Dazed and Confused, Dark Waters among the best movies leaving Neon this month

While there are constant arrivals of fresh movies and TV shows on Neon, there’s also a regular churn of content dropping off the Kiwi-owned and curated streaming service.

So although you might think a film or programme will be available to watch on there in perpetuity, the truth is licencing deals mean they are usually only there for a few months – or years – at a time.

In order to assist those keen to get the most out of their subscription, and to help with your viewing priorities, Stuff to Watch has come up with a list of nine fabulous movies that won’t be around come January 1.

Make sure you catch them while you can.

Black Sheep (2006)

Cult Kiwi horror-comedy about genetic engineering gone wrong. Oliver Driver, Tammy Davis, Nathan Meister and Danielle Mason are among those forced to battle Weta Workshop-created bloodthristy ovines.

Director Jonathan King channels a mix of Sam Raimi and early Peter Jackson in his all-out gore-tastic approach to this tale of killer sheep.

“This woolly mix of hilarity and horror works best when played for baaad laughs,” wrote The Times’ Anil Sinanan. “One thing is sure – it will put you off doner kebabs for life.”

Book of Love (2022)

Sam Claflin and Veronica Echegu team up for this tale about an uptight English author who is delighted to discover that he’s become an unlikely hit in Mexico.

However, it’s only when he goes on a promotional tour there that he discovers the real reason why – his Spanish translator has rewritten his “dull book” as an erotic novel.

What could have been a cringeworthy cross-cultural comedy is actually a surprisingly entertaining romp.

Sure, you can see the seams, anticipate the traditional tropes and brace yourself for both the power ballad-backed late lament and farcical finale of Spanish film-maker Analeine Cal y Mayor and co-writer David Quantick’s rom-com, but leads Claflin and Echegui winningly sell the premise and punchlines.

Dark Waters (2019)

Based on the brilliantly titled 2016 New York Times Magazine article The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare, Todd Haynes (Carol, Far From Heaven) delivered a stunning and rage-inducing real-life environmental courtroom drama. This Erin Brockovich-meets-John-Grisham-esque drama will make you look at your Teflon cookware in a whole new, chilling, light.

Playing it with same understated compellingness he brought to 2015 Oscar winner Spotlight, Mark Ruffalo is outstanding as a man willing to risk his career and life to expose the truth about perfluorooctanoic acids and the ongoing effects they can have on livestock and human health.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey and Renee Zellweger star in writer-director Richard Linklater’s dramedy chronicling the last day for a group of senior students at a Texas high school in 1976.

The evocative, provocative soundtrack included classic tracks by Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, The Runaways, Kiss and Deep Purple.

“Smart, funny and wonderfully crafted and performed,” wrote Austin Chronicle’s Marjorie Baumgarten.

The Duke (2022)

Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren play husband and wife in this inspired-by-real-life dramedy about 60-year-old British taxi driver Kempton Bunton, who stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London and sent ransom notes suggesting it would only be returned safely if the government agreed to drop the television licence fee for pensioners.

The final film of beloved Notting Hill and Venus director Roger Michell.

More than just feel-good froth, this is a comedic caper with heart.

Ella Enchanted (2004)

Based on Gail Carson Levine’s critically acclaimed 1998 book of the same name, this fantasy rom-com is an enjoyable, colourful and undemanding romp aimed squarely at young and pre-teens, but with enough charm, chutzpah and 1970s chart-toppers to win over many adults as well.

Leading lady Anne Hathaway lights up the screen with her smile, singing and sheer joy.

“In its innocence, sweet heart and abundant wit, it has more going for it, by my accounting, than a dozen more expensive-looking films,” wrote The Washington Post’s Michael O’Sullivan.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

On the run from a deadly bank robbery, Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his paranoid, loose-cannon brother Richard (Quentin Tarantino), high-tail it to the Mexican border in Robert Rodriguez’s wild action-horror.

Kidnapping preacher Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) and his kids, the siblings hole up in a topless bar. One that, unfortunately, also happens to be home to a gang of vampires.

“A deliriously trashy, exuberantly vulgar, lavishly appointed exploitation picture,” wrote Variety’s Todd McCarthy.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Loosely based on the popular book series by Cressida Cowell, this delightful animated feature focuses on a hapless young Viking, whose dragon-hunting aspirations become complicated when he discovers an unlikely friend in the form of an injured Night Fury.

The impressive vocal cast includes Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig.

“Full of heart and heroism, even when its action is grounded,” wrote New York Daily News’ Joe Neumaier.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Despite barely registering at the box-office, Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s short story regularly tops “favourite movie” lists and with good reason.

Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins make for an unlikely but endearing double act and the against-the-odds story is at once uplifting and beautifully subversive.

“If you don’t love Shawshank, chances are you’re beyond redemption,” wrote Empire magazine’s Ian Nathan.