When it comes to the best streaming services change is always the name of the game. While Netflix adds a slate of new movies each month, this comes with the downside of a collection of previous favorites being removed to make some space in the platform's digital library.
With October 2024 almost over, Netflix has confirmed the movies it will be removing on the final day of the month (Thursday, October 31), and it includes a handful of films that you need to watch before they wave goodbye next week. These include one of the most relentlessly joyful movies ever made, a classic comedy set in medieval Britain and a big-budget zombie flick.
Remember you don’t have long to watch these Netflix movies, so clear your schedule, and place them at the top of your watchlist. Here are the five Netflix movies you need to watch right now before they are removed from the streaming service next week.
'Dark Waters' (2019)
Todd Haynes (the director of “Carol” and “May December”) helms this legal thriller with Mark Ruffalo. On the surface, a drama about an attorney attempting to expose multinational chemical company DuPont for unlawful pollution might not sound all that gripping, but there are real stakes to the case. Lawyer Robert Bilott (Ruffalo) discovers it’s not just animals that are getting sick in the town of Parkersburg, West Virginia due to DuPont's actions but local residents as well.
Inspired by a New York Times Magazine article, and a subsequent book that covered the case, “Dark Waters” is seriously compelling. Thanks in large part to Ruffalo’s committed performance, you’ll feel a burning sense of injustice as DuPont’s cost-cutting actions are uncovered. Don’t dismiss this one as a snoozer full of legal jargon. It’s a highly watchable drama that even adds a few thriller elements to keep things interesting.
Watch on Netflix until October 31
'La La Land' (2016)
“La La Land” is one of the most joyful movies ever made. This 2016 musical is bursting with vibrant color and twinkling lights, and it’s pretty much impossible to watch without having a big grin on your face. Its leads, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, also have some of the most natural chemistry ever captured on screen, and both embody their likable character completely. Plus, and I cannot overstate this enough, the music is so fantastic you’ll be playing the soundtrack on repeat for days after viewing. Heck, just writing about it now has me going back to it!
Sebastian (Gosling) and Mia (Stone) are two dreamers living in L.A., and while they have big ambitions, they’re currently struggling to find their place in the urban sprawl. But when a chance encounter brings them together, they quickly strike up a romance and push each other to make their dreams a reality. However, as they take steps toward being successful, they are forced to make choices that could tear them apart. "La La Land" is a modern masterpiece.
Watch on Netflix until October 31
'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' (1975)
One of my earliest movie-watching memories is the first time I saw “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” at a friend’s New Year's Eve party, and even the opening credits (which start as normal but soon devolve into several ridiculous references to Swedish moose among other oddities) had me practically crying tears of laughter. And to this day it remains one of my favorite comedies.
Unapologetically silly, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” opens with King Arthur (Graham Chapman) pretending to ride a horse while his squire claps two coconuts together to mimic the sound of a horse’s hooves, and things only get more farcical from there. As the legendary king and his Knights of the Round Table (played by the other members of the Python comedy group) search for the mythical Holy Grail they encounter all sorts of ludicrous obstacles from a very dangerous rabbit to a pack of Knights who say the word “Ni!”.
Watch on Netflix until October 31
'Sonic the Hedgehog' (2020)
“Sonic the Hedgehog” was released at a time when the default reaction to movies and TV shows based on video games was still skepticism, but it proved to be a remarkably enjoyable action-adventure. Perfect for family viewing, this 2020 movie offers blockbuster thrills and a simple, but charming, story. Plus, the design of Sonic is spot on. Fortunately, the filmmakers reverted course after initially debuting a nightmare-fuel version of the blue blur.
In his first live-action big-screen outing, Sonic finds himself on Earth after a harrowing escape in his childhood. Living a carefree life in the town of Green Hills, Montana, he befriends the local sheriff, Tom (James Marsden). But when an evil scientist, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), learns of the spiky blue hedgehog and his supersonic powers, he’ll stop at nothing to capture our hero and use these special abilities to achieve world domination.
Watch on Netflix until October 31
'World War Z' (2013)
“World War Z” is far from the most faithful movie adaptation in Hollywood history, but this 2013 action-thriller takes the bones of Max Brooks’ best-selling novel of the same name and uses them to tell a compelling zombie tale that makes the shambling monsters actually scary again. Starring Brad Pitt, it’s an energetic blockbuster that mixes in just the right amount of horror to keep you on your toes, but not enough to spook anybody too easily frightened.
Gerry Lane (Pitt) is a former United Nations investigator who must spring into action when the world is consumed by a lethal virus that turns the infected into feral creatures. These more evolved zombies may not be shuffling around calling out for brains but they still bite. Looking to protect his family, Gerry must travel across the globe in the hopes of finding the initial source of the zombie outbreak, and ultimately, a way to stop the virus from wiping out all of humanity.
Watch on Netflix until October 31
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