James R | On 29, Mar 2015

Another month draws to a close and so we bid farewell to another wave of titles on Netflix UK, as the rights to stream them expire.

More than 100 TV shows and films are departing in the coming days, some of which will be sorely missed and others that are The Scorpion King 2. From John Cusack and Zac Efron taking a turn for the dark to Wes Anderson and Coen brothers favourites, we round up 25 titles that are worth catching before they disappear. (The date listed is the last day they are available before being removed at approximately midnight.)

This is your last chance to stream the following…

Ronin – Sunday 29th March

The 90s were a good decade for loud, brash action blockbusters. John Frankenheimer’s low-key thriller about a group of people trying to steal a briefcase is a welcome change of pace, with its emphasis on characters, betrayals and – of course – quality chase sequences. Oh, and did we mention it stars Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean and Jonathan Pryce?

Olympus Has Fallen – Monday 30th March

White House Down was the more entertaining of the two attack-the-POTUS films released in 2013, but Gerard Butler’s dumber, leaner affair has a certain nasty charm to its brutal violence and gruff jingoism. It styles itself as the new Die Hard. It’s closer to Air Force One, but on the ground instead of a plane. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you – and America – needs.

The Paperboy – Monday 30th March

It’s impossible to sum up The Paperboy in a sentence, because it’s hard to know what it is – at times, the film doesn’t even seem to know itself. The tale of young journalist Jack (Zac Efron) and his older brother Ward (Matthew McConaughey) investigating an innocent man on death row (John Cusack), they find themselves entangled with Charlotte Bless (Nicole Kidman) and, erm, alligators and mumble mumble jellyfish something something something Nicole Kidman peeing on Zac Efron.

But while the plot, based on Peter Dexter’s novel, may sound ridiculous, that’s partly the point: Lee Daniel’s follow-up to the award-worthy Precious is as un-award-worthy as a film gets. It’s tacky, strange and completely bonkers. That also means its unpredictable, leading you up one garden path before turning it into a swamp surrounded by knifes and people with their tops off. It’s enjoyable to find a film so unexpected.

Rev (Seasons 1 and 2) – Monday 30th March

Reverend Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander) is the priest at St. Saviour’s in East London. His congregation is shrinking, the coffers are empty and the church seniors are running out of patience – much to the annoyance of uptight lay reader Nigel (Miles Jupp) and the amusement of Archdeacon Robert (a delightfully snide Simon McBurney).

Rev’s strength has always been in its ability to take the serious with the silly: more sit than com, it’s drama first, entertainment second. The Vicar of Dibley, it ain’t. And it’s all the better for it.

Stolen – Monday 30th March

“Save a purple crayon for daddy.” “As you’re speaking Swedish, something must be up.” Any film featuring such immortal lines of dialogue is destined to be silly, so the sight of Nicolas Cage in the credits for Stolen is a promising sign of bonkers action to come. Sadly, no one seems to have told him. The thriller sees our hero driving burning cars, fighting one-legged men and even carrying cuddly toy bunnies – but Nic Cage does it all with a completely straight face. On the plus side, he drives burning cars and fights one-legged men. It’s hard not to enjoy any film that features both

D3: The Mighty Ducks – Thursday 2nd April

Our loveable rabble of hockey misfits earn themselves a scholarship to a posh school, where they promptly fail to fit in. But can they make the grade where it counts – on the ice? This sequel may be predictable, but it’s hard to resist the feel-good formula, especially when accompanied by such well-done skating sequences. Quack, indeed.

White Men Can’t Jump – Tuesday 31st April

Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes team up for this 1992 comedy that follows a pair of basketball hustlers.

Veronica Guerin – Tuesday 31st April

Cate Blanchett is worth watching in this true story of the determined journalist, who investigates Dublin’s drug trade.

Ugly Betty – Tuesday 31st March

America Ferrera stars in this comedy about Betty, a plain Jane who gets a job at the super-fashionable Mode magazine. The show may not sustain its initial rush of humour, but there’s more than enough backbiting fun to enjoy before the show departs.

Trust (2010) – Tuesday 31st March

After Run, Fatboy, Run, David Schwimmer directed this powerful drama about a teenage girl, who falls into a trap set by an online predator, prompting reactions from her parents, played by Catherine Keener and Clive Owen.

Stripes – Tuesday 31st March

After losing everything, an indolent sad sack impulsively joins the US Army and cajoles his best friend into enlisting as well. Two words: Bill Murray.

Stand by Me – Tuesday 31st March

Rob Reiner’s take on Stephen King’s The Body, which sees four boys seeking adventure in the woods while looking for a missing teenager’s dead body, is nothing less than a masterpiece.

The Royal Tenenbaums – Tuesday 31st March

Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston are fantastic in Wes Anderson’s comedy about a dysfunctional family and their even more dysfunctional father. Because, let’s face it, who needs an excuse to re-watch it?

Raising Arizona – Tuesday 31st March

Nicolas Cage + the Coen brothers? Yes please.

Pretty Woman – Tuesday 31st March

When millionaire Edward enters into a business contract with Hollywood hooker Vivian, he loses his heart in the bargain. Cheesy? Yes. Romantic? That too.

Patriot Games – Tuesday 31st March

Harrison Ford takes over from Alec Baldwin in the role of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, who foils an assassination attempt, much to the displeasure of Sean Bean’s terrorist. It’s no The Hunt for Red October, but did we mention Harrison Ford and Sean Bean?

The Hours – Tuesday 31st March

Stephen Daldry’s powerfully sad drama about women from different time periods all somehow connected to Virginia Woolf may be mostly known for its false nose these days, but this is a moving showcase for three on-form actresses. Streep. Kidman. Moore. Have a hanky to hand.

The Fisher King – Tuesday 31st March

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen departed Netflix recently and now, it’s time for another Terry Gilliam film to do the same. Starring Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams, the comedy drama combines everything from radio talk shows and depression to hallucinations and a quest for the Holy Grail.

Crimson Tide – Tuesday 31st March

When Soviet rebels point weapons at the United States, the tactical message for one nuclear sub is cut off in transmission. Gene Hackman’s towering captain and Denzel Washington’s good-intentioned first mate go at each other like landmines waiting to explode. All the while, Tony Scott shoots the clash with a claustrophobic eye, putting the lid on the sub and watching as tensions boil.

Broken Arrow – Tuesday 31st March

The film that made John Travolta evil, roll-neck jumpers cool and Christian Slater, Broken Arrow is something of an underrated 1990s action flick. Two US pilots fight each other over a stolen nuclear warhead in the on-rails thriller, which races along like a train full of cheese. Travolta’s evil cackle keeps you entertained between the set pieces, which director John Woo orchestrates with typically over-the-top flair. It’s overshadowed by the Nic Cage/John Travolta masterpiece, but it’s this simple: no Broken Arrow, no Face/Off.

Boys Don’t Cry – Tuesday 31st March

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her performance in Kimberly Pierce’s seminal 1990s drama. You won’t be surprised after you reach the end credits. This is moving, shocking stuff.

Keep the Lights On – Tuesday 31st March

When a film starts in a dimly lit room with a man on the phone to a sex hotline, you know you’re in for a happy 90 minutes. That grubby realism is what defines Ira Sachs’ frank romance. Made before his heart-warming Love Is Strange, starring Alfred Molina, this tragic romance is painful to witness, but Sachs’ skill lies in capturing the passing of time, and all the emotional baggage it carries with it.

Melancholia – Tuesday 31st March

Another planet is on a collision course with Earth. While some would panic or take their clothes off, Lars von Trier uses the scenario as the backdrop for an exploration of the disintegrating relationship between two sisters. Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg are fantastic.

Memoirs of a Geisha – Tuesday 31st March

When 9-year-old Chiyo is sold to a geisha house, she endures harsh treatment from the owners and the head geisha, who’s envious of Chiyo’s beauty. Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the book may not always surprise, but it’s quietly engaging drama, accompanied by John Williams’ most un-John Williams score to date.

Other removals

Sunday 29th April
Rowdy Rathore

Monday 30th April
Alpha and Omega: A Howl-iday Adventure
ATM
Bachelorette
Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero
Brazil with Michael Palin
Breakout
ETXR
Ghost Rider
Green Street 3: Never Back Down
Honeymoon in Vegas
Hummingbird
The Iceman
Last Tango in Halifax
Les Miserables (2000)
Lucky Luke
The Moth Diaries
Night and the City
Outcasts
Rapture-Palooza
Rebellion (2011)
Snowflake, The White Gorilla
Spiders (2013)
Trap for Cinderella
Wilfred

Tuesday 31st April
3 Ninjas: Kick Back
All.I.Can
Amanda
Au Pair 3: Adventure in Paradise
The Baby Sitters Club
Beauty and the Briefcase
The Beverly Hillbillies
Blue Thunder
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
Coyote Ugly
The Crazysitter
The Crew
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviour
Crossroads
The Crow: Salvation
Curandero: Dawn of the Demon
The Dark
The Deep End of the Ocean
Disturbing Behaviour
Down Periscope
Drop Dead Gorgeous
The Edge
Father of the Bride Part II
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
The Final Countdown
Go
Gone Fishin’
Great Expectations (1998)
Greek
Half Past Dead
Hamlet (2000)
Heartbreakers
Hoffa
Homecoming
Inventing the Abbots
Just One of the Guys
Insomnia
The Inexplicable Universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson
Kingdom Come
Lesbian Vampire Killers
Little Secrets
The Martins
The Master of Disguise
The Messengers
The Messengers 2: The Scarecrow
Modern Problems
Newton Boys
9 to 5
The Object of My Affection
Omen III: The Final Conflict
Oscar
Out to Sea
Pandorum
The Prince of Tides
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Reaper
Reign of Fire
Rising Sun
Rookie of the Year
Say It Isn’t So
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior
Seabiscuit
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Shining Through
Silverado
Slacker
Smiley Face
Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassin’s Ball
Soul Food
Stepmom
Trapped
Trust the Man
The Truth About Cats & Dogs
Two Can Play That Game
Urban Legends: Final Cut
Virtuality
Waiting to Exhale
Walled In
Wild Things
Wilderness
The Wood
The World’s Fastest Indian

Thursday 2nd April
Tarzan (1999)

With thanks to Netflix.maft.uk for the heads-up on upcoming removals.

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