Even though the latest Netflix streaming shuffle robbed us of classics like Taxi Driver and the Rocky series, its list of new offerings includes some great filmmaking.
Here is our list of titles that you should check out as soon as possible before they, too, are rotated into oblivion.
1) 12 Angry Men
This intense 1957 classic is perhaps the best-known adaptation of Reginald Rose's teleplay of the same name. Legendary actors like Henry Fonda, E.G. Marshall, and Jack Klugman all give powerful performances as jurors who are deciding the fate of an 18-year-old boy accused of murdering his father.
2) Bad Santa
This 2003 comedy may not be an Oscar-winning piece of cinema, but it has certainly solidified its place as a holiday classic for those of us fed up with "feel-good" Christmas movies. Billy Bob Thornton saw a career revival with his turn as "Willie," a swearing, drinking, thieving department store Santa Claus.
3) Basic Instinct
This 1992 thriller was a high point in the careers of its stars Michael Douglas and (especially) Sharon Stone. The gripping, sexy story follows Douglas as a police detective who starts a passionate love affair with Stone, the main suspect in a gruesome murder case.
4) Dead Man Walking
In this powerful 1995 drama, Susan Sarandon stars as a nun who befriends a death row inmate, played by Sean Penn. Along with Thelma and Louise and The Client, the film was instrumental in solidifying Sarandon as a certifiable dramatic actress in the 1990s; she earned the Academy Award for best actress for her work in Dead Man Walking.
5) The Hunt for Red October
This action-filled epic based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name unites an amazing cast that includes Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, and James Earl Jones. The film follows CIA analyst Jack Ryan who attempts to convince the U.S. navy to thwart a rogue Russian submarine.
6) The Karate Kid
I'm sorry, but Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith will never be the Karate Kid duo; that honor forever belongs to Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio. Check them out in the classic 1984 inspirational film that started it all.
7) Mean Girls
"That's so fetch!" "On Wednesdays, we wear pink!" Relive all of the great lines in the 2004 movie that helped put Tina Fey on the map and featured Lindsay Lohan long before she became a walking trainwreck.
8) Patton
George C. Scott immortalized the World War II general George S. Patton in this Oscar-winning 1970 film. Patton's awe-inspiring rallying of his troops against an American flag backdrop is a landmark scene.
9) Philadelphia
After enjoying a successful career as a comedic headliner in films like Big, Splash, and Sleepless in Seattle, superstar Tom Hanks showcased his dramatic acting chops in Philadelphia to much critical acclaim. Hanks plays Andrew Beckett, a gay man whose battle with AIDS causes him to lose his job.
10) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek fans still smarting from Netflix's removal of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home will find some solace in this entry. The last film to feature the entire original series cast together, issues such as racism are explored in the story of Kirk and Spock battling forces that aim to derail peace efforts between the Klingon Empire and the Federation.
That's just the beginning of the new content streamable in July. Here's the full list:
- 12 Angry Men
- American Ninja (1985)
- Ararat
- Bad Santa
- Basic Instinct
- Best Defense (1984)
- Blue Chips
- Body of Evidence
- Boyz in the Hood
- Can't Buy Me Love
- Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke
- City of God
- Crimson Tide
- Croupier
- Dead Man Walking
- Don't Look Now (1973)
- Eight Men Out
- Fever Pitch (1997)
- From Here to Eternity
- Gandhi (1982)
- Halloween Resurrection
- Jersey Girl
- Legends of the Fall
- Madeline (1998)
- Mean Girls
- My Girl
- My Girl 2
- Patton (1970)
- People I Know
- Phantoms
- Philadelphia
- Primal Fear
- Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country
- Star Trek I The Motion Picture
- Sugar Hill
- The Babysitter
- The Dark Half
- The Hunt for Red October
- The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
- The Karate Kid (1984)
- The Karate Kid II (1986)
- The Keys of the Kingdom
- The Parent Trap (1998)
- Venus
- Walking Tall Part II
Photo via film.com