Spring has sprung, which means that pretty soon you’re going to start feeling guilty about sitting at home and watching Netflix all the time. Not that you do that. (Neither do we, wink, wink.) All we’re saying is that if you did, hypothetically, spend a good portion of your spare time binge-watching Netflix, warm and sunny spring days might soon mess up your flow. So, we suggest you hunker down this weekend and get your fill, especially given the number of films that will be disappearing from Netflix’s virtual shelves next week. Here are a few (approximately 393,243 hours’ worth) suggestions to get you started.
Flashdance
This 1983 classic leaves Netflix next week, so we suggest you cancel your socially healthy plans tonight and watch Flashdance instead. Get the backstory on Jennifer Beal’s famed off-the-shoulder sweatshirt here, and get a refresh on the trailer here.
The Art Of Organized Noize
If you've ever wondered about the creative geniuses behind TLC's song Waterfalls, this documentary is a must-watch. It just debuted at SXSW and is already available to screen at home in your pajamas (while preemptively buttering up the cat that will one day save your life by alerting the neighbors to the fact that you just choked on Thai takeout), thanks to our ingenious boyfriend Netflix. For those who don't know, Organized Noize is a production team out of Atlanta that's been quietly responsible for the success of everyone from Outkast to the aforementioned TLC and beyond. According to Forbes, the "emotional reaction" to the film's screening at SXSW was "unprecedented." View the trailer here.
9 to 5
Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton? Sign us up. This 1980 film leaves Netflix on April 1, and if you're not familiar with it, read here for Rolling Stone's take on why 9 to 5 is still radical 35 years after it debuted. View the trailer here.
Everything Is Copy
This one's not on Netflix, but it's worth a mention if you have access to HBO. Writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron's son Jacob Bernstein decided to make this documentary about his famous mother in the wake of her passing in 2012, and it features interviews with his father—who infamously inspired the adulterer in Ephron's autobiographical-leaning novel Heartburn—as well as intimate conversations with scores of Ephron's high-profile friends, like Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg. Ephron also penned beloved classics like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. Watch the trailer for Everything Is Copy here.
Berkeley In The Sixties
"For the very first time, the young, privileged, affluent children of the culture began to perceive themselves as an oppressed class! It was an astounding perception." This quote, taken directly from the documentary Berkeley in the Sixties (which leaves Netflix on April 1), may have some resonance with modern-day millennials—though in 2016, the "privileged, affluent children of culture" may have valid cause for complaint considering they are drowning in debt, will almost never be able to buy a house and can't get employed. (Just saying.) View the trailer here.
Pride And Prejudice
The much-beloved 2005 Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice is leaving Netflix next week. View the trailer here.
Remember Me
You might not remember the Robert Pattinson film Remember Me, unless you saw it and were subsequently shocked by its odd twist ending. Wanna know what happens in the last ten minutes of the film that had everyone buzzing? Watch it before it leaves Netflix on April 1.
The Butcher's Wife
This 1991 film has a score of 21% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it's worth a watch before it leaves April 1—if for no other reason than that it features Demi Moore as a blonde. View the trailer here.
Vanilla Ice Goes Amish
This gem leaves Netflix on April 1. We didn't know it existed, and we're not sure we feel morally sound recommending that you watch it, but if you've have a bad week and enjoy home improvement shows featuring trainwrecks from the '90s, we say go for it. View clips here.
The Inexplicable Universe With Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Cleanse your post–Vanilla Ice palate with six hours of science before this series leaves Netflix next week. (Or just watch Key and Peele spoof the famed astrophysicist here.)
My Beautiful Broken Brain
This moving, David Lynch–produced film documents the aftermath of a traumatic, stroke-induced brain injury as experienced by 34-year-old Lotje Sodderland. It explores the idea that who we are is intensely connected to our memories as well as what happens to our sense of self when we lose them. While heart-wrenching, this documentary is ultimately meant to be both inspiring and uplifting—and is therefore worth a watch. View the trailer here.
Final Girl
If you like revenge flicks like Kill Bill, this film may be a great way to spend your Friday night. It stars Abigail Breslin, of all people, and while we personally aren't into watching violence, Final Girl's chuckle-worthy premise sort of makes us want to make an exception: "A man teaches a young woman how to become a complete weapon. Later she is approached by a group of sadistic teens who kill blonde women for unknown reasons. The hunting season begins." View the trailer here.
Finders Keepers
Finders Keepers is an unbelievable documentary chronicling one of the most bizarre stories you'll be privy to, maybe ever. It follows the discovery of an amputated leg in an abandoned storage locker by a man who has his own bum leg, and the subsequent, public custody dispute that ensues between him and the man to whom the leg once belonged. Really, we swear that's what happened. In real life. View the trailer here.
Charlie St. Cloud
Some nights you just want to watch a shameless tearjerker of a film that stars Zac Efron. For those nights, there's Charlie St. Cloud. The film centers around Efron's character, who has to decide whether or not to stop playing catch with his little brother's ghost every night once a love interest enters his life. It's not Shakespeare, but if you've had a bad week and need a cheap cry, we think we've found your outlet. View the trailer here.
The Falling
We're really excited about this one, which feels like a cousin of sorts to The Virgin Suicides. Set in 1969, The Falling centers around two teenage besties who start to grow apart, with one eventually disappearing from the other's life altogether. The adolescent girl left behind begins to react in a way that infects her entire all-girls school with a sort of mass hysteria. View the trailer here.
Ten Thousand Saints
This film—which stars Ethan Hawke, Emile Hirsch and Hailee Steinfeld—takes place in late-1980s New York (roughshod Alphabet City, to be exact) and centers on a teenage boy who turns to punk rock for solace after his best friend's drug overdose, as well as the bond he forms with his deceased friend's pregnant girlfriend. View the trailer here.
Happy Valley, Season 2
The New York Times calls Happy Valley an "excellent British cop show," so if you're into police dramas and British accents, you might want to start binge-watching this series ASAP. View the trailer here.
Marvel’s Daredevil, Season 2
People love this Netflix original series, and here's an argument for the second season being even better than the first. It centers on the Marvel universe character Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, a blind lawyer by day who fights crime at night. View the trailer here.
Flaked
Arrested Development's Will Arnett finally has his own series and, like many new shows including Love, Togetherness and Casual, it's about people in their 30s and 40s who live in LA. Arnett stars as a Californication-reminiscent man-child living in gentrified Venice Beach, where he spends his days mostly thinking about women. Reviews so far haven't exactly been raves, but we think the show's worth a watch if for no other reason than to find out the big mid-season twist that reviewers are buzzing about. Watch the trailer here.
Netflix Presents: The Characters
For each episode of this show, Netflix gave complete creative control to a different up-and-coming comedian. The result is likely to be a little hit or miss, but for comedy fans, The Characters is a must-watch. View the trailer here.
Shelter
This film is Paul Bettany's directorial debut, and it finds his wife, Jennifer Connelly, playing a heroin addict in ways reminiscent of her role in Requiem for a Dream. The story centers on her character's relationship with a homeless man who was once part of the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram. Watch the trailer here.
Hateship Loveship
We'd watch anything Kristen Wiig's in, so we're definitely counting down the hours until we can stream this film tonight. Hateship Loveship centers on Wiig's emotionally bereft character as she awakens to love for the first time. Watch the trailer here.
Comedy Bang! Bang! Season 4, Part 3
If you don't watch this show, which hilariously riffs on the format of the late-night talk show using some of today's most talented comedians, you should definitely start. Watch the season 4 trailer here.
House of Cards, Season 4
In 2016, reality truly is stranger than fiction, and it may be tough for House of Cards' fictional politics to compete with what's going on in real life. Still, Frank Underwood's world of endless scandal is irresistible, and we're excited to see even more from Claire this season and meet her newest aide, played by Neve Campbell. Though the series has been renewed for a fifth season, this is the last one in which its brilliant creator and showrunner Beau Willimon will be involved. Watch the trailer here.
Scarface
This 1993 classic is worth a watch for innumerable reasons, not the least of which is Michelle Pfeiffer's iconic performance and its accompanying wardrobe. Watch the Scarface trailer here.
Groundhog Day
Bill Murray is pure perfection in this 1993 film, in which he plays an apathetic weatherman forced to relive the same day—Groundhog Day—over and over, after being awoken each morning by an alarm clock playing Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe." This film is so iconic that the term "Groundhog Day" has become synonymous with the idea of doing things repeatedly, and the silly redemption tale has a strangely huge religious following. Watch the trailer here.
For Grace
This documentary, which was filmed over four years, follows Chicago chef Curtis Duffy's quest to open a restaurant and, in the process, exposes all he loses as a result. It may sound straightforward, but there's a bombshell revelation that ultimately makes this story anything but.
Louie, Season 5
There's a funny story behind Season 5 of Louie and why it is limited to eight episodes as opposed to the 13 or 14 episodes of seasons past. Apparently, Louis CK had originally wanted to delay filming the show to avoid having to shoot in winter's harshest months. Then he smoked pot, wrote a bunch of "genius" scripts and changed his mind. At that point, most of the show's budget had been allocated elsewhere, so the season was chopped in half. None of the "weed scripts" made it into the completed season, but all eight episodes are comedically brilliant nonetheless.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
We're embarrassed to admit that we love this 1991 Kevin Costner movie, which features the sappy Bryan Adams song "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You"—even today, it melts our hearts. We're not sure how Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves will stand the test of time, but the film's got a great cast that also includes Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman and the late Alan Rickman.
Before We Go
Cutie McCuterson Chris Evans directed and starred in this film last year, the logline for which is: "Two strangers stuck in Manhattan for the night grow into each other's most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives." This film has a 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes so it's unlikely to become an all-time favorite, but it might be worth a one-time watch if you're in need of a post-workweek mental vacation. Watch the trailer here.
Adult Beginners
This 2015 comedy may only have a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but its cast is worth turning out for regardless. Adult Beginners stars Nick Kroll, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Joel McHale and Jane Krakowski and follows Kroll's Failure to Launch-esque journey from man-child to full-blown adult. Watch the trailer here.
