You may have lost power during the worst of Juno and had to resort to activities that don’t require electricity, but now that it’s all back in working order (we hope!), your Netflix-ing can resume to its normal (maybe heightened!) pace. If you’ve been snowed in and have yet another day—or more!—off from classes, now is the time to hunker down with the movies leaving Netflix this February.
1. Apocalypse Now and Apocalypse Now Redux
Set in the 1960s at the height of the Vietnam War, this movie stars a young Martin Sheen in the role that would make him a breakout star. It tells the story of Captain Willard, a decorated soldier tasked with a top secret mission of locating, and consequently assassinating, the legendary war hero Colonel Kurtz, who has apparently gone off the deep end. Filled with visceral, graphic imagery, it is a terrifyingly realistic and heartstopping portrayal of the darker side of ‘Nam. It is a movie that once you see, you will never be able to forget. Word of caution—it is not for the faint of heart.
2. The entire Batman movie collection
No, this is not the Christopher Nolan trilogy, but these ’80s and ’90s gems have their own merits: what they lack in angsty hero plotlines, they make up for with horribly cheesy one-liners and epic costumes and cinematography. These movies cannot compare to the new ones, but nobody should be comparing them because they’re glorious in their own right. We give special props to the first movie with Michael Keaton, simply titled Batman, not only because of Keaton’s strong performance (despite sometimes campy dialogue), but also due to one of Jack Nicholson’s most iconic characters. His Joker is goofy, loony, glamorous and ridiculous, yet still manages to be oddly frightening even with the level of comedy attached to the character. If you haven’t seen it, you’re missing out on a cult classic.
3. A treasure trove of James Bond films
Several classic Bond movies are scheduled to be deleted, including the Sean Connery classics Goldfinger and From Russia With Love. There’s no need to elaborate on why you definitely need to watch these, even if you’ve already seen them a hundred times. It’s James Bond—enough said! We’re particularly sad to see A View To A Kill leave—you might find this Roger Moore incarnation a little ridiculous (as you might with all of his Bond films) but this movie features a very young Christopher Walken as the main villain, and what has to be the greatest Bond theme of all time: Duran Duran’s ’80s classic “A View To A Kill.” You’ll be sure to “dance into the fire” after you hear it!
4. M*A*S*H
Based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Richard Hooker, this one is another not-to-be-missed film. Also a war movie, this one is set in the midst of the Korean War, and tells the comedic yet serious tales of the M*A*S*H (short for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) 4077 unit. Never a crazier, more wonderful bunch of people will you find, including the ever sarcastic Captain Benjamin “Hawkeye” Pierce (played by a young Donald Sutherland), “Trapper” John (Elliot Gould), and “Duke” Forrest (Tom Skerritt). The movie follows these young doctors as they distract themselves from the horror of war and all its casualties by administering a high dose of the best medicine possible: laughter. Incidentally the TV show M*A*S*H is rumored to be entering Netflix in the near future—keep an eye out for it, because as good as this film is, the show just might be ten times better.
5. Revenge
If you’re one of those who will be very upset to know that this hit ABC drama will be departing instant streaming, you might need to settle down for a long viewing party. And if you haven’t seen it before, it is most definitely a binge-worthy show. No sense in rehashing plots here—the title of the show is self-explanatory. Filled with plot twists, murder, love, and (you guessed it) revenge, this show is guaranteed to be a fun way to pass your snow day…or days, if you’re lucky.
So without further ado, put on your warmest onesie, grab the popcorn and hot chocolate, and enjoy!