Summer is just around the corner, so nobody would blame you if you want to spend less time watching Netflix and more time outside this month — but then again, we haven’t quite hit the heart of the summer movie season, so you might need a new slate of classic films to tide you over until then. Fortunately, Netflix’s latest slate of additions to its film library is enough to keep any cinephile satisfied for quite some time.
Mother’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, but Netflix has gone all in on “dad cinema” with some of its new inclusions. It’s a big month for war movies, with both the misunderstood anti-war satire “Starship Troopers” and the considerably less anti-war “Black Hawk Down” both hitting the streaming service this month. Fans of Ridley Scott will have plenty to feast on, as his Denzel Washington-led “American Gangster” is also joining the Netflix library. There are also some excellent crime flicks from the likes of Stephen Soderbergh (“Traffic”) and Luc Besson (“Léon: The Professional”) that are now available on the streamer.
But per usual, there’s a little something for everyone this month. Wildly divergent classics “American Graffiti” and “This Is the End” round out the highlights of this month’s new Netflix offerings. If you’re not headed out to the multiplexes to see “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” this weekend, Netflix has you covered with an embarrassment of riches to watch at home. Keep reading for seven of our picks.
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“Léon: The Professional” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: screenshot Luc Besson is a messy filmmaker, and his boundless creativity has paved the way for some real duds in his filmography. But when he hits, he absolutely nails it — and “Léon: The Professional” remains the best example of his distinct style. Anchored by standout performances by frequent collaborator Jean Reno as the eponymous hitman and a young Natalie Portman as his far-too-young apprentice, the stylish film blends violence and sentimentality in a way that only Besson can.
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“Traffic” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: ©USA Films/Courtesy Everett Collection Steven Soderbergh’s filmography is arguably more interesting for the endless hidden gems it contains than his biggest hits — but “Traffic,” his consensus critical high point, is still pretty great. Soderbergh won his first (and to date, only) Oscar for directing this sprawling ensemble piece about various fictional characters impacted by America’s War on Drugs in different ways. As a political statement, it’s clearly a product of its time, but the humanity captured by Soderbergh and his A-list cast ensures that it will always be a captivating watch.
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“Starship Troopers” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: ©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Like so many Paul Verhoeven movies, “Starship Troopers” was criminally misunderstood when it hit theaters in 1997. The adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s landmark novel was always designed as a satire of war-hungry politicians and the military-industrial complex that enjoys a symbiotic relationship with them, but many audiences mistook its deliberately campy propaganda as a failed attempt at crafting genuine sci-fi thrills. Fortunately, we’re finally catching up to where Verehoven already was 25 years ago, so it’s a great time to revisit the film.
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“This Is the End” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection One of those “this worked infinitely better than it should have” movies, “This Is the End” sees Seth Rogen and an ensemble of his famous friends playing themselves in this comedy about celebrities responding to a fictional apocalypse. Like eating pufferfish at a sushi bar, meta-comedy is a genre that quickly turns disastrous in the hands of anyone but an expert. But Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Emma Watson, and the rest of the cast thread a perfect needle by playing against type and having a great time while doing so.
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“American Graffiti” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Though George Lucas spent the better part of the last half-century focusing on his “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchise, his early works prove that he had the filmmaking chops to work in any genre he wanted. “American Graffiti,” his nostalgic account of his 1950s California adolescence, remains a stellar slice-of-life comedy with a killer soundtrack. It also marked the first time that Lucas worked with Harrison Ford, which seems pretty important in hindsight.
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“American Gangster” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Ridley Scott and Denzel Washington teamed up to riff on the “Scarface” formula in this fictionalized account of heroin mogul Frank Lucas’ life. While they take plenty of creative liberty with the actual story, a stellar cast including Russell Crowe and Chiwetel Ejiofor and Scott’s clear understanding of the gangster genre make for a pulpy good time. “American Gangster” is basically an example of a bunch of elite artists trying their hand at the “movies your dad enjoys rewatching on a Sunday afternoon” genre, so it’s a perfect fit for Netflix.
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“Black Hawk Down” (Now streaming)
Image Credit: ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection If “American Gangster” didn’t scratch your itch for Ridley Scott fare, his military classic “Black Hawk Down” is also hitting Netflix this month. The film tells the story of a disastrously botched helicopter raid at Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War and the hell that the American soldiers endured when the chopper crashed in enemy territory. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie is more notable for its jaw-dropping spectacle and meticulous recreations of war than for any incisive commentary, but it remains a marvelous filmmaking achievement.
