Normally, this monthly column runs down a few of the really good movies that Netflix is canning at the end of the month, so you catch them while you can. But I gave the list of movies departing Netflix at the end of November a look, and frankly? Good riddance.
It’s not your imagination — there’s less to watch on Netflix than ever before. A new report claims that the online streaming service has cut its streaming library in half since 2012, from 11,000 titles to around 5,500.
Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away. The start of a new month means more movies arriving on the streaming service, and more leaving for reasons that defy logic. (Seriously, “The Station Agent” just went up May 1 and now it’s going away June 1. What’s up with that?)
Anyway, the “Gone in an Instant” column aims to help you navigate Netflix’s byzantine ways and give you one last chance to catch some great movies before they vanish. Here’s five you should try and cram in while you still can:
Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away. The streaming service quietly drops a few titles at the beginning of every month, and the “Gone in an Instant” column lets you know so you can get that last-minute binge in.
Lately, Netflix has started getting rid of a few titles at the first of the month and then sneakily deep-sixing a few more throughout the month. Perhaps they think if they spread the pain out a little bit it won’t sting so bad? Either way, make sure to catch them before they’re gone.
At the end of every month, Netflix jettisons a few movies to “make room” for new ones, even though it’s all digital, right? It’s not like deciding that my DVD copy of “Random Hearts” has to go because I need to make room for “Spectre.” (Yes, this is a true anecdote. Pretty sad all around.)
Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away. The start of a new month means a whole new batch of movies and TV shows arriving on the streaming site — and it means a whole bunch are leaving as well. Each month, I try to give you a heads-up on a few great movies you need to stream before they disappear.
If you’re a Netflix subscriber who loves great movies, by all means, spend Christmas with your family. But on Dec. 26, shut yourself off in the den with some pre-packaged meals and a jug of water — you’ve got some serious streaming to do between now and the end of the year.
Each month the “Gone in an Instant” column highlights five movies that are leaving Netflix at the end of the month, as partnerships with studios dissolve or the streaming site swaps out content to make room for new films and TV shows.
And there’s just no way to sugarcoat this — January 2016 is going to be brutal.
Got some extra time this Thanksgiving weekend with the family? Good, because you’ll want to curl up and catch up on some classic movies that are leaving Netflix as of Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The end of the month is the time that Netflix usually quietly disposes of movies in its catalog, while it adds new movies and TV shows constantly. This monthly column draws attention to five good ones that you really ought to catch if you haven’t yet.
Each week, the Instant Gratification column runs down five good movies new to Netflix that you ought to check out. But the news isn’t all good. As the streaming site adds more and more movies and TV shows each week to its lineup, it quietly drops others, usually at the end of the month.
So “Gone in an Instant” is a monthly column highlighting a few good movies that you’ve only got a few days left to see before they disappear from sight. Don’t dilly-dally.
“Fargo” — Netflix and chill (get it, because it’s winter in Minnesota) with the Coen Brothers’ upper Midwestern noir masterpiece, starring Oscar winner Francis McDormand as a good-hearted small-town police chief unraveling a kidnapping that a shifty car dealer (William H. Macy) is somehow entangled in. The FX show is good, but can’t compete with the original.
“Changing Lanes” — I think this 2002 drama is tremendously underrated, as Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson give some career-high performances as motorists whose highway feud escalates into a dangerous game of tit-for-tat.
“House of Flying Daggers” — Zhang Zimou’s absolutely gorgeous take on the martial arts genre features some beautifully staged wuxia action, including a climactic duel that conjures up a raging snowstorm.
“Stand by Me” — Ooh, just got a little lump in my throat typing that title, as Rob Reiner turns Stephen King’s “The Body” into an achingly moving film about childhood, friendship and loss.
“The Blues Brothers” — There’s almost too much movie in John Landis’ overstuffed ode to Chicago and the blues — too many musical numbers, too many cameos, too many car chases — but what’s there is classic, and Jake and Elwood Blues remain indelible comic creations.
I’ve been doing the Instant Gratification column for a while now, each week cluing you in to five new movies on Netflix, Amazon Prime or some other streaming service. Recently, somebody suggested to me that along with keeping track of what movies are arriving on Netflix, I should keep tabs on what movies are leaving as well.
The streaming site is constantly churning and updating its selections, as deals it’s made with movie studios and pay-cable services come and go. So, this is the first of a monthly “Gone in an Instant” column, running down the movies that you’d better cram in before the end of the month.
Madison Movie 