Several noteworthy franchises — including family classics, sports favorites and buddy comedies — are leaving Netflix in the United States this month, alongside some thoughtful sci-fi, rowdy female-fronted comedies, a hit horror reboot and more. (Dates reflect the first day titles are unavailable and are subject to change.)
‘Elysium’ (April 1)
After the surprise success (and Academy Award nominations) of his brainy 2009 science fiction-action hybrid “District 9,” the writer and director Neill Blomkamp leveled up — bigger budget, bigger studio, bigger stars (including Matt Damon and Jodie Foster) — for this dystopian future tale. Damon stars as Max, an Everyman doing his best in a bombed-out Los Angeles circa 2154, trying to save his own life when he is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. Blomkamp can’t quite recapture the explosive propulsion of his debut feature, but Damon is a sturdy hero, and the director creates a convincingly junky future.
‘Happy Feet’ / ‘Happy Feet Two’ (April 1)
Stream “Happy Feet” here and “Happy Feet Two” here.
George Miller boasts one of the most strikingly split personalities of his filmmaking generation, veering between blistering action epics like the “Mad Max” series and warm family efforts like the “Babe” films and these charming animated tales of a tap-dancing penguin named Mumble. He is voiced with charisma and sensitivity by Elijah Wood, who makes the character a stand-in for every outcast kid who harbored a special talent. Robin Williams provides his signature wild wit in support, while Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman delight as Mumble’s not-always-supportive parents.
‘Interstellar’ (April 1)
When Christopher Nolan directs a space epic, you can be certain it won’t be just a space epic. His 2014 blockbuster isn’t merely science fiction; it is a thought-provoking and often heartbreaking rumination on mortality, family and the sacrifices we don’t regret until it’s too late. Matthew McConaughey turns in one of his most sensitive performances to date as an astronaut sent on a complex mission of alien communication, while Anne Hathaway turns what could have been a drab sidekick role into a wrenching portrait of regret.
‘The Karate Kid I, II and III’ (April 1)
Stream “The Karate Kid” here, “The Karate Kid Part II” here and “The Karate Kid Part III” here.
The popularity of the spinoff series “Cobra Kai” has made the “Karate Kid” movies a fairly dependable presence on Netflix; one hopes their disappearance will be short-lived. The 1984 original remains one of cinema’s great underdog movies, as Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) moves to sunny Southern California from New Jersey, falls hard for a rich girl (Elisabeth Shue) and gets on the wrong side of a school bully (William Zabka), ultimately seeking out the unconventional martial arts training of the mysterious Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). The 1987 sequel and 1989 three-quel offer diminishing returns, but even at its weakest, the series is carried by the charisma and camaraderie of Macchio and Morita.
‘Miss Congeniality’ (April 1)
Sandra Bullock crafts one of her most physically inventive performances — all thrown elbows and twisted ankles — as Gracie Hart, a messy and clumsy yet brilliant F.B.I. Special Agent who must go undercover as a beauty pageant contestant to foil a terrorist plot. Bullock gives the goofy premise her all, almost convincing us that she is an ugly duckling before the inevitable glam reveal; Michael Caine and William Shatner gleefully steal scenes as her makeover master and the pageant’s memorable emcee.
‘The Nice Guys’ (April 1)
Shane Black all but defined the buddy action-comedy with his oft-imitated “Lethal Weapon” screenplay; his more recent efforts as a writer-director have both sent up and expanded the playbook he helped write. This dizzyingly funny 2016 crime caper features the customary opposites-attract leads, with Ryan Gosling as a dopey and ineffective private eye and Russell Crowe as the hired muscle who is first sent to rough Gosling up. They wind up teaming in the investigation of a complex plot involving pornography, the automotive industry and corrupt Los Angeles politicos. Keep an eye out for the up-and-comers Margaret Qualley and Angourie Rice in scene-stealing supporting roles.
‘Rush Hour 1, 2 and 3’ (April 1)
Stream “Rush Hour” here, “Rush Hour 2” here and “Rush Hour 3” here.
The formula of the buddy cop movie was already pretty wheezy when even the first film of the “Rush Hour” series hit theaters in 1998: Two mismatched cops first butt heads, then grow into a grudging respect and even affection while chasing down a big case. But these things are all about casting, and the match-up of the charmingly lethal Jackie Chan and motor-mouthed hot-shot Chris Tucker proved to be especially inspired, providing rousing action set pieces and quotable dialogue exchanges.
‘Rust and Bone’ (April 1)
Netflix might have guided the French director Jacques Audiard’s latest film, “Emilia Pérez,” to an astonishing 13 Oscar nominations, but this 2012 drama may be his best film to date. Marion Cotillard stars as a performer at a Sea World-style nautical amusement park who loses her legs to a killer whale; Matthias Schoenaerts is the emotionally broken man in whom she finds some unexpected strength. What sounds like a maudlin movie-of-the-week is given full-bodied depth and gravitas by the sensitivity of Audiard’s filmmaking and the nuanced performances of his talented leads.
‘Scream’ (2022) (April 11)
Resurrecting the decade-dormant “Scream” franchise without the guiding hand of the late Wes Craven was a questionable choice, and this 2022 installment from the “Ready or Not” directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, doesn’t match the ingenuity or chills of Craven’s earlier installments. But it is still an entertaining goof for fans of the series, offering up sly commentary on the epidemic of “legacy sequels” that juice up series by mixing old stars, new faces and fan-friendly Easter eggs (a formula that, in true “Scream” form, this film also embraces).
‘Hereditary’ (April 15)
The director of “Midsommar” and “Beau Is Afraid,” Ari Aster, had his breakthrough picture with this chilling slow burn of a horror thriller, in which a freak tragedy rips an already tenuous family into jagged pieces. All of the players bring their A-game, but the stunner here is Toni Collette, whose open-wound performance as a mother who is both abused and abusive would have easily netted a best actress Oscar nomination from an awards-giving body that wasn’t notoriously, reliably biased against genre movies.
‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ (April 16)
This 2022 comedy from the director Tom Gormican (who also wrote the film with Kevin Etten) sounded like Nicolas Cage’s “Being John Malkovich” — a winking meta-textual exploration of movie stardom and eccentric celebrity. And it is that, by way of its cheerful acknowledgment of Cage’s erratic career and personal peculiarities (and its clever use of the actor’s younger, wilder self as a co-star). But the film’s real pleasures come from Pedro Pascal, delightfully dim as a wealthy playboy and Cage superfan; they become an unexpectedly potent comedy team, the weirdo and the fanboy, generating laughs and good will even in the picture’s more predictable homestretch.
‘No Hard Feelings’ (April 21)
Jennifer Lawrence has always seemed a study in contrasts. She stars in tough action franchises (the “Hunger Games’ and “X-Men” movies) and serious dramas (“Silver Linings Playbook,” for which she won an Oscar) while coming off in interviews like a charming goofball who takes nothing too seriously. She finally brought that silliness to the screen with this raw, raucous and very R-rated sex comedy, starring as a luckless small-town woman who, in a moment of financial desperation, is hired to date a wealthy young virgin and, well, show him the ropes. Lawrence’s performance is fearless (she’ll do just about anything for a laugh), and she lands the story’s later, poignant turns with unsurprising ease.
Also leaving:
“Baby Driver,” “Boyz n the Hood,” “Bruce Almighty,” “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “It,” “Molly’s Game,” “Space Jam” (4/1); “Megan Leavey” (4/8); “A Quiet Place Part II” (4/12).
The post Stream These 17 Titles Before They Leave Netflix in April appeared first on New York Times.
