The summer might be ending, but Netflix is still using this time to release blockbusters. One of the streamer’s latest offerings is The Union, an action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. If espionage is not your thing, you can pivot to other action spectacles, including Logan Lucky, Damsel, and Mortal Kombat.
While the previously mentioned movies will remain on the streamer for the foreseeable future, a select group of movies are departing the service at the end of the month. This is the last chance to watch these films on Netflix this month. Make it a point to watch these five movies before August ends. Our picks include a 1990s comedy, a spectacular superhero adaptation, and a sweet coming-of-age story.
The Nutty Professor (1996)
In the mid-1990s, Eddie Murphy was still as A-list as an actor can be. While Murphy played multiple characters on Saturday Night Live and Coming to America, nothing compares to his work on The Nutty Professor. In the 1996 comedy, Murphy played Professor Sherman Klump, Buddy Love, Lance Perkins, Cletus “Papa” Klump, Anna Pearl ‘Mama’ Jensen Klump, Ida Mae “Granny” Jensen, and Ernie Klump, Sr.
At the center of The Nutty Professor is Sherman Klump, an overweight teacher with a heart of gold. Sherman is working on a miracle formula that will shed pounds instantly. After a humiliating date with the beautiful Carla Purty (Jada Pinkett), Sherman tests the formula on his body. To his surprise, the experiment works, as Sherman loses 250 pounds. The formula also creates a more obnoxious personality named Buddy Love. To win his body back, Sherman must first do the hardest thing in his life: accept himself for who he is.
Stream The Nutty Professor on Netflix.
Pineapple Express (2008)
The stoner comedy is such a lost art in 2024. To be honest, the R-rated comedy has disappeared in general. From 2000 to 2012, the genre was on fire thanks to stars (and stoners) like Seth Rogen. One of Rogen’s better offerings was Pineapple Express. Dale Denton (Rogen) loves weed. He’ll smoke any chance he gets, even if it interferes with his job at a process server. Needing his fix, Dale visits his drug dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco), and smokes a new strain of marijuana called “Pineapple Express.”
While enjoying the weed on his ride home, Dale witnesses a murder, causing him to drop his roach at the scene of the crime. The home’s owner, who happens to be a drug lord, finds Dale’s roach and traces it back to Saul. Forced to flee, Dale and Saul hit the road for a dangerous adventure of life or death. If only hurricane season wasn’t over …
Stream Pineapple Express on Netflix.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The Dark Knight is regarded as the greatest superhero movie, and rightfully so. However, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 has a strong case to steal the “best ever” claim from Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel. Two years after the events of Spider-Man, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is still struggling to make ends meet as a delivery boy and a photographer. Spider-Man is still a polarizing figure in the public eye, with Harry Osborn (James Franco) still blaming the web crawler for his father’s death.
When a nuclear fusion experiment goes haywire, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) loses control of his metal tentacles and transforms into the villainous Dr. Octopus. New York City needs Spider-Man more than ever, but an existential crisis causes Peter to lose his powers. Raimi truly understands the methodology of Spider-Man — Peter must find the balance between his personal life and his superhero persona, even if it means sacrificing what he wants for the greater good.
Stream Spider-Man 2 on Netflix.
The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
Kelly Fremon Craig understood the assignment in The Edge of Seventeen. The writer-director beautifully grasped a coming-of-age movie’s integral theme — growing up is hard. Craig’s vision is told through the eyes of Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), an awkward high school junior. Nadine feels like an outcast in her own family due to her popular older brother, Darian (Blake Jenner), and self-interested mother, Mona (Kyra Sedgwick).
Nadine heavily relies on her best friend, Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), for emotional support. That all changes when Darian dates Krista, which causes a massive schism in the girls’ friendship. Forced to branch out alone, Nadine finds solace in a kind classmate (Hayden Szeto) and a thoughtful teacher (Woody Harrelson). Sweet, funny, and heartfelt, The Edge of Seventeen stands out in a crowded coming-of-age genre.
Stream The Edge of Seventeen on Netflix.
High-Rise (2015)
Class warfare is the source of conflict in High-Rise, Ben Wheatley’s dystopian thriller based on the 1975 novel by J. G. Ballard. In 1970s London, Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) moves into a brand-new high-rise building that weighs socioeconomic status to determine where residents live. The wealthy inhabit the top, and the lower class occupy the bottom.
With a gym, supermarket, pool, and school, there is little reason for the tower’s inhabitants to leave. Over time, the building slowly falls apart because of power outages, trash buildup, and food scarcity. As the poor suffer, the rich stay afloat. This leads to anarchy and a violent war between the wealthy and the less fortunate. Prepare to be disturbed.
Stream High-Rise on Netflix.