10 movies to check out on Prime Video this May

The cult favorite sci-fi movie The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension starring Peter Weller as the titular doctor arrives on Prime Video just in time to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The A.V. Club’s Nick Schager writes, “The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension may not have been based on prior source material, but it wears its comic book influence on its puffy-jacket sleeve. That’s most apparent in its out-there story, about a scientist-samurai-rocker-celebrity named Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller, always unflappably cool) and his ragtag team of sidekicks, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. In an attempt to avert nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the heroes join forces with a race of Planet 10 aliens to stop rebel extraterrestrials from unleashing their evil leader.” The movie also stars popular ‘80s actors such as Ellen Barkin, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, and Christopher Lloyd.

We’ve lost track of how many versions of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers are out there, and we’re not even counting the countless rip-offs. The black-and-white 1956 original directed by Walter Wangers stars Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Willes, and Ralph Dumke. The A.V. Club’s Keith Phipps writes, “The plot, taken from Jack Finney’s novel The Body Snatchers, concerns a town being taken over, one resident at a time, by aliens who resemble their victims to the last detail. They even retain their memories and personalities, so much so that only those closest to them can tell something’s wrong, and that beneath the surface they lack anything resembling human emotion as they work toward the advancement of their alien race.” If you ever wondered where the term “pod people” comes from, this is it.

Psycho is one of several Alfred Hitchcock classics coming to Prime Video in May. The progenitor of all modern-day slasher films, Psycho stars Anthony Perkins as Bates Motel owner Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as the infamous shower victim. The official description reads: “A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.” The iconic film was followed by a remake and several sequels, one of which, Psycho II, is actually worth checking out.

Another Alfred Hitchcock classic coming to Prime Video this May is the mystery-thriller Rear Window, starring James Stewart as a wheelchair-bound professional photographer who develops an affinity for spying on his neighbors. The A.V. Club’s Scott Tobias writes, “Confined all day to his stuffy two-room apartment, Stewart passes the time by peering into his neighbor’s private lives, a growing obsession that doesn’t please his ‘too-perfect’ girlfriend, played by Grace Kelly. But the suspicious behavior of a salesman (Raymond Burr) who may or may not have killed his wife convinces the pair to do some sleuthing.”

Anne Hathaway gets her groove back in The Idea Of You as a single mother who falls for a famous younger man. The official description reads: “Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea Of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet.” The romantic comedy directed by Michael Showalter also stars Ella Rubin and Reid Scott.

John Hughes’ coming-of-age classic Sixteen Candles starring Molly Ringwald as a teen who thinks everyone has forgotten her 16th birthday celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. A lot of elements have not aged well, like Gedde Watanabe’s Long Duk Dong, who is greeted with a “gong” sound when he appears on-screen [insert justified groan here]. Viewed as an ’80s time capsule of teen life, however, Sixteen Candles still burns brightly. The movie that made Ringwald a household name also stars Paul Dooley, Justin Henry, and Ringwald’s fellow Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall.

Cord Jefferson’s black comedy-drama American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Issa Rae, and Sterling K. Brown. Jefferson, who also wrote the screenplay, won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. The A.V. Club’s Murtada Elfadl writes, “Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison is a serious writer. He’s an academic, disdains ‘airport books’ and best-selling colleagues, confronts his students, and is advised by his agent not to ‘insult anyone important.’ In just a few scenes at the beginning of American Fiction, writer-director Cord Jefferson and actor Jeffrey Wright give the audience a complete understanding of their film’s protagonist. Cord with economical, pointed writing, and Wright with a deadpan face that is both hilarious and solemn.”

Before you check out Ti West’s MaXXXine this July in theaters, you have to check out X and its prequel, Pearl. The latter stars Mia Goth as the titular oppressed farm girl who dreams of becoming a movie star during the World War I era. The A.V. Club’s Phil Pirrello writes, “With Pearl, writer-director Ti West both embraces and elevates what horror movies can do, in a way that further solidifies his standing as one of the best things to ever happen to the genre. Pearl tells the bloody and tragic origin story of its sexually charged, identity-starved title character, played by Mia Goth, in a performance worthy of Movie Star status. By mining Pearl’s history, a violent (and at times intentionally Grindhouse-y) cautionary tale about the dangers of suppressing one’s desires, both carnal and otherwise, West taps thematically rich veins in ways that few of his contemporaries have ever explored in this space.”

Paul Crowder’s documentary The Blue Angels takes viewers on a flight with Navy’s elite Flight Demonstration Squadron. The official description reads: “The Blue Angels takes audiences behind the scenes for a revealing, in-depth look at what it takes to become a Blue Angel—from the careful selection process to the challenging training regimen, and on through the demanding eight-month show season. The film is a fitting tribute to the extraordinary teamwork, passion, and pride of the hundreds of outstanding men and women of the Navy and Marine Corps who have had the honor to serve in the Blue Angels squadron... past, present, and future.”

George Clooney’s biographical sports drama The Boys In The Boat starring Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, and Peter Guinness follows the University of Washington’s journey to compete in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. The A.V. Club’s Manuel Betancourt writes, “A story like that of the 1936 University of Washington junior rowing team seems tailor-made to get the big-screen treatment. It’s got everything: thrilling races, affable characters, and, perhaps most important of all, a welcome positive message about improbable triumphs—all against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the 1936 Berlin Olympics. And while George Clooney’s handsomely mounted The Boys In The Boat delivers on all of those fronts, the period piece remains a rather inert proposition, a beautiful postcard of a film.”