Here Are the Movies to Stream in May 2018
The summer movie season is here, ushered in by Marvel’s everyone-and-the-kitchen-sink superhero spectacular Avengers: Infinity War. Nonetheless, if you’re uninterested in braving the long lines at the theater for the foreseeable future, there are tons of worthwhile options just waiting for you at home-provided, of course, that you have access to one of the country’s leading streaming services. And if you don’t, then-as evidenced by all the great titles coming to Netflix and Amazon this month-the question is: what are you waiting for?
Streaming on Netflix:
Amélie (May 1)
Audrey Tautou is a single Parisian woman who becomes involved in her neighbors' lives while striking up a romance with a mysterious man (Mathieu Kassovitz) in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 romantic fable.
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (May 1)
Kal Penn and John Cho’s stoners escape from the offshore prison, only to find themselves in one absurd situation after the next, in this 2008 sequel.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (May 1)
Guillermo Del Toro’s sterling 2008 sequel-starring Ron Perlman as everyone’s favorite crime-fighting demon hero-is one of cinema’s finest comic-book movies.
Scream 2 (May 1)
Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson cast a self-conscious eye on horror sequels in their popular slasher franchise’s second go-round, which finds Neve Campbell’s heroine stalked by a copycat Ghostface killer while at college.
Shrek (May 1)
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz provide the voices for the jolly green giant, his trusty sidekick Donkey, and Princess Fiona in this immensely popular 2001 animated hit.
The Bourne Ultimatum (May 1)
Matt Damon is still trying to remember his past-all while beating up those who stand in his way-as amnesiac former CIA agent Jason Bourne in this third chapter in the franchise.
Anon (May 4 – Netflix Film)
Gattaca’s Andrew Niccol returns to sci-fi terrain with this Netflix-exclusive film, about a cop (Clive Owen) who becomes involved with a hacker (Amanda Seyfried) in a future without privacy.
Faces Places (May 5)
French New Wave pioneer Agnés Varda goes on a road trip with photographer JR, plastering portraits of the locals they meet on the sides of small-town buildings, in this charming documentary from last year.
The Phantom of the Opera (May 14)
Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum headline Joel Schumacher’s lavish 2004 big-screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic Broadway hit.
Only God Forgives (May 15)
Ryan Gosling is an American muay thai boxing-club owner who finds himself in criminal trouble in Nicolas Winding Refn’s polarizing style-above-all-else 2013 thriller.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin (May 16)
Steve Carell’s sexual novice gets the chance to finally lose his V-card thanks to a new relationship (with Catherine Keener) in Judd Apatow’s amusing 2005 comedy.
Cargo (May 18 – Netflix Film)
The zombie-filled Outback is no place for a baby, as Martin Freeman’s father learns all too well while trekking across the inhospitable landscape with his infant on his back in this Netflix-exclusive thriller.
Small Town Crime (May 19)
The great John Hawkes headlines this understated neo-noir from earlier this year, about a drunken ex-cop who tries to right his wayward course by investigating a murder.
Ibiza (May 25 – Netflix Film)
In this Netflix-exclusive comedy, Gillian Jacobs, Phoebe Robinson, and Vanessa Bayer go in search of a sexy DJ on the Mediterranean island.
Coco (May 29)
Winner of the most recent Best Animated Film and Best Original Song Oscars, this 2017 Pixar film follows a 12-year-old boy as he journeys to the Land of the Dead to find his musician great-great-grandfather.
Premiering on Amazon Video:
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (May 1)
Based on one of Stanley Kubrick’s unfinished projects, Steven Spielberg’s 2001 sci-fi film tracks the odyssey of an android child (Haley Joel Osment) after he’s abandoned by his owners/parents.
An Inconvenient Truth (May 1)
Al Gore’s Oscar-winning 2006 documentary details the mounting global threat posed by climate change.
Back to School (May 1)
Rodney Dangerfield searches for some respect-with success!-by enrolling in college alongside his son (Keith Gordon) in this hit 1986 comedy.
The Bad News Bears (May 1)
Director Michael Ritchie’s 1976 comedy stars Walter Matthau as a boozy degenerate forced to coach a motley little league baseball team.
Bull Durham (May 1)
Kevin Costner’s finest baseball film is this 1988 romantic drama from director Ron Shelton, about the love triangle that forms between a veteran catcher (Costner), an up-and-coming pitcher (Tim Robbins), and a seductive groupie (Susan Sarandon).
Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, Never Say Never Again, Octopussy, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice (May 1)
Looking for Bond, James Bond? Amazon has you covered this month, with eleven new titles.
Eight Men Out (May 1)
The 1919 Black Sox scandal-in which members of the team conspired to throw the World Series-is given sterling dramatic treatment by John Sayles’ 1988 drama.
Gator (May 1)
In this 1976 sequel to White Lightning, Burt Reynolds’ moonshine-running Gator is forced to help law enforcement take down a corrupt politician.
Insomnia (May 1)
Al Pacino and Hilary Swank are L.A. detectives on the trail of a killer (Robin Williams) in an Alaskan town that rarely goes dark-leading to disorientation-inducing sleeping problems-in Christopher Nolan’s underrated 2002 thriller.
Kalifornia (May 1)
Serial killer Brad Pitt and his girlfriend Juliette Lewis hitch a ride with David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes’s couple in this style-heavy thriller from director Dominic Sena.
Manhunter (May 1)
Michael Mann’s 1986 adaptation of Thomas Harris’ best-seller stars William Peterson as an FBI profiler on the trail of a killer dubbed “The Tooth Fairy” (an unforgettable Tom Noonan)-a quest that compels him to chat with Brian Cox’s Hannibal Lecter.
Murder on the Orient Express (May 1)
Before last year’s Kenneth Branagh version, Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery received an illustrious 1974 adaptation courtesy of Sidney Lumet and stars Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, and Sean Connery (among others).
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (May 1)
Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer’s 2006 thriller stars Ben Whishaw as a man whose amazing sense of smell motivate him to go on a murderous quest to find the perfect scent.
Rocky I-V (May 1)
Experience the rousing career of pugilistic icon Rocky Balboa with the first five installments of Sylvester Stallone’s boxing series.
Sabrina (May 1)
Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, and Greg Kinnear headline this Sydney Pollack-directed remake of the 1954 romance starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, and William Holden.
School Ties (May 1)
Brendan Fraser is beset by anti-Semitic prejudice while at a 1950s prep school in this 1992 drama co-starring Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell, and Ben Affleck.
The Box (May 1)
Richard Kelly delivers a sterling Twilight Zone-ish thriller with this 2009 film about a couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) who are offered a box with a button and a choice-push it, and you earn $1 million, but someone you don’t know will die.
The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel (May 1)
Everyone’s favorite blended family gets a pair of self-conscious comedies with these 1990s efforts headlined by Shelley Long and Gary Cole.
The Crow (May 1)
Brandon Lee’s final film appearance came in this 1994 comic-book adaptation from director Alex Proyas (Dark City), about a resurrected rock star intent on avenging his death.
The Elephant Man (May 1)
The tortured life of disfigured Jonathan Merrick is vividly realized by director David Lynch with this 1980 drama starring John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, and John Gielgud.
The Hurt Locker (May 1)
Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win a Best Director Oscar for this 2008 thriller about a bomb disposal unit targeted by terrorists during the Iraq War.
Thief (May 1)
James Caan is a thief looking to escape his life of crime in director Michael Mann’s peerlessly cool 1981 neo-noir.
Wonder Boys (May 1)
Michael Douglas is a creative writing professor struggling to finish the follow-up to his smash-hit debut in Curtis Hanson’s great 2000 comedy, co-starring Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Rip Torn, and Robert Downey Jr.
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