The Best TV Shows And Movies Leaving Netflix In December 2022
If you're also lamenting how quickly the month seems to be drawing to a close soon, then you're definitely not alone. We tell ourselves we're going to sift through our watchlists for real this time, and yet hardly scratch the surface. There's just way too much cool stuff to watch, and Netflix's model all but ensures you'll never catch up, especially with some of the streamer's own Originals starting to vanish somewhere into the streaming void (for now).
There appears to be a silver lining to December 2022, however, as there aren't a significant amount of titles on the chopping block for that period. With that said, there are still some great films among the bunch that you really ought to check out on Netflix between now and the end of the year, before they're shipped off to yet another service. From high-octane spy thrillers to Kubrick masterpieces, here are a few of my personal favorites.
1BR
Community can be a great way to connect with people in your area, especially if you're migrating to Los Angeles. But if your neighbors start acting suspicious, then "1BR" all but implores you to look for an apartment literally anywhere else before it's too late.
Nicole Brydon Bloom plays Sarah, an architecture student who moves into a gated LA community complex where, upon first glance, everyone seems so welcoming and accommodating. After the initial grace period is over, however, Sarah wakes up to an incredibly disturbing aftermath in her apartment, thrusting her down a rabbit hole she may not be able to get out of.
I'll try to keep the secrets of what's going on to a minimum because half of the intrigue of "1BR" is discovering the larger system at play as Sarah does. (Imagine "Rosemary's Baby" by way of Karyn Kusama's "The Invitation.") Director David Marmor invites you to feel a new kind of terror by way of extreme confinement, where almost any attempt of escaping the building means certain danger. If you're looking for a psychological nightmare that really pushes you to think about what you would do in this terrifying predicament, then "1BR" is worth checking out.
Casino Royale
Over 16 years later, "Casino Royale" not only serves as an incredible introduction for Daniel Craig as James Bond, but it's still one of the best films in the Bond series. After "Die Another Day," the British secret agent needed new energy if he was going to truly survive, and director Martin Campbell hit all of the right marks. "Skyfall" may be my favorite of Craig's tenure, but "Casino Royale" is still a rock solid action film that shows its greatness beyond the 007 prerequisites.
In the 2006 spy thriller, the titular poker game that gets Bond one step closer to dismantling the villainous plan of Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) is just as exciting, if not more so, than the traditional action sequences themselves. Here you get to see Craig use 007's cunning precisions in a mental battle with his opponent, where only they know how vital it is that the other takes home the prize. Add in a dash of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" with the presence of Eva Green's Vesper Lynd and you have one of the greatest action movies of the 21st century.
Eyes Wide Shut
Take a trip back to 1999, in which screen legend Tom Cruise played a toxic motivational speaker in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia." Within the same year, he worked alongside Stanley Kubrick, where he would play a quieter display of toxic masculinity with the intoxicating "Eyes Wide Shut." What starts as a need for validation, after his wife (Nicole Kidman) shows that she can survive without him, turns into a psychosexual odyssey through New York in the midst of the Christmas season where all eyes are on the inquisitive traveler.
"Eyes Wide Shut" brilliantly preys on the idea that you truly have no idea what encompasses your surroundings. A costume shop can be a storefront for something far more sinister. A secretive house party in a luxurious manor can be home to a den of lust, sin, and possibly murder. New York is Cruise's oyster, but the more he uncovers its secrets, the deeper he digs himself into a world that could swallow him whole. Over two decades later, Kubrick's swan song is a beautifully haunting character study with two excellent performances at the center.
If anything, it works as an interesting mix-up to the Christmas movie roster. Just don't watch it while your folks are over.
Men in Black
Will Smith was one of the hottest movie stars of the late '90s, and to prove that point, look no further than 1997's "Men in Black." The Barry Sonnenfeld-directed action comedy featured a riveting premise, where a secret organization handles the day-to-day affairs of extraterrestrials on planet Earth. You have more than enough mileage there for a great story, but what really sold the film was the camaraderie of its lead duo. Smith could light up a room on charm alone, but it's the collected reservation of Tommy Lee Jones that brings it to life.
On one end, you have Agent K's by-the-book approach that keeps his partner in check. On the other side, however, you have Agent J's street smarts, in which he adopts a "work smarter, not harder" regiment that gives him a slight advantage. Beyond Smith and Jones riffing off of one another, you also have Vincent D'Onofrio's flawless performance as a world-ending alien trying to disguise itself in the body of an unkempt farmer.
The sequels have their moments, but the original "Men in Black" continues to inspire creativity as one of the best blockbusters of the '90s.
Point Break
Speaking of era-defining blockbusters with a duo that light up the screen, you can't talk about the best without giving some love to the 1991 hit "Point Break," which brought Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze together.
Long before it would heavily inspire the "Fast and the Furious" saga, this action-thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow saw FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Reeves) infiltrating a group of bank robbers called the "Ex-Presidents." Swayze's Bodhi, with his luscious golden locks, is positioned as the charismatic ringleader, who could command waves and hearts like no one's business. In order to get close to Bodhi's operation, Utah has to go undercover and infiltrate the surfer group. In doing so, however, the rookie not only falls for one of its members (Lori Petty), but develops a budding friendship with his mark.
"Point Break" delivers all of the pulse-pounding thrills of the best '90s action flicks, in addition to a tragic tale of male friendship. In a different world, these two could have been an inseparable pair, but the moral standings of each party leads them down a path that can only end in one of them going down. It's as exciting today as it was when it came out, especially when you get to the mind-blowing skydiving battle between Utah and Bodhi. There's truly nothing like it.
Just make sure you have two meatballs subs before you hit play.
Movies and TV Shows leaving Netflix in December 2022
Leaving 12/9/22
. The Shack
Leaving 12/10/22
. Fast Color
Leaving 12/11/22
. Manhunt: Unabomber
Leaving 12/14/22
. Black Ink Crew: New York – Seasons 3-4
. The Challenge – Season 12
. The Challenge – Season 25
. Merlin – Seasons 1-5
. Teen Mom 2 – Seasons 3-4
Leaving 12/15/22
. The Danish Girl
Leaving 12/27/22
. Instant Hotel – Season 1
Leaving 12/28/22
. Shrek the Musical
Leaving 12/31/22
. 1BR
. A Cinderella Story
. A Clockwork Orange
. A Little Princess
. Blood Diamond
. Blow
. Blue Jasmine
. Casino Royale
. Chocolat
. Eyes Wide Shut
. I Love You, Man
. Life as We Know It
. Men in Black
. Men in Black II
. Men in Black 3
. National Lampoon's European Vacation
. National Lampoon's Vacation
. New York Minute
. Point Break
. Police Academy
. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie