September's New (and Temporary) Arrivals

Stallone. Stone. Boom.

Considering that many of Netflix's September arrivals are returning titles from the 1990s and 2000s (how many times have we seen Big Fish, Hitch, and Days of Thunder come and go?)—and many of those are part of the expiring Epix deal—it's hard to be too impressed. But at least it means the return of inspired zombie comedy Fido, along with Christopher Nolan's excellent (and too often dismissed) Insomnia. I'm also happy to see Robert Altman's Popeye back (even briefly), and am looking forward to checking out the depraved weirdness that should be Larry Clark's latest film, Marfa Girl. Also worth a mention: Paul Schrader's Lindsey Lohan disaster, The Canyons, scheduled to appear in all its controversial glory on September 26th.

For classic film fans there's 1975's controversial-for-its-time Mandingo, not to mention the restored version of David Lean's 1962 Lawrence of Arabia, which is as classic as "classic" gets. Not a bad month for family films, meanwhile, with the arrival of Jon Favreau's Zathura, Robert Rodriquez's The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lavagirl, last year's reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Volume 1 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Oh, and if you're a Star Trek or William Shatner fan, be sure to check out his Captains docs, which are surprisingly enjoyable (reviewed here). Other standout titles are listed in bold (and yes, that includes guilty pleasure The Specialist—so sue me).

As I said, many of these titles fall under the Epix contract, which means they're due to expire at the end of the month. Any you don't get to, however, are already on Amazon Prime, and all are expected to appear in October on the increasingly formidable Hulu—which today announced its new ad-free tier. To paraphrase a famous movie character: Now that's an offer I won't refuse!

September's Departures: Of Epix Proportions

Take a final look at High Fidelity

[Updated 9/15: Many titles added, all forthcoming titles now linked. Big thanks to LarryG for compiling list from comments and providing links.]

That's right, August isn't even over—with a lot of great titles set to expire tonight at midnight—but there's enough going on to warrant an early look at September's upcoming losses.

The news continues to be bad for anyone who enjoys Netflix for its back catalog and older titles. The recent announcement of the company's decision not to renew its licensing agreement with Epix only affirms Netflix's reluctance to pay for content it doesn't exclusively own. That means more original shows and movies, fewer classic titles, and (in the long run) more Disney, Marvel, and Weinstein titles. The latter, the result of more recent contracts, isn't necessarily a bad thing—who doesn't like Disney and Marvel movies?—but for those of us who still go see such fare in theaters (quaint, I know), that's hardly the kind of content we crave for home viewing—where the older, more intimate, and more obscure can shine. And is there anyone besides Netflix content honcho Ted Sarandos who thinks striking a threefour-picture deal with Adam Sandler was a good idea? Ugh.

There's no denying this makes good long-term business sense for the company given the outrageous (and escalating) costs of studio licensing fees. But by the same token it represents another huge nail in the coffin of the Netflix I once cared about. Will I miss the latest Star Trek, Transformers, and Hunger Games movies? Not at all. But there are more than enough older, better, and more interesting Epix titles getting the axe (not to mention those yet to come) to make this a true cause for mourning. Combined with everything else that's been taking the fun out of Netflix lately, I've pretty much decided to cancel my subscription before the year is out—in fact, as soon as I finish streaming Breaking Bad, which I finally started watching this month (a latecomer as always).

Ironically, even before I heard the Epix titles were being picked up by Hulu (arriving on October 1), I was already planning on keeping that service for its Criterion films and recent TV shows. But now there's yet another reason. At least the movies there (unlike the TV shows) don't have ad breaks. And there's none of Netflix's awful pre-play. Or post-play. Or, worst of all: the looming threat of new Adam Sandler movies.