The Best Movies Leaving Every Major Streaming Platform by June 2024

TUBI: ‘All The King’s Men’ (dir. Robert Rossen, 1949)

Based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Robert Penn Warren and going on to win the Academy-Award for Best Picture itself, this allegory of power’s corrupting influence on the soul — particularly in America — was largely influenced by the life of Louisiana Governor, Senator, and presidential hopeful Huey Long and serves as a timely reminder of the short road between populist politician and criminal. Broderick Crawford’s everyman-turned-demagogue performance as Willie Stark is one of the all-time great character arcs and one that earned him the Oscar for Best Actor as well, but it’s the film’s newsreel approach that makes it feel so relevant and alive to this day. It makes one wonder if the media’s power — a power that’s supposed to be the people’s safeguard — has always been in the hands of madmen. After all, what’s more interesting than watching a crazy person try to run a country?

Other highlights:

— ‘The Last Detail’

— ‘The Kings of Marvin Gardens’

— ‘Hope and Glory’

— ‘The Counterfeiters’

— ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’

— ‘Welcome to the Dollhouse’

— ‘Dogtown and Z-Boys’

— ‘Bug’

— ‘The Fog of War’

— ‘Hardcore’

— ‘Good Bye, Lenin!’

– ‘Every Little Step’

KANOPY: ‘The Parallax View’ (dir. Alan J. Pakula, 1974)

A paranoid political thriller made at one of the heights of American political paranoia, ‘The Parallax View’ follows a reporter (Warren Beatty) uncovering the plot of a secret organization that handles assassinations. Pakula often captures his reporter character from a great distance to emulate the idea that he’s being watched, a feature that provides viewers with a way into his experience, but also hints at the character’s ultimate fate. However, the element of the film that tends to stick in the brain is the assassin training montage scene. Featuring images of Hitler, Nixon, and Marvel comics, the sequence draws the viewer into the fear and disorientation of the time period while also showing how traditional values and worldviews were being eaten away at. This film comes between two other Pakula examinations of paranoia, ‘Klute’ and ‘All the President’s Men,’ but stands out from the rest as a formally and narratively audacious questioning of control and who actually is in charge.

Other highlights:

— ‘The African Queen’

— ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’

— ‘X’

— ‘Butter on the Latch’

CRITERION CHANNEL: ‘Ishtar’ (dir. Elaine May, 1987)

Panned by critics and beaten up in the press during its entire production, ‘Ishtar’ never stood a chance of appreciation until long after the tsuris of its making died down. Now, with its history of ruining a friendship between Warren Beatty and Elaine May and forcing Coca-Cola to rethink its investment in Hollywood decades in the past, it’s easy to look upon this film for the laugh-a-minute charmer that it is. An ode to shlock and those dumb and untalented enough to sling it, May’s version of a Crosby/Hope road comedy is set up on the premise that only true morons would find themselves in the situations that bring these stories into existence. It’s as funny a commentary as it is a practical function of plot, though it’s clear, at times, Hoffman and Beatty struggle to be in on the gag. Nevertheless, both actors harness their audience appeal to play inept songwriters turned CIA stooges turned leftist guerrillas back to inept songwriters just with a slightly bigger audience.

Other highlights:

— ‘Heaven’s Gate’

— ‘Showgirls’

— ‘Summer of Sam’

— ‘The Mountains Are a Dream That Call to Me’

— ‘Italian for Beginners’

— ‘Still Walking’

NETFLIX: ‘The Impossible’ (dir. J.A. Bayona, 2012)

With the success of Bayona’s recent historical disaster pic ‘Society of the Snow’ on Netflix, it’s nice to see the streamer showcasing the filmmaker’s previous entry into the genre, ‘The Impossible.’ Tracking the idyllic before and horrific aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami through the perspective of one family, all of whom manage to survive, ‘The Impossible’ is both heart-pounding and wrenching in equal measure. Naomi Watts’ performance as a mother trying to find her family and keep herself alive is one of the best of her career and the film also marks Tom Holland’s entry onto the big screen, still only 15 at the time of production. Like ‘Society of the Snow,’ Bayona’s aims are to draw you into the physical experience, placing his cameras within the violent waves and following the thrashing bodies as they’re whipped around. The later sequence within an overrun hospital is harrowing as well, with Holland’s character charged with hurrying from one corner to the other, trying to help other victims find their loved ones. A film not for the faint of heart, but for those who want to understand the horrors and blessings of disaster. 

Other highlights: 

— ‘L.A. Confidential’

— ‘Noah’

— ‘The Other Guys’

— ‘You’ve Got Mail’

MAX: ‘Eastern Promises’ (dir. David Cronenberg, 2007)

There are many ways to pitch this movie to prospective viewers, but perhaps the best would be to say that at one point, in a bath house, Viggo Mortensen — completely nude — gets into one of the bloodiest, most brutal fights ever put to screen. It’s this kind of unflinching portrayal of violence that director David Cronenberg has become known for and yet there’s also a great deal of beauty in the moment. Almost like a dance, Mortensen’s Nikolai disposes of the two Chechens sent to kill him with passion and intensity. This is not how he will die and he knows it. The scene is indicative of the larger nature of the film, which examines the loyalty and familial ties that come out of violence. Everything in life is a test in this world of Russian mobsters and death is the only way they’ll know they’ve failed. Or at least so they think.

Other highlights:

— ‘Crazy Heart’

— ‘The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness’

— ‘Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki’

— ‘Dune (1984)’

HULU: ‘Win Win’ (dir. Tom McCarthy, 2011)

Tom McCarthy’s pre-‘Spotlight,’ low-budget sports dramedy may seem a little dull when taken at face value, but underneath its suburban simplicity and lack of Hollywood faces is heartfelt take of right and wrong and getting caught in between. For fans of Giamatti’s performance in last year’s ‘The Holdovers,’ his role in ‘Win Win’ as a personal attorney and wrestling coach is equally woebegotten, with a constant sense that he’s carrying a life that’s passed him by. Also like in that film, his character’s emotional journey is influenced by the presence of a young counterpart who’s own talent and potential gives hope for his older mentor to move on and do right by the people around him. With strong supporting turns from Amy Ryan and Bobby Cannavale, the film is a throwback to the small-scale human dramas of a bygone era — a story not about celebrities or superheroes, but the regular joe just trying to get by and help others do the same. 

Other highlights:
— ‘Ali’

— ‘The Descendants’

— ‘Melancholia’

— ‘Sexy Beast’

— ‘Thank You For Smoking’

— ‘Thirteen’

— ‘The Tree of Life’

MUBI: ‘Fireworks’ (dir. Takeshi Kitano, 1997)

It’s hard to classify this underappreciated triumph of Japanese cinema. Is it a crime film? An arthouse study of violence and peace? Despite winning Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion Award in 1997, ‘Fireworks’ or ‘Hana-bi’ still doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves and that’s mostly due to a style that challenges viewers and makes them question what they’re watching at every turn. It’s a visceral experience that crisscrosses between brutality and beauty, hope and hopelessness, absurdity and dead seriousness. Despite a generous balance of humor and style, ‘Hana-bi’ isn’t funny or kitschy, but both laughs and cries at the foibles of humanity. Though description doesn’t do it justice, the film follows a former cop trying to pay back his debt to the yakuza while also taking care of his dying wife and others whose lives he’s come to affect negatively. In the course of his salvation, only more end up getting hurt until finally he realizes how it must all come to an end. A tragedy? Perhaps. But one that feels poetic and touching in nature. 

Other highlights:

— ‘Damnation’

— ‘Incendies’

— ‘Faces Places’

— ‘Wasp’

PRIME: ‘Boxcar Bertha’ (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1972)

To be viewed more for sentimentality reasons than quality purposes, ‘Boxcar Bertha’ marks Scorsese’s first foray into big league filmmaking. Well…not exactly big league, but the first of his films that he was hired for and by none other than Roger Corman, the king of exploitation himself. Corman recently passed away, with Scorsese penning a fond and thankful remembrance, but in truth, despite the long-term practical abilities Scorsese gained making the picture, servicing Corman’s sensibilities — mainly violence and sex — hold the film back from being anything of note. Barbara Hershey and David Carradine’s Great Depression romance as Bertha and Big Bill is engaging, but the obstacles thrown in their way are outlandish and often unnecessary. This being said, for fans of Scorsese and/or Corman, it’s definitely an important marker in both of their careers. Scorsese’s next film ‘Mean Streets’ would be his breakthrough and it’s clear its success hinged on him making ‘Boxcar Bertha’ and getting his feet wet.

Other highlights:
— ‘Lenny’

— ‘Run Silent, Run Deep’

— ‘Cutter’s Way’

— ‘Cooley High’

— ‘Salvador’

— ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’

— ‘Three Days of the Condor’