Last Call: 11 Films Leaving Netflix in May (And the 3 You Must See)
READ MORE: ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ ‘Legally Blonde’ and More to Hit Netflix in May
Netflix giveth, and Netflix taketh away.
Just as the streaming site unveiled its list of new titles set to launch for May, they also announced which films will be ending their Netflix run. From action favorites to comedy classics, below are the 11 movies Netflix has decided to cut from its roster, including Indiewire’s three choice picks. (Synopses courtesy of Netflix.)
Indiewire Pick: “Airplane!” (ends 05/01)
In this classic, joke-a-second parody of disaster movies, traumatized former combat pilot Ted Striker, an airplane passenger, is forced to land the plane when food poisoning strikes the crew and there’s no one else on board who can do the job.
“Along Came Polly” (ends 05/01): After his wife dumps him on their honeymoon for their scuba-diving instructor, uptight Reuben reconnects with Polly, an irreverent childhood friend who teaches him to live life on the edge.
“Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” (ends 05/01): Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Ellen Burstyn, James Garner and Maggie Smith star in this Southern-fried comedy, based on Rebecca Wells’s best-selling novels, which follows a group of lifelong friends over decades of ups and downs. Forced to resort to intervention to help their friend’s daughter, Siddalee (Bullock), cope and forgive her eccentric mother (Burstyn) for inflicting years of pain and embarrassment, the Ya-Yas don’t hold anything back.
“Funny Face” (ends 05/01): Fred Astaire’s inimitable dancing feet come full circle in George and Ira Gershwin’s airy 1957 musical gambol about high-fashion photography in Paris, co-starring a luminous Audrey Hepburn as a newly discovered fashion model.
“Life Is Beautiful” (ends 05/01): A Jewish Italian waiter named Guido is sent to a Nazi concentration camp, along with his wife and their young son. Refusing to give up hope, Guido tries to protect his son’s innocence by pretending that their imprisonment is an elaborate game.
Indiewire Pick: “RoboCop” (ends 05/01)
When Detroit cop and family man Alex Murphy is critically injured in the line of duty, a robotics firm transforms him into an experimental crime-fighting cyborg, though he remains haunted by his human past in this reboot of the 1980s sci-fi classic.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” (ends 05/01): Crack reporter April O’Neil does a story on Professor Perry and his efforts to uncover toxic waste, and from this, the evil Shredder concludes ooze is what gives the ninja turtles their power. So, he gets his hands on some of the toxic junk and creates dangerous mutants of his own. Armed with Professor Perry’s anti-mutant antidote, it’s up to the crime-fighting turtles and a pizza delivery boy to conquer these mutants.
“The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (ends 05/03): As the newly crowned princess of the tiny European country of Genovia, teen Mia Thermopolis is still trying to get used to her title — and as she’s groomed to become the nation’s future ruler, Mia learns an arranged marriage may be in store.
Indiewire Pick: “Skyfall” (ends 05/05)
When a serious menace threatens MI6, James Bond is on the case — putting aside his own life and personal issues to hunt and obliterate the perpetrators. Meanwhile, secrets arise from M’s past that strain Bond’s loyalty to his longtime boss.
“Fun Size” (ends 05/16): When feisty teenager Wren loses her offbeat kid brother on Halloween, she joins forces with three friends — BFF April, wannabe player Peng and nerdy Roosevelt — to find him during one crazy, adventure-filled night.
“Red Dawn” (ends 05/19): When North Korean military forces invade American soil and try to pacify citizens in one community, a group of teens elude capture and organize a resistance. But their uprising faces an adversary determined to stomp out their grass-roots rebellion.
READ MORE: ‘The Babadook,’ ‘Hot Fuzz’ and More on Netflix This April (Plus Indiewire’s Picks)
