Gone by Monday: The best movies leaving Netflix this weekend

While there are daily drops of new material on Netflix, everything from crazy reality shows to classic rom-coms, there’s also a constant churn of content dropping off the global streaming service.

So although you might think a movie or TV show will be available to watch on there forever, the truth is that’s very much not the case, some only available for a few months at a time.

In order to assist those keen to get the most out of their subscription, and in order to help with your viewing priorities, Stuff to Watch has come up with a list of 10 terrific movies that won’t be around come Monday – so catch them while you can.

READ MORE:
* Gone by Sunday: The best of the large number of movies leaving TVNZ+ this week
* Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story: Netflix spin-off should more than satisfy
* Netflix’s Fubar, Apple’s Platonic, TVNZ’s The Gone among May’s must-see TV
* Guardians 3, Fast X, Little Mermaid, Apple’s Still among May’s must-see movies

American Hustle (2013)

Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence team up for this 1970-set multi-Oscar-nominated crime-drama.

It’s the story of a con man (Bale), who along with his partner (Adams), is forced to work for an FBI Agent (Cooper), who pushes them into dangerous territory.

“It turns out that comb-overs, cleavage, cocaine and kookiness are an unbeatable combo,” wrote New York Daily News’ Joe Neumaier of David O. Russell’s movie.

Dear John (2010)

Based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, this romantic-drama sees soldier John Tyree (Channing Tatum) fall in love with Savannah Curtis (Amanda Seyfried) just before the events of September 11, 2001 ruin his plans to discharge from the army. As he is deployed to war, the pair attempt to keep in touch via letters.

“A touching melodrama illuminated by a solid turn from Tatum,” wrote Empire magazine’s Helen O’Hara.

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

The friendship between Hailee Steinfeld’s Nadine and Haley Lu Richardson’s Krista actually plays second-fiddle to the complicated and hilarious one between the former and her disaffected teacher Max Bruner (Woody Harrelson) in this coming-of-age comedy.

That pair spark brilliantly as the fatherless teen and the depressed educator bond in a rather unusual manner.

“Deals with all the usual teenage concerns – dating, family, school – in a way that tries to go beyond genre cliché, with a heroine who is often unlikeable but always believable,” wrote Empire magazine’s Olly Richards.

End of Watch (20212)

Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Frank Grillo and David Harbour are part of the excellent ensemble assembled for this action-thriller which follows two young South Central Los Angeles Police officers.

Shot documentary-style, it looks at what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.

“Its spiky authenticity and blunt moral power feel unimpeachable,” wrote The Daily Telegraph’s Robbie Collin.

Going in Style (2017)

Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin join forces for this crime-comedy directed by former Scrubs star Zach Braff.

They play three life-long pals who risk it all, to help pay the bills and keep their families afloat, by attempting to rob a bank. Ann-Margret, Christopher Lloyd and Matt Dillion also feature.

“Its stars are such pros, they’re so enormously charismatic and have such lovely chemistry with each other, it’s hard not to be charmed by their mere presence on screen,” wrote Roger Ebert.com’s Christy Lemire.

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Ron Howard directs this recounting of a New England whaling ship’s 1820 sinking by a giant whale, an experience that would later inspire the novel Moby-Dick. Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw and Tom Holland all feature.

“Howard is a director who believes in strong, primary-colour storytelling, with plenty of uncomplicated emotion. Yet this story is oddly more subtle than you might think…,” wrote The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw.

I, Tonya (2017)

Based, as Aussie director Craig Gillespie’s movie so elegantly puts it, “irony free, totally contradictory interviews”, this aims to explore the troubled backstories of all the major players in one of US sport’s greatest scandals, while also allowing them to have their say.

Coupled with quite brilliant performances from both Margot Robbie and Allison Janney, what could have been a straight-forward documentary or a conventional biopic, is instead a hilarious, confronting and compelling black comedy.

Lawless (2012)

Australian musician Nick Cave wrote the screenplay for this 1930-set crime drama based on Matt Bondurant’s 2008 historical novel The Wettest County in the World.

It’s the story of three bootlegging brothers whose business is threatened by a new law enforcer and authorities looking for a piece of the action.

The cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke and Guy Pearce.

“Historical authenticity and pulp fiction blend nicely in… [this] lush-looking drama full of blazing Tommy guns, fast jalopies, brutish men and delicate women,” wrote Newsday’s Rafer Guzman.

Mao’s Last Dancer (2009)

Biopic of Chinese-born Australian ballet dancer Li Cunxin, based on his 2003 memoir of the same name. It charts his journey to the west, after he is chosen to attend a ballet summer school in Houston, Texas.

The cast includes Bruce Greenwood, Joan Chen, Kyle MacLachlan and Chi Cao.

“Lovely and astounding, Mao’s Last Dancer is a modern epic of art and ambition triumphing oppression,” wrote Detroit News’ Tom Long.

Training Day (2001)

Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington were both nominated for Academy Awards (Washington won the Oscar for Best Actor) for their performances in Antoine Fuqua’s crime drama. Both are simply superb as Hawke’s junior LAPD narcotics officer finds himself in over his head when he spends a day being evaluated by Washington’s highly decorated, but dirty, Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris.

“Director Fuqua, Mr. Washington, Mr. Hawke and the rest prove that there’s nothing wrong with the urban-crime genre that a little energy can’t cure,” wrote Dallas Morning News’ Philip Wuntch.