The losses for U.S. subscribers aren’t that heavy in November, but a few bona fide greats and quirky favorites are among them.
Fans of made-for-cable sci-fi, quirky stand-up comedy and romantic comedies will want to jump on the titles leaving Netflix in the United States in November. And if you’re looking for a superhero sendup or one of Spielberg’s first cracks at serious drama, a few of those are leaving soon as well. Move them to the top of you “to watch” list while there’s time. (Dates indicate the final day a title is available.)
‘Suffragette’ (Nov. 15)
The director Sarah Gavron assembled a high-caliber cast — including Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw and (in a brief but memorable role) Meryl Streep — for this stirring account of the women’s equality movement in London, circa 1912. Mulligan stars as a laundry worker who is swept up into the suffragette protests, which the screenwriter Abi Morgan is careful to frame as a continuing concern. “Suffragette” asks compelling questions that continue to resonate, about the responsibility of the vote, the impenetrable structure of power and the place of violent resistance in the politics of protest.
Stream it here.
‘Donald Glover: Weirdo’ (Nov. 18)
Donald Glover wasn’t particularly famous yet when he released this stand-up special in 2012; he was still best known as a supporting player on “Community,” and he makes a side reference here to the recent release of his first EP. His primary focus, at that time, was still this stage act, a fast-paced set filled with pop-culture references, social commentary and semi-surrealist observations. Some of the references have dated, as one would expect from an of-the-moment special released 10 years ago. But the funniest and smartest material, covering relationships, sex and (especially) racism, is timeless.
Stream it here.
‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ (Nov. 30)
Twelve years after the underwhelming sequel “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” Renée Zellweger returned to the cozy cardigans of Helen Fielding’s heroine for one more go-round. The third film in the series has Bridget finally at peace with her weight but still struggling for satisfaction with her career and love life — and the latter concern becomes especially keen when she gets pregnant. She’s unsure of the father; it could be new beau Jack (Patrick Dempsey) or her old flame Mark Darcy (a returning Colin Firth). Zellweger’s delightful characterization creates a breezy mood, and if this installment is featherweight even by rom-com standards, our affection for the characters holds it aloft.
Stream it here.
‘Clueless’ (Nov. 30)
This 1995 comedy from Amy Heckerling catapulted a slew of careers (including those of Alicia Silverstone, Donald Faison, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd), as well as an entire ’90s glut of teen comedy adaptations of classic literature (including “10 Things I Hate About You,” “She’s All That” and “Cruel Intentions”). But the first remains the best. The writer-director Heckerling, who directed “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” continued to display an impeccable ear and eye for the dialogue and behavior of her teen protagonists, and she managed the miraculous feat of writing a script that satires their vapidness and privilege without condescending them.
Stream it here.
‘The Color Purple’ (Nov. 30)
Whoopi Goldberg made her film debut in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker’s — a stunning bit of trivia, considering how confident and assured her work is here. (She was nominated for an Oscar for best actress.) She stars as Celie, a young Black woman in the midcentury rural South who must cope with racism, cruelty, sexism and worse, yet manages to find her true self, and the joy within. It was Spielberg’s first attempt at serious, prestige drama, and while those growing pains are occasionally apparent, the picture is nevertheless directed with sensitivity and grace. Co-stars Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey (also making her film debut) were deservedly nominated for Oscars as well, while Danny Glover and Adolph Caesar are memorably monstrous in the key male roles.
Stream it here.
‘Hancock’ (Nov. 30)
The current (and seemingly endless) superhero vogue was barely underway back in 2008 — the summer of “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight” — when the director Peter Berg released this clever subversion of comic book conventions. Co-written by the “Breaking Bad” mastermind Vince Gilligan, it stars Will Smith as a burned-out, alcoholic superhero whose careless escapades are more likely to cause serious property damage than save any lives. But when he rescues an opportunistic public relations man (Jason Bateman, at his smarmiest), his attempts at media rehabilitation just cause more problems. (Charlize Theron co-stars as the P.R. man’s wife, who turns out to be much more than a homemaker.) Some viewers resisted “Hancock” because it cast Smith against type as an unlikable antihero … maybe the timing is better now?
Stream it here.
‘Stargate SG-1’: Seasons 1-10 (Nov. 30)
The phrase “cult favorite” gets thrown around for just about anything with an identifiable fan base these days, diminishing its true meaning as a badge of honor and admission among certain subsets of antisocial weirdos. But unless you’re really, really into low-rent turn-of-the-millennium sci-fi, you may not even know that the hit 1994 film “Stargate” was turned into a television series — much less one that ran for a staggering 200+ episodes. Richard Dean Anderson, of “MacGyver,” takes over for Kurt Russell as the Air Force Colonel who discovers the Stargate, an alien pathway to other worlds and times. The mythology is elaborate and the scripts are occasionally silly, but it offers engaging characters, go-for-broke performances and hours of low-calorie entertainment.
Stream it here.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
