But on the first day of each month, we also lose a lot of content. Between now and the end of July, Netflix will ditch nearly 50 different movies. Luckily, you’ve got some time left to watch your favorites—or perhaps discover a new favorite.
In this article, I’ll pick out what I believe are ten highlights of the films exiting Netflix on August 1. And at the end of the article, you’ll find a full list of the movies leaving the platform.
Man, this one just never gets old. Quentin Tarantino has pumped out so many classics, from Pulp Fiction to Kill Bill to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood—but I don’t know if any of them are as entertaining as Inglourious Basterds. From start to finish, each and every second of Tarantino’s World War II reimagining is packed with drama, with laughs, with gunfire, with Nazis meeting a dismal end. What more could you want from a movie?
Note: Inglourious Basterds leaves Netflix on July 21.
I’m sorry to say it, but I really, really, really don’t like the Marvel movies. There are a few great ones, like Iron Man or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2—but for the most part, there’s not much for me (someone who didn’t grow up caring about comic books or superhero movies) to latch onto. But even I gotta admit: the Ant-Man movies are pretty fun. Greatly aided by Paul Rudd’s charming performance, both Ant-Man and its sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, are incredibly watchable.
Note: Ant-Man and the Wasp leaves Netflix on July 28.
Spike Jonze enjoyed a critically acclaimed career for many years. Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are—the man had a knack for taking movies to a new, interesting place. But with Her, he seemed to ratchet things up a notch. Packed with killer performances (most notably from Joaquin Phoenix), Jonze’s 2013 film about how we use technology to shelter us from isolation and loneliness has remained pretty relevant and timeless.
Note: Her leaves Netflix on July 28.
Throwback! Can’t Hardly Wait was the high school movie for many kids in 1998, as the teen comedy accurately captured the pains, the awkwardness, the vulnerability of trying to establish an identity before you graduate onto college. A less explicit version of American Pie, this 90s teen movie showed what happens when you pack all of those clumsy, inelegant kids into one crazy going-away party.
I know: it’s hard to recommend a Roman Polanski movie. But The Pianist owns all of the grace and drama we’d come to expect from the famed Polish director up to the movie’s release in 2002. Famously, Adrien Brody beat out a host of all-time great actors to win Best Actor at the 2003 Academy Awards—and it was well-deserved. This war film stands above most movies in that genre from the 2000s.
Sam Mendes is not a one-genre director. From American Beauty to Skyfall to Road to 1917, the English director has dabbled in just about every genre imaginable. And he made that loud and clear when he followed up the Tom Hanks period piece Road to Perdition with the Jake Gyllenhaal war drama Jarhead. This movie thrusts you right into the daily wartime regime by following U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford’s 2003 memoir of the same name.
Do I really need to make you watch E.T. the Extra Terrestrial? Yeah, I guess so. Even if you’ve seen the movie before, it’s probably time for a re-watch. I myself just watched the movie for the first time in about 20 years and was pleasantly (and expectedly) blown away. Steven Spielberg has directed so many great films over the years, but I’m confident in saying that E.T. stands above the rest.
Say what you want about the 1998 version of Godzilla. It’s goofy, it’s chaotic, it’s logically bankrupt. You can definitely choose to knock the film for all of those factors—or you can embrace it. Personally, I think Godzilla is a fun, wacky ride for the entire 140 minutes, greatly aided by the underrated Roland Emmerich (who knew how to make a crowd-pleasing Hollywood blockbuster almost better than anybody).
Why not sit down and relive all three Back to the Future movies. I know the third one doesn’t have a great reputation, but I personally think all three are worth your time. And if you can fit them all in at once…all the better! Right?
This one takes me back. Jet Li projects from the late 1990s and early 2000s were a special period for martial arts movies, and Romeo Must Die might have mastered the formula better than any of them.
I host a podcast called Watching the Throne: A Lyrical Analysis of Kanye West. I run the Colossus Movie Club, where I make movie recommendations each week. I’ve covered
I host a podcast called Watching the Throne: A Lyrical Analysis of Kanye West. I run the Colossus Movie Club, where I make movie recommendations each week. I’ve covered several film festivals, including Toronto and Sundance.