1 of 5 | Robin Williams in "Toys," coming to Netflix in December.
Sure, you've had mashed 'taters for Thanksgiving, and probably for a few days after. But if you want some of them French-fried 'taters a la Sling Blade streamed on the Netflix, you're out of luck as of Dec. 1. MMMM-hmmm.
That movie, featuring a mentally challenged adult man fascinatingly portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton, has an impressive 96 percent "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Your writer highly recommends it, but now you'll need to get the DVD or watch on pay-per-view. Bonus: See if you can find the original short, called Some Call It a Sling Blade featuring Thornton with J.T. Walsh and Molly Ringwald, who did not appear in the full-length feature. Thornton wrote the short, and the full-length adapted screenplay that the short pitched to Hollywood. He took home an Oscar for his writing and a nomination for his acting.
As Karl might say: "Aight, den" ... on to more highlights from December's comings and goings in Netflix's video treasure trove (full list below):
Love Kevin Spacey? You'll cringe with his character in American Beauty (88 percent Fresh) but that rose has wilted and left Netflix streaming. Like a desperate MiG 29 trying to land on a broken Russian aircraft carrier, "Top Gun" ran out of streaming fuel on Dec. 1.
With the family all home for the holidays to argue about the election, you might consider The In-Laws a good distraction from the inevitable. Think again. This isn't the 1979 version starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. There's never enough Falk and Arkin – ever. The remake does have Albert Brooks, so there's that. Regardless, you won't have to worry about the remake any more – on Netflix streaming, anyway.
If you just KNOW the government is hiding something really big via coded messages known only to the Illuminati, you have until Dec. 14 to find out – that's when The Da Vinci Code disappears like so much invisible continental congressional ink.
Don't fret the losses ... a lot of cool new stuff is being added starting Dec. 1, including TOGA!!!! – National Lampoon's Animal House. And you'll be able to Netflix and Chill with Bob Ross to a greater degree than ever before ... featuring a collection of the big-haired painter's best, plus more than a few happy little trees starting bright and early Dec. 1.
Who can't use a little more Robin Williams? Barry Levinson's "Toys" joins the holiday fun Dec. 1, with awesome contributions from LL Cool J, Michael Gambon and the military-industrial complex. Critics hated it. If that doesn't convince you to watch it, try the awesome improv trailer Williams did for it:
A slew of Netflix Originals are being added as well in December. Top of that list to watch with your Facebook-fake-news-sharing uncle is Barry, a biopic about Barack Obama that arrives on Dec. 16. Perhaps not. Possible alternatives from the newly arriving list include The Way of the Dragon, the awesome 1972 kung fu flick that features Bruce Lee denuding conservative commentator Chuck Norris' chest of hair before dispatching him ... or perhaps Hitler: A Career? Both arrive on Dec. 1. There's always America's biggest patriot beating up bad dudes in Marvel's Captain America: Civil War – arriving as a big present from Netflix on Christmas Day. Maybe just put your uncle on a brony filter and play it safe with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Season 6, arriving Dec. 20.
Here's the full rundown:
Departing Netflix in December 2016
December 1
50 First Dates (2004)
American Beauty (1999)
Black Ops: Series 2
Camp Takota (2014)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Cats & Dogs (2001)
Curious George: Swings Into Spring (2013)
Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)
Event Horizon (1997)
Frequencies (2013)
McConkey
Medora (2013)
Monkey Business (1952)
Myth Hunters: Series 1
Myth Hunters: Series 2
Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006)
Paycheck (2003)
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008)
River of No Return (1954)
Sling Blade (1996)
Thor: Hammer of the Gods (2009)
The Great War Diary: Season 1
The In-Laws (2003)
The Out-of-Towners (1999)
Top Gun (1986)
Valley of the Dolls (1967)
World Trade Center (2006)
December 2
Legends of the Knight (2013)
The Red Baron (2008)
December 3
The Best of Me (2014)
December 5
Holes (2003)
December 14
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
December 15
High Profits: Season 1
World War II in Colour (2009)
December 16
Beyond the Hills (2012)
December 22
Dark Skies (2013)
December 26
Just Friends (2005)
December 27
Spy Kids (2001)
December 31
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys: Seasons 1-6
Arriving on Netflix in December 2016
December 1
Always (1989)
Angels in the Snow (2015)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Beyond Bollywood (2014)
Black Snake Moan (2007)
Chill with Bob Ross: Collection (1990)
Compulsion (1959)
D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
David Blaine: Street Magic (1997)
Dreamland (2010)
For the Love of Spock (2016)
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce: Season 2 (2015)
Glory Daze: The Life and Time of Michael Alig (2016)
Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
Hitler: A Career (1977)
Holiday Engagement (2011)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
House of Wax (2006)
Hannibal (2001)
Merli: Season 1 – NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Merry Kissmas (2015)
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Picture Perfect (1997)
Rainbow Time (2016)
Rodeo & Juliet (2015)
Swept Under (2016)
Switchback (1997)
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
The Crucible (1996)
The Little Rascals (1994)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
The Rock (1996)
The Spirit of Christmas (2015)
The Way of the Dragon (1972)
Toys (1992)
Uncle Nick (2015)
Waking Life (2001)
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993)
White Girl (2016)
Wildflower (2016)
Zero Point (2014)
December 2
Fauda: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Hip Hop Evolution: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Pacific Heat: Season 1 –NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 3
Lost & Found Music Studios: Season 2 - NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 5
Mad (2016)
The Good Neighbor (2016)
December 6
Blue Jay
Homeland (Iraq Year Zero): Season 1
Reggie Watts: Spatial—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Devil Dolls (2016)
The Model (2016)
December 8
The Cuba Libre Story: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 9
Captive: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Cirque du Soleil Junior - Luna Petunia: Season 1 NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Club de Cuervos: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Fuller House: Season 2—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Four Seasons in Havana: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Medici: Masters of Florence: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Spectral—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
White Rabbit Project: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 10
Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Phantom of the Theater (2016)
December 11
Breaking a Monster (2016)
December 12
Ricardo O'Farrill: Christmas Special—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 13
Colony: Season 1
Killswitch (2016)
I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016)
Nobel: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 14
Versailles: Season 1 (2015)
December 16
Barry—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Call Me Francis: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Crazyhead: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
No Second Chance: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Rats (2016)
The Adventures of Puss in Boots: Season 4 —NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 19
Miss Stevens (2016)
December 20
Disorder (2015)
Gabriel Iglesias: Sorry For What I Said When I Was Hungry—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Season 6 (2016)
Ten Percent: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Break: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 23
Travelers: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Trollhunters: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 25
Marvel's Captain America: Civil War (2016)
When Hari Got Married (2013)
December 27
Ajin: Season 2—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Chasing Cameron: Season 1—NETFLIX ORIGINAL
December 28
Comedy Bang! Bang!: Season 5 (2016)
December 29
The Hollywood Shorties (2016)
December 30
The Eighties: Season 1 (2016)
December 31
Big in Bollywood (2011)
See you next month!
