James R | On 28, Apr 2015

And so another month draws to a close and, while we begin to get excited about what’s coming soon to Netflix UK we also bid farewell to a wave of TV shows and movies as their rights expire.

Whether it’s Roman Polanski, Zach Braff or James Cameron, there’s something in here to upset everyone, but also a lot of that, you suspect, won’t be missed at all. To help you sort the ones worth catching from the ones that slip through the net, we pick out the top 11 titles leaving Netflix UK at the end of April 2015:

The Smurfs – Tuesday 28th April

Not the recent live-action/CGI movie but the original 1980s classic, Season 2 of this animated series will Smurf off from the streaming site tonight. Whether it’s the pointy white hats that appeal, or you simply don’t like Gargamel, this is an enjoyably blue-tinted slice of TV nostalgia.

Welcome to the Punch – Tuesday 28th April

British cinema doesn’t really do action movie, not in the way that America does – well, until Eran Creevy came along. The director of Shifty moves from small character drama to big guns with this cracking bit of cinema. James McAvoy and Mark Strong bring the Heroic Bloodshed themes to life, but it’s London that really impresses. Shot with a green and blue tint and given a Hong Kong sheen, it looks more like Gotham than the UK capital.

Doctor Who: The Movie – Thursday 30th April

The TARDIS is diverted to San Francisco on the eve of the year 2000 in this 1996 TV movie. It wasn’t nearly good enough to reboot the show ahead of Russell T Davies and the BBC, but this does have some things to offer to the Doctor Who legacy: firstly, part of the continuity of the franchise, but, more importantly, Paul McGann as The Doctor. From his waistcoat to his hair, he’s a brilliant Time Lord who deserved more time in the TARDIS.

Funny Games (1997) – Thursday 30th April

Michael Haneke’s 1997 thriller sees a wealthy family terrorised by a pair of sadistic bullies who invade their home. It’s tendency to lecture as well as entertain may irk some, but this deliberately disturbing horror is provocative for a reason.

Scrubs – Seasons 1 to 6 – Thursday 30th April

It’s been almost a year since Scrubs appeared on Netflix, Amazon Prime and NOW, but JD and the gang are about to be discharged. All six seasons of them. Sad face. Yes, we’ll even miss Dr. Jan Itor.

Alphas – Thursday 30th April

X-Men meets CSI. If that’s enough to make you curious about Alphas, then it’s worth checking out some episodes of Zak Penn and Michael Karnow’s sci-fi thriller. Syfy may have dropped it after two seasons back in 2013, but that doesn’t mean there’s not stuff to enjoy here.

Miss Potter – Thursday 30th April

Blending animation and live-action, this biopic of children’s author Beatrix Potter – who gave the world Peter Rabbit – is sweet, but cute enough. Renée Zellweger’s English accent is, as you’d expect from Bridget Jones herself, spot-on.

Undercover Brother – Thursday 30th April

A lone-wolf hero goes undercover to get to the bottom of things when a black general abandons a presidential bid to open a chain of restaurants. Sounds silly? That’s because this blaxploitation spoof is – entertainingly so.

What Dreams May Come – Thursday 30th April

Deceased physician Chris Nielson risks eternal damnation by leaving heaven to save his distraught wife after she commits suicide and ends up in hell. This 1998 fantasy drama took home the Oscar for Best Visual Effects thanks to its depiction of the afterlife, but this is mostly worth watching just for a moving turn from the late Robin Williams.

Scream 2 – Friday 1st May

Our dreams of having all four Scream movies on Netflix UK come to an end at the start of May, as Wes Craven’s Scream 2 departs. How do you follow up a post-modern horror? Give the tradition of the sequel a meta treatment too. Impressively, the laughs – and the scares – are just as potent.

Scream 3 – Friday 1st May

Hot on the heels of Scream 2, this third entry in the quadrilogy departs on 1st May. Not a patch on Scream 4, it nonetheless proved a fun reunion for the cast three years after the previous outing, with Courteney Cox and David Arquette sending themselves up, as we enter a movie set based on the original film.

Beyond the Hills – Saturday 9th May

Christian Mungiu’s drama is the epitome of a film that only works when its ending arrives. The film follows two girls – Alina and Viochita – as they attempt to rebuild their friendship following Viochita’s conversion to a nun. The closeted community in which she now lives, though, are less welcoming to the outsider. What happens emerges as a scathing look at the relevance of the church in the modern age. The only catch? It takes two and a half hours to get there.

 

Other removals:

Tuesday 28th April
Yossi

Thursday 30th April
The 6th Man
A Warrior’s Heart
Aliens of the Deep
Big Business
Burning Bright
Casino Jack
Conan the Destroyer
Dawn Rider
Deceived
Delirious
The Guardian
Gumball 3000: Coast to Coast
Heartstopper
Kids in America
Larger than Life
Make It or Break It
My Soul to Take
The Ninth Gate
No Ordinary Family
Operating Instructions
Sorority Boys
Desperation
The Sweetest Thing
The Ten Commandments
Virgin Territory

Saturday 9th May
Angel Dog
Excision
The Human Centipede 2
Interview with a Hitman
Michael H. Profession: Director
Some Guy Who Kills People
Starbuck
There Be Dragons

Tip of the hat to Netflix.maft.uk for the information

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