The best movies leaving Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Max in December 2023

Greetings, Polygon readers!

December is sort of behind us and the New Year is sort of right here, which suggests there’s a plethora of thrilling new releases in phrases of movies, video games, and tv to look ahead to. Before we leap too far forward, although, there’s loads of wonderful movies to observe on streaming earlier than they depart their respective platforms on the finish of the month. We’ve obtained an understated traditional by Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning historic epic starring Russell Crowe, a hilarious comedy starring the late nice Robin Williams, and far more.

Here’s what you need to watch this weekend earlier than these titles depart their streaming providers.

Enjoy!

Editor’s choose

The Age of Innocence

Image: The Criterion Collection

Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder
Leaving Criterion Channel: Dec. 31

With the latest launch of Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese’s Western crime drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone, the discourse concerning which of the director’s movies ranks amongst his best has been rekindled. The Age of Innocence, primarily based on Edith Wharton’s 1920 romance novel, is usually conspicuously absent from most of those discussions, which is a disgrace as a result of the movie is unbelievable.

Set in late-Nineteenth-century New York, the movie follows the story of a bootleg love affair between Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis), a rich legal professional betrothed to a fellow member of New York excessive society, and the Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), the cousin of Newland’s fiancée who has fled to America following her disastrous marriage to a Polish rely. Newland and Ellen are instantly drawn to at least one one other, however the unstated protocols of New York aristocracy and the social rigidity of the instances forbid them from following their hearts.

A luxurious portrait of Gilded Age-era extra, pissed off craving, and barely suppressed emotion, The Age of Innocence is a very heartbreaking film in the truest sense of the phrase. The chemistry between Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer is electrifying, as is the lavish manufacturing design, evocative lighting, and pitch-perfect narration by Joanne Woodward. Fans of Scorsese’s works or early-Twentieth-century American literature can have a pleasant time. —Toussaint Egan

Movies to observe on Netflix

Gladiator

Image: DreamWorks Home Entertainment

Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
Leaving Netflix: Dec. 31

Ridley Scott is about to launch the long-awaited sequel to his Oscar-winning epic Gladiator subsequent November, with Paul Mescal (Aftersun) set to star as an grownup model of Lucius, the nephew of the villainous patricidal emperor Commodus performed by Joaquin Phoenix in the unique movie. If you one way or the other haven’t watched Gladiator but, now’s as good time as any to catch up earlier than the sequel hits theaters subsequent 12 months.

Starring Russell Crowe, the movie follows the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman basic who’s betrayed and sentenced to die as a slave by the aforementioned Commodus. Forced to struggle for his life as a gladiator, Maximus rises via the ranks and inadvertently turns into a logo of hope amongst Rome’s underclass, who yearn to solid off the yoke of the patrician rule. A historic “sword-and-sandal” epic in the vein of Ben-Hur and Spartacus, Gladiator is extensively thought of one of many defining movies of the 2000s for its breathtaking cinematography, brutal struggle sequences, and fascinating performances. —TE

Movies to observe on Hulu

Alita: Battle Angel

Image: Twentieth Century Fox

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly
Leaving Hulu: Dec. 31

This live-action adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s cyberpunk motion manga has amassed a sizeable cult following because it premiered in 2019. According to govt producer James Cameron, a sequel to the movie is at present being developed. In the meantime, why not see what all of the fuss is about and watched a big-eyed cyborg woman with a good larger coronary heart beat the shit out of some evil robots?

Rosa Salazar stars as Alita, an amnesic cyborg rescued from a landfill by a kindly scientist named Ido (Christoph Waltz) in the 12 months 2536. After being fitted with a brand new physique, Alita embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she makes an attempt to regain her misplaced reminiscence, assembly new mates and adversaries and awakening her latent martial arts prowess. Alita: Battle Angel is a sci-fi motion movie bursting on the seams with massive concepts: Ancient interstellar wars and floating cities loom over questions of id, love, and future realized via spectacular motion sequences and large set-pieces. If you’re on the lookout for a enjoyable and thrilling motion drama with a terrific lead efficiency, Alita: Battle Angel is a must-watch. —TE

Movies to observe on Max

So I Married an Axe Murderer

Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Director: Thomas Schlamme
Cast: Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia
Leaving Max: Dec. 31

This darkish romantic comedy may need one of the aggressively ’90s premises ever: A San Francisco beat poet named Charlie (Mike Myers) falls head over heels for Harriet (Nancy Travis), a stunning native butcher, following a string of demoralizing breakups. Things appear OK, proper? Wrong: Charlie’s mother and father (performed by Brenda Fricker and Myers himself) suspect Harriet is a lethal serial killer identified for murdering her husbands, a suspicion that solely fuels Charlie’s self-sabotaging worry of dedication. Can these two lovebirds discover a option to make their relationship work? And what precisely is the take care of all of Harriet’s exes being murdered? Hmmm. You’ll have to observe this hilarious underrated comedy to seek out out for your self! —TE

Movies to observe on Prime Video

The Birdcage

Image: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane
Leaving Prime Video: Dec. 31

Mike Nichols’ traditional adaptation of La Cage aux Folles is a hilarious subversion of your typical “two wildly different families have to get along when their children fall in love” romantic comedy. Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, and Dianne Wiest are all hilarious in this sendup of tradition clashes and the ethical panic of American conservatism.

As Polygon’s Maddy Myers put it in our record of the best LGBTQ comedies you’ll be able to watch at residence:

It’s exhausting to even think about Nathan Lane as unconfident about something in his life, particularly with regards to his melodramatic, hilarious portrayal of drag queen Starina (and her alter-ego, the not-so-mild-mannered Albert) in The Birdcage — however Lane was nonetheless in the closet on the time. It’s all of the extra spectacular that the central joke of the 1996 film is that Albert can’t handle to move as straight, not even for the advantage of his son’s fiancée’s extraordinarily conservative household. The Birdcage exhibits all of the ways in which gender is a efficiency via its rapid-fire wit and absurd conditions, shying away from the preachiness you may count on of a comedy about conservatives pressured to face their fears of all issues queer. The best a part of The Birdcage isn’t the drag performances, though these stay a delight — as a substitute it’s the film’s portrayal of the middle-aged mundanities of two homosexual dads present in the ’90s. They’re regular, and on the time, that felt radical.

To quote a chicken (albeit one usually not discovered in a cage): It’s an absolute hoot. —Pete Volk