What movie should you watch today? Catch the best movies leaving Netflix, Max, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video in August before they’re gone.
Summer is ending, and fall is around the corner.
It’s been a wild summer at the movies, with Barbenheimer making cultural waves (and a ton of money), seemingly revitalizing public interest in The Movies. Cinema’s back, baby! Don’t worry about the subpar movies that followed Barbenheimer in theaters. Cinema’s back, baby!!!
Each month, we round up some of the best movies leaving streaming services, so you can catch them before they depart. This month, it’s a great group. We’ve got masterpieces from each of the last three decades, including two all-time classic blockbusters, groundbreaking animated movies, and a deeply felt romantic drama from one of our great new voices in film.
Enjoy!Movies to watch on NetflixIf Beale Street Could Talk
Year: 2018
Genre: Romantic drama
Run time: 1h 57m
Director: Barry Jenkins
Cast: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris
Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to his Oscar-winning Moonlight is this tender adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel.
Set in Harlem in the early 1970s, the film follows young Black couple Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James), who are simply trying to live their lives: apartment hunting, dealing with squabbling families with a child on the way, and looking toward the future. When Fonny is arrested for a crime he could not have possibly committed, their lives are thrown into turmoil.
Featuring terrific supporting performances from an all-star cast including Regina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Aunjanue Ellis, and Brian Tyree Henry, Beale Street is an instant masterpiece, with a transcendent score to match. Watch it before it leaves Netflix. —Pete Volk
If Beale Street Could Talk leaves Netflix on Sept. 1.The Bad Guys
Year: 2022
Genre: Heist comedy
Run time: 1h 40m
Director: Pierre Perifel
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina
From The Mitchells vs. The Machines to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, there’s been a number of colorful, vibrant, and personality-driven animated films released in recent years that take after 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Case in point: Pierre Perifel’s animated directorial debut based on Aaron Blabey’s children’s book series.
The Bad Guys stars Sam Rockwell as Wolf, an anthropomorphic wolf with a Danny Ocean-like vibe who leads a gang of fellow animal criminals known as, you guessed it, “The Bad Guys.” When the troupe is apprehended while attempting to swipe a valuable artifact, Wolf manages to sweet talk state governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) into giving them a chance to rehabilitate themselves into model citizens.
At first an obvious dastardly ploy to once again escape the ironclad clutches of the law, Wolf finds himself at a crossroads as he considers the merits of turning over a new leaf for not only himself, but also his criminal compatriots. While it essentially boils down to a straightforward heist comedy-drama, with “surprises” that aren’t really surprises and “twists” that feel more like retcons than they are moments that reward genuine observation, The Bad Guys remains a genuinely entertaining children’s film sure to delight kids and have parents snapping their fingers at the screen, shouting, “Hey, I know that reference!” —Toussaint Egan
The Bad Guys leaves Netflix on Sept.
