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The Best Movies Of 2018 That Are Now Streaming

By Kristy Puchko | Film | December 1, 2018 |

By Kristy Puchko | Film | December 1, 2018 |


sorry_to_bother_you_tessa.jpg

Award season is upon us! Guilds and Academies are considering who’ll receive honors (and who will be snubbed). And the fervor to declare the best films of 2018 is on! Many of these movies are still in theaters, but quite a few are waiting to be viewed from the comfort of your home.

Annihilation
Alex Garland’s follow-up to Ex Machina stars Natalie Portman as a biologist who signs up for a dangerous mission so she can uncover the mystery of what happened to her husband. Critics raved about this mind-bending sci-fi film based on the Jeff VanderMeer novels. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac, and Gina Rodriguez star.
Watch it on Amazon Prime.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
It’s gotten plenty of critical cheers. But honestly, we at Pajiba are not super hyped on the Coen Bros’ latest. But hey, if you like tired Westerns cliches that paint women as fragile damsels in distress and Native Americans as blood-thirsty savages, this sure is available to stream.
Watch it on Netflix.

Black Panther
Could a superhero movie finally get Best Picture attention? That’s the question hanging over the MCU’s riveting political drama. Return to Ryan Coogler’s Wakanda to revel in a story of royalty, betrayal, and revolution. Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Danai Gurira star.
Watch it on Netflix.

Damsel
This one made our Best Indies of 2018 list! Brothers David Zellner and Nathan Zellner co-wrote and directed this feminist Western with a jaunty yet macabre sense of humor. Robert Pattinson stars as a wealthy pioneer who’ll go to any lengths to win the heart of his lady love, played by Mia Wasikowska. But things don’t go according to plan, to put it mildly.
Watch it on Hulu.

First Reformed
Paul Schrader’s script and Ethan Hawke’s lead performance have already taken home Gotham honors, suggesting this slow-burn thriller could be an Oscar contender. Hawke stars as a smalltown minister whose faith is threatened by illness, tragedy, and mankind’s apathy toward climate change. Amanda Seyfried and Cedric the Entertainer co-star.
Watch it on Amazon Prime.

Game Night
It won’t win any Oscars because the Academy still carries a horrid bias against comedy. But this Rachel McAdams/Jason Bateman comedy was so adored by critics that it’s sure to be a spoiler on plenty of top ten lists. And real talk: Jesse Plemons deserves Best Supporting Actor noms for his creepy/comedic turn as the lonely snoop next door, Gary.
Watch it on HBO Now.

Ghost Stories
In the mood for something scary? Check out this British treasure that thrilled on the festival circuit. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman adapted their celebrated stage show into a frightening and twisted tale of terror. And now that it’s streaming, you can follow my advice and watch it twice!
Watch it on Hulu.

Hereditary
Ari Aster’s directorial debut slayed at Sundance, and soon earned buzz as a soul-shatteringly scary film. Out of SXSW, Dustin wrote of this Toni Collette stunner, “It’s so much more terrifying than I had anticipated but in a completely different way. The hype about this movie, somehow, managed to underplay how truly traumatic a film it is. Anyone who tells you that Hereditary will leave you with nightmares presumes that you’ll actually be able to sleep again — it kept me awake long after I saw it.” Now, Collette is picking up Best Actress nominations, has already won a few, and is a contender for the Oscars race!
Watch it on Amazon Prime.

Leave No Trace
Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster star in a father-daughter tales that’s being hailed as one of the best dramas of the year. Once you see it, you’ll joing fans in gnashing their teeth over Debra Granik’s galling snubs in the Best Director race.
Watch it on Amazon Prime.

Minding The Gap
Director Bing Liu made a documentary about his friends and their shared love of skateboarding. That might sound like navel-gazing bullshit. (Cough cough.) But this critically acclaimed documentary digs way deeper than expected, exploring issues like race and domestic violence with a striking bravery and vulnerability. Don’t miss the best skater story that hit theaters this year.
Watch it on Hulu.

Paddington 2
Ben Whishsaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, and Peter Capaldi. The whole gang is back for this divine sequel that is sunshine in a bottle. Critics were in awe of Paul King’s deliciously whimsical adventure. And Hugh Grant already earned a BAFTA nod for his outstanding performance as viciously vain actor Phoenix Buchanan. So fingers crossed, Paddington 2 could make a play for some major honors. As its hirsute hero says: If we are kind and polite the world will be right!
Watch it on HBO Now.

Private Life
Kathryn Hahn is getting Best Actress buzz for her performance in the latest from Slums of Beverly Hills director Tamara Jenkins. Hahn stars as an author whose marriage is put under strain by fertility therapies. Paul Giamatti co-stars. Can you handle it?
Watch it on Netflix.

Roma
Writer/director Alfonso Cuarón’s follow-up to Gravity is an intimate black-and-white drama that follows a big-hearted maid (Yalitza Aparicio) through a tumultuous year for herself and the middle-class family for whom she works and cares. Critics are raving, which means Roma is sure to be on plenty of top ten lists. And it may mean this art house drama from Netflix could be a serious Oscar contender.
Watch it on Netflix.

Shirkers
In 1992, Sandi Tan was a teen girl with a dream of making movies. She did so with the help of her peers, and a curious older man called George. But once the production wrapped, George vanished and took the film with him. All these years later, Tan digs back into her past and the mystery of George in this deeply personal and highly praised doc.
Watch it on Netflix.

Skate Kitchen
Writer/director Crystal Moselle captured the beauty, brutality, bonds and joys that can be found in the skateboarding community by focusing a group of girls who turn every sidewalk into their personal playground. Roxana cheered, “Skate Kitchen feels like those final summer nights before school started again, aimless and sticky and wide-open and perfect because your friends were there. It’s evocative and entrancing, and worth seeking out.”
Watch it on Hulu.

Sorry To Bother You
A strong contender for best directorial debut of the year, Boots Riley’s Sorry To Bother You is one-part political satire, one-part love story, one-part mind-melting fantasy. Sure, it starts with a frustrated telemarketer (Lakeith Stanfield) finding an unexpected path to success. But you’ll have no way of predicting where this wild story will go next. Plus Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer co-star.
Watch it on Hulu.

Support The Girls
Writer/director Andrew Bujalski’s female-focused dramedy about the manager of a Hooters-like sports bar stole critics hearts. Regina Hall was widely praised for her stirring lead turn and may be the dark horse in the Oscars race for Best Actress. Haley Lu Richardson, Dylan Gelula, Shayna McHayle, and AJ Michalka co-star.
Watch it on Hulu.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
This Netflix rom-com won’t likely win any big awards, but I wager you’ll see it on plenty of top ten lists. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo star as a pair of teens whose romance begins as a ruse. But no one can deny when these sparks fly!
Watch it on Netflix.

You Were Never Really Here
Writer/director Lynne Ramsay brought us the harrowing and SWINTON-fronted adaptation of We Need To Talk About Kevin. Now she’s back with this bracing adaptation of Jonathan Ames’s novel about an unbalanced and brutal man who tracks down girls for a living. When a job goes off the rails, things get messy. Joaquin Phoenix fronts this heralded crime-drama.
Watch it on Amazon Prime.

Did we miss your favorite of 2018 that is now streaming? Share it—and where to watch it—in the comments.



Header Image Source: Annapurna Pictures