There are plenty of scares in the titles leaving US Netflix at the end of the month, with two contemporary horror favorites and one absolute classic leaving the service. I also recommend a top-notch thriller and a Kevin Costner western that is neither Dances With Wolves nor Yellowstone. (Date reflects the last date the title will be available.)
“The Conjuring” (August 20)
When this modestly sized haunted house movie hit theaters in the summer of 2013, no one could have imagined it would make as much money and return $319 million worldwide on a $200 million budget. I guess. movies and counting. But that was all. The joy of this first entry is simple, the authenticity of the ’70s setting, the down-to-earth performances by Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Lili his Taylor, and the confident direction by James Wan (especially the rooted in his run) which is one of his best jumps. Scary in my recent memory).
“Visit” (August 25)
By the mid-2010s, M. Night Shyamalan’s career was in rough shape after a string of big-budget, high-profile big-scale studio fiasco. So he did a miraculous reinvention, stripping his style to its bare essentials and working with his producer Jason Blum to create this low-budget yet surprisingly effective chiller. Teenage brothers, played by Olivia DeGeonge and Ed Oxenbold, take an extended stay at their grandparents’ house, who lived far away, and discover much of what’s going on there… disturbing. Expertly mixing elements of horror and found footage into a dark and entertaining package, he reminded audiences of his great talent in the process.
“In the Line of Fire” (August 30)
Clint Eastwood makes a rare acting-only appearance later in his career in this top-notch thriller directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Eastwood starred as Secret He Service his agent Frank He Horrigan, one of his agents working in Dallas on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. increase. The connection attracts the attention of a potential assassin (John Malkovich), who lures Horrigan into a cat-and-mouse game by threatening to repeat history with his watch. Malkovich was nominated for an Academy Award for his chilling performance as a cold-blooded, intelligent killer, but Eastwood’s performance is the real deal. The reticent actor finds striking notes of vulnerability and melancholy in his guilt-ridden character.
“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” (August 31)
Will Ferrell’s groundbreaking ride was one of the most culturally inescapable comedies of the 2000s, endlessly quoted and memed, and for good reason. ) interest to the absolute limit. But it was also the feature directorial debut of future Oscar winner Adam McKay. He had already used broad comedy as a cover to smuggle more heading themes (this time, gender roles, toxic masculinity, and media incompetence).
“Cliffhanger” (August 31)
Few megastars have made as many comebacks as Sylvester Stallone (one of the many similarities between the actor and filmmaker and his most famous work, Rocky Balboa). He was bouncing back from a silly attempt at comedy — remember. Or will mom shoot? — in 1993 when he spearheaded this White Knuckle his thriller. The formulaic script (co-written by Stallone) was the equivalent of a “diehard” in the mountains, with Stallone as a rugged but desperate hero and John his Lithgow as an elegant terrorist villain set in the Rocky Mountains. But Stallone and Lithgow play their roles admirably, and director Renny Harlin (previously, not coincidentally, Die Hard 2) orchestrates the mayhem with panache.
“The Dark Knight Rises” (August 31)
Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman trilogy, following on from one of the most commercially and critically successful comic book movies of all time, The Dark Knight, in this 2012 action epic. It’s not nearly as thrilling as The Dark Knight, less narratively efficient than its predecessor Batman Begins, and closer to nearly three hours of bloat. But there’s something boldly operatic about that ambition, the way Nolan folds into new villains, post-occupation politics, and decidedly unheroic tones of borderline nihilism. A horror, Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman is a gem of complex sensuality.
“Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol” (August 31)
The seeming lack of a clear consensus about the best film in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise speaks to the high quality of the series as a whole. Being the fourth entry in his directorial debut, this one makes a strong case. Tom Cruise returns as Agent Ethan Hunt. This time, we’re drawn into a complex, globe-trotting pursuit of a nuclear terrorist who assembles Hunt and his team to bomb the Kremlin. Returning Simon Pegg from Part 3 provides welcome comical relief, while new additions Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton add quite a bit of spice, and two of the sets (the aforementioned Kremlin sequence and The cruise’s fascinating Burj Khalifa climb) is one of the franchise’s best. . (of the series first time When The second Installments also leave Netflix at the end of the month. )
“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (August 31)
Wes Craven went from genre journeyman to horror icon in this 1984 creeper, launching one of the most venerable slasher franchises to date. Craven wrote and directed the story of his teens in the suburbs who are haunted by the often fatal real-life consequences of neighborhood boogeyman Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). Heather Langenkamp is the witty protagonist, and film debutant Johnny Depp is one of the memorable victims. Subsequent sequels would make Kruger stand out, but with diminishing returns, effectively turning the film into a horror-comedy. No, it’s a spiteful horror machine.
“Public Enemies” (August 31)
Twenty-five years later, Depp is at the height of his career, starring as Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in this crime epic (“Heat”) directed by Michael Mann. Mann also co-wrote the script for this fact-based story. It tells a parallel story of Dillinger and his FBI agent, Melvin Purvis, who uses all of the FBI’s tools to track him down. Mann’s use of modern digital photography was controversial at the time, but it was an evocative choice, giving the photograph a modern sheen and not making it feel like dusty, unapproachable history. Hmm.
“Wyatt Earp” (August 31)
Some great movies are just badly timed. That was certainly the case with this 1994 Western epic, which saw writer-director Lawrence Kasdan and his “Silverado” star Kevin Costner team up again. Unfortunately, their movie hit theaters six months after him in “Tombstone,” and it also told the story of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the shootout at the OK Ranch. But these two films of his tell the same story in very different ways. “Tombstone” is a lively, modern take that emphasizes action and thrills (sharing direction with “Rambo”), while “Earp” is an old-school character. – drove the West in the style of John Ford (he Own Earp Films, the classic “My Darling Clementine,” 1946). But time has been kind to Kasdan’s views, and with the popularity of Western TV dramas like Costner’s “Yellowstone,” “Wyatt Earp” is ripe for rediscovery.
Also leave:
“Taxi driver” (August 25), “Wind River” (August 27), “deceased,” “Goodfellas” “Kung Fu Panda 2” “rise of the guardians,”“Space Warrior,” “Titanic” (all August 31).