Winter's not over by a long shot (or summer, if you're on the Southern Hemisphere, or whatever B.o.B would call it), but you can at least find some solace in the fact that
Groundhog Day is around the corner and there may soon be light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, if Groundhog Day is around the corner, that means it's almost February, which in turn means another group of movies making a mass exodus off of Netflix. Good thing you've got a wintry weekend ahead of you—why not spend it making sure you're squeezing every last cent out of that $7.99 monthly bill? All of the following WIRED-approved picks are gone as of Monday, so if you see anything you’ve been saving in the queue, now's the time to get to it. See you (and Punxsutawney Phil) on the other side.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQvaoRScND4
Bad Santa (2003)
Billy Bob Thornton may be an Oscar-winning screenwriter with many memorable roles throughout his career (Friday Night Lights, the first season of Fargo), but his most enduring performance might be this perennial holiday classic for the dark-comedy crowd. Throw in great supporting turns from the late John Ritter and Bernie Mac, and it’s the perfect holiday movie for the post-holiday blues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3YVTgTl-F0
Big Fish (2003)
Remember when Tim Burton was a vital, bizarre director? Before *Alice In Wonderland *and *Dark Shadows? *Don't worry, not all is lost; this 2003 adaptation of Daniel Wallace’s magical realist novel remains the most recent peak of Burton’s career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMmE8RLieiA
The Firm (1993)
John Grisham had a big year in 1993, when two films based on his novels were released. The Pelican Brief may not have aged so well, but this Sydney Pollack-directed legal thriller hit right between Tom Cruise’s turns in A Few Good Men and Interview With the Vampire. It’s classic top-of-the-world Cruise, and the kind of heart-pounding paperback plot that Cruise wouldn’t engage with again until Minority Report.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlNwXuHUA8I
Rain Man (1988)
Make it a Cruise double-feature with this 1988 Barry Levinson film that snagged four Oscars. Hoffman may have won Best Actor, but over the years this has been reclaimed as one of Cruise’s best performances, playing straight man to Hoffman’s showy turn as an autistic savant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sMMt2M3RiU
Fletch (1985)
We're guessing the prequel to this Chevy Chase comedy will never get made, despite languishing in development hell for over two decades. The original, though, might be Chase’s best lead film performance outside the Vacation series (since Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield steal Caddyshack).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GxSDZc8etg
The Hurt Locker (2008)
It’s an unfortunate distinction that this Kathryn Bigelow's phenomenal film holds the title of lowest-grossing Best Picture winner of all time. It set the stage for Bigelow, Jeremy Renner, and Anthony Mackie to take on bigger projects. (Dear Kevin Feige: now that Renner and Mackie are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, why not get Bigelow to direct something in that series? This film proves she’s got more than enough action chops.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAXlWVKcGjM
The Naked Gun (1988)
The short-lived series *Police Squad! *ran for only six episodes in the early ’80s, despite being the brainchild of spoofmasters Zucker, Abrams, and Zucker (Airplane!, Kentucky Fried Movie). Its legacy has a much longer tail, though; the series begat this classic detective parody, which along with Airplane! helped turn Leslie Nielsen from the star of Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure into a deadpan icon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVHCQfcugdw
Ray (2004)
Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning performance as Ray Charles in Taylor Hackford’s biopic was undeniable—even though the movie inspired a string of music movies so formulaic they in turn inspired the satirical Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. But that doesn’t make what is essentially a jukebox musical mythical recreation of Charles’ life any less entertaining. Between Foxx’s spot-on impersonation and Charles’ songs, it's well worth your time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHz95RYUbik
The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron’s sequel to Avatar got pushed back indefinitely, and Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to host a new season of Celebrity Apprentice. Instead of dwelling on either of those bits of bad news, watch their cyborg classic instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKo9HWlwVME
Bottle Shock (2008)
Though Alan Rickman will be remembered for his roles in Die Hard and the Harry Potter film series, his last great performance may have been in this film about a 1976 wine competition between France and California. (And as a Totally Incongruous Character bonus, Chris Pine as the long-haired son of a winemaker!)
British Boob-Tube Bonus: Doctor Who: Seasons 1-8
The BBC recently announced that executive producer Steven Moffat would be stepping down as showrunner after his 10th series in charge. Nearly everything of the modern Who era—Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, and Matt Smith's years as the Doctor, as well as the first series with Peter Capaldi—leaves Netflix after this weekend. So if you’ve ever wanted to become a Whovian, now’s a great time to binge on some travels with a Time Lord.
