Barack Obama’s Favorite Movies of 2018 Should Be on Your 2019 Streaming List

When you complain that, “there are too many things on TV!” or, “I just don’t have time to get to the movies!” or, “books? Who has time for books?” go and read this list that former president Barack Obama put on his Facebook page earlier today. In it, he lists his favorite movies, books and songs of 2018, and it’s all pretty impressive.

But since we’re a streaming site, let’s take a look at the movies he has on his favorites of 2018 list:

Annihilation
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Blindspotting
Burning
The Death of Stalin
Eighth Grade
If Beale Street Could Talk
Leave No Trace
Minding the Gap
The Rider
Roma
Shoplifters
Support the Girls
Won’t You Be My Neighbor

That’s a pretty impressive list, isn’t it? And it’s in line with the annual lists Obama has put out since his days in the White House. Now, it’s true that he has a lot more free time since he left office almost two years ago, but we have seen him out on the campaign trail, making stump speeches for candidates, traveling, and otherwise making himself pretty visible. Yet he still had time to watch a wide range of films as well as read what looks like a ton of books, including Becoming by his wife Michelle Obama (which he obviously calls “my favorite!”).

And look at the range! Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin wasn’t seen by many people outside the festival circuit, despite its pedigree and all-star cast. Roma, of course, is the odds-on Oscar favorite this year. But he also sat down to stream Eighth Grade, maybe trying to understand what it was like for Sasha and Malia in middle school a few years ago. There’s the Japanese film Shoplifters, Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, the Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor and more.

What does this tell us? One, Obama might not watch a lot of TV series; he’d rather invest his time in movies with a finite end than hours of TV that may not resolve anything until a new season. Second, it’s an indication that there are great non-tentpole movies to watch (and, in the case of Black Panther, great tentpole movies, as well) out there, even as critics are decrying the flood of sequels and superhero films. Third, he’s got the varied taste of any cinephile.

The list also provides a handy guide for movie lovers who don’t get out to the theaters as much as they’d like. Many of the titles on this list are already streaming, and the rest will likely appear on services in the first quarter of 2019. So if you’re tired of streaming yet another show about an morally-challenged antihero, just keep this list next to your TV. Watching these films will help the cold, dark winter pass a lot more pleasantly.

Where to stream Annihilation