One of the funniest sitcoms on Netflix is coming to US subscribers at the end of July. As if that wasn’t enough for grief, the streamer also jettisoned a handful of delightful coming-of-age films, a classic 90s rom-com and one of the most influential films of the 2010s. Watch them while you still can. (Dates reflect the last day a title is available.)
‘The social network’ (July 1)
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher seemed like an odd combination at first—a shotgun marriage of flowery dialogue with a moody, sensual visual style. But working together on this fictional 2010 account of the rise of Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, they complemented each other: Fincher gives Sorkin’s words a distinct visual click, and Sorkin gives him a script where the dialogue is just as sharp. like the images. Sorkin got an Oscar and Fincher got a nomination, as did the star of the film, Jesse Eisenberg, who finds the perfect tone of know-it-all despair as Zuckerberg.
Stream it here†
‘We have always lived in the castle’ (July 1)
Writer Shirley Jackson, who died in 1965, has been having a bit of an unexpected moment lately. In addition to this moody Netflix adaptation of her 1962 novel, her book “The Haunting of Hill House” was adapted for a streamer miniseries, and she’s the subject of the Hulu biopic “Shirley.” Taissa Farmiga and Alexandra Daddario star in “Castle” as the Blackwood sisters, who (along with their ailing Uncle Julian) live in solitude and mystery; their parents died years earlier, under cloudy conditions, and they are still the talk of the town today. That chatter grows louder with the arrival of an enigmatic cousin, Charles (Sebastian Stan, wild and woolly), who shakes up the precarious household. Farmiga and Daddario exude both vulnerability and danger, while Crispin Glover beautifully (and surprisingly) underplays as Uncle Julian.
Stream it here†
‘Django unleashed’ (July 23)
Writer and director Quentin Tarantino and actor Christoph Waltz brought a sly iteration of their “Inglourious Basterds” Oscar triumph, again taking home the trophies for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for this 2012 spaghetti western riff. Jamie Foxx stars. as the title character, a former slave in the pre-Civil War South who befriends a bounty hunter (Waltz) and learns the trade; Leonardo DiCaprio is gleefully villainous as a plantation owner who stands between Django and his wife (Kerry Washington). It’s Tarantino, so the violence and profanity abound, but the set pieces are thrilling, the characterizations are lively, and the laughter stays put.
Stream it here†
’30 Rock’: Seasons 1-7 (July 31)
Tina Fey went from serving as the lead writer of “Saturday Night Live” to making this series, in which she stars as…head writer of a late night NBC sketch show. Well, they say to write you know! But it wasn’t the inside jokes that made ’30 Rock’ one of the most rewatchable sitcoms of our time; it was the clear mix of finely tuned characters, quoteable dialogue, and lightning-fast pacing (on a pure joke-per-minute basis, it’s unbeatable). And as network television continues to get crazier, “30 Rock” parody shows like “MILF Island” and “God Cop” seem less like satire and more like forecasting.
Stream it here†
‘The Edge of Seventeen’ (July 31)
Before garnering acclaim in the title role in “Dickinson” or making her way to the charts, Hailee Steinfeld starred in this bittersweet coming-of-age comedy from writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig. Steinfeld stars as Nadine Franklin, a wise and witty but unpopular high school student whose world is turned upside down when her best friend (Haley Lu Richardson) contacts Nadine’s older brother (Blake Jenner). Craig’s astute, unwavering writing style turns what could have been a predictable high school comedy into something far more nuanced; she sympathizes with Nadine, but makes sure she becomes a complex character, who isn’t always conventionally likable or admirable.
Stream it here†
‘Lean on Me’ (July 31)
Morgan Freeman landed one of his first lead roles in this 1989 high school drama, starring Joe Clark, a principal whose tactics for running a high-crime, low-performance high school in Paterson, NJ, nicknamed him “Crazy Joe.” ” yielded. † The director, John G. Avildsen, was also behind “Rocky” and “The Karate Kid,” occasionally flattening the (still-relevant) questions of effective educational reform in his go-to mode of rousing underdog- stories. But the film is full of powerful moments, most of which are thanks to Freeman’s rock-solid performance.
Stream it here†
‘Little Women’ (July 31)
Each generation gets its own adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, and while Greta Gerwig’s recent iteration was top notch, Gen Xers are still committed to this 1994 recording from Australian director Gillian Armstrong (“My Brilliant Career”). , which claims, and even sharpens, some of the rougher edges that previous tweaks have sanded down. Winona Ryder, in an Oscar-nominated turn, leads an ax ensemble that also includes Trini Alvarado, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst and Samantha Mathis as her sisters; Susan Sarandon as their mother; and Christian Bale, Gabriel Byrne and Eric Stoltz as the men in their lives.
Stream it here†
‘My Girl’ (July 31)
Those who only know Anna Chlumsky from her insanely funny (and wonderfully foul-mouthed) work on “Veep” might be surprised by this one, her debut film, a sweet coming-of-age drama set in the summer of 1972 and was released when she was only 11 years old. She stars as Vada, whose father (Dan Aykroyd) runs the local undertaker, which has made little Vada (perhaps understandably) a hypochondriac. Jamie Lee Curtis stars as a potential romantic interest for Vada’s father, while Macaulay Culkin is heartbreaking as Vada’s summer boyfriend (and first kiss).
Stream it here†
‘You have mail’ (July 31)
Five years after the spectacular commercial and critical success of “Sleepless in Seattle,” Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and writer-director Nora Ephron teamed up for a new contemporary riff on a classic Hollywood romantic comedy. They came up with “You’ve Got Mail”, which gives “The Shop Around the Corner” an update for the internet age, featuring Hanks and Ryan in an online romance, unaware that they are professional enemies in real life. Ephron assembles a stacked supporting cast—Dave Chappelle, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, and Steve Zahn all show up—but it’s Hanks and Ryan’s show again, as they light up the screen with their sunny movie star charisma and impeccable love-hate chemistry.
Stream it here†
ALSO LEFT: “Home again” (July 7); “Radium Girls” (July 15); “Chicago Med”: Seasons 1-5 (21 July); “21,” “Forrest Gump”, “Love actually,” “Pump” (July 31).
