educational value, but also its high watchablity factor. Genre: Documentary Rotten Tomatoes score: 97% Stream it on Prime Video from Dec. 19.