Netflix’s new offerings for the month of August skew heavily toward the late ’90s and early ’00s, with comedies like
Big Daddy and
What Women Want, and two early entries in the venerable
Fast and Furious franchise. If you’re looking for some higher-brow fare,
No Country For Old Men and
Blue Is the Warmest Color should do the trick. For the politically minded, the streaming service will debut wacky offerings like the bizarre, Johnny Depp-starring
Funny or Die Presents: Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie and David Cross special
Making America Great Again. And since golden anniversary honoree
Star Trek is everywhere these days (with
Star Trek Beyond in theaters now, and Bryan Fuller’s new
Trek series for CBS All Access,
Discovery, due out next year), there’s also an entry in the
Next Generation movie canon to add to your queue: 2002’s
Star Trek Nemesis. Sure, the film was responsible for the collapse of the
Trek film franchise, but who can resist dueling Picards?
Here’s everything new that’s coming to Netflix in August, and everything leaving the streaming service.
Netflix
Beat Bugs (8/3)
Okay, yes, this is a kid’s show, and a weird-sounding one at that. The basic premise: A group of five insect pals go on adventures and learn life lessons that are culled straight from the music and lyrics of The Beatles. But it should attract some curious adult eyeballs, too, if only to see how the series intends on turning those classic tunes into a cohesive television narrative. (We’re imagining it’s something like a combination of the song-heavy — and plot-light —
Yellow Submarine movie crossed with
A Bug’s Life.)
Beat Bugs features some big-name artists — including Eddie Vedder and Sia — contributing covers, and the show boasts that it features 50 different Beatles tracks, so at the very least, it should sound pretty great. To paraphrase the Fab Four: Turn off your mind, relax, and just give it a stream.
Netflix
The Get Down (8/12)
This new Netflix original from the glitter-encrusted mind of Baz Luhrmann has been generating lots of buzz, and rightly so: Everything we’ve seen so far from its exploration of the rise of hip-hop — and the end of the disco era — in 1970s New York City looks and sounds phenomenal. Luhrmann is working with a murder’s row of behind the scenes talent on the series, including Nas and Grandmaster Flash, and an impressive cast of familiar faces like Giancarlo Esposito (
Breaking Bad) and Jimmy Smits (
NYPD Blue,
The West Wing). But the real stars are up-and-comers Justice Smith and Herizen Guardiola (the latter in particular stands out in
the show’s newest trailer), who offer a window into the world of growing up in the rough South Bronx neighborhood, and shaking off parental expectations to follow their dreams. Come for the music; stay for the angst.
Paramount
The Little Prince (8/5)
The story of
The Little Prince is a familiar one (a young girl dreams of big adventure, and find it thanks to a mysterious new friend), but this version comes accompanied by drama of a different kind: The movie, once considered a frontrunner for a Best Animated Feature Oscar, was
unceremoniously dumped by studio Paramount only a few days before it was to debut in U.S. theaters. Thankfully, the folks at Netflix swept in and rescued it, planning a simultaneous streaming premiere and small theatrical run. The film boasts a gorgeous, unique mashup of different art and animation styles, and a starry voice cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, and Ricky Gervais who bring life to the heartwarming (and heart-wrenching) tale. If the promos are any indication, you’re going to want to stock up on tissues before you click “play.”
Bonne chance on making it through without shedding a few tears.
WHAT’S NEW:
Available 8/1/16:
The American Side (2016)
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
APEX: The Story of the Hypercar (2016)
Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure (2011)
Big Daddy (1999)
Black Widow (1987)
Critical Condition (1987)
Deadfall (2012)
Destination: Team USA (2016)
Funny or Die Presents: Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie NETFLIX EXCLUSIVE
The Family Man (2000)
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
Final Destination 3 (2006)
From the Terrace (1960)
Holding the Man (2015) NETFLIX EXCLUSIVE
How To Win The US Presidency (2016)
In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
ISIS: Women Unveiled (2016)
Masha and the Bear: season two NETFLIX EXCLUSIVE
Memoria (2015)
The Naked Prey (1966)
NCIS: season 13
Pay It Forward (2000)
The Real Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
Roseanne Collection: Collection 3
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Sliding Doors (1998)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Teacher’s Pet (1958)
The Verdict (1982)
The Wedding Planner (2001)
What Women Want (2000)
Young@Heart (2007)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Available 8/3/16:
Beat Bugs: season one NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available 8/5/16:
David Cross: Making America Great Again (2016) NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Ever After High: Epic Winter NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Little Prince (2016) NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2 (2016)
Slow TV: National Firewood Evening (2016)
Slow TV: National Firewood Morning (2016)
Slow TV: National Firewood Night (2016)
Slow TV: National Knitting Evening (2016)
Slow TV: National Knitting Morning (2016)
Slow TV: National Knitting Night (2016)
Slow TV: Northern Passage (2016)
Slow TV: Northern Railway (2016)
Slow TV: Salmon Fishing (2016)
Slow TV: The Telemark Canal (2016)
Slow TV: Train Ride Bergen to Oslo (2016)
Available 8/6/16:
The Confirmation (2016)
Available 8/9/16:
Real Husbands of Hollywood: season four
TRex (2015)
Available 8/10/16:
St. Vincent (2014)
Available 8/11/16:
Flight of the Butterflies (2012)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Available 8/12/16:
Ask the StoryBots: season one NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Get Down: Part 1 NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Project Mc2: season two NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available 8/13/16:
13 Cameras (2016)
Available 8/15/16:
Louis C.K.: Live at the Comedy Store (2015)
Available 8/16/16:
Let’s Go to Prison (2006)
Our Last Tango (2015)
Available 8/17/16:
The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (2016)
The Last Heist (2016)
Puffin Rock: season two NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available 8/19/16:
Bottersnikes and Gumbles: season one NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Fearless: season one NETFLIX ORIGINAL
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available 8/21/16:
Maz Jobrani: I’m Not a Terrorist, But I’ve Played One On TV (2015)
Available 8/22/16:
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Seventeenth Year
Available 8/23/2016:
Septembers of Shiraz (2015)
Available 8/25/16:
The Road (2009)
Available 8/26/16:
Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)
Dawn of the Croods: season two NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Glitter Force: season two NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy: We’ve Been Thinking… NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Once Upon a Time: season five
XOXO (2016) NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Available 8/27/16:
Rams (2015)
Available 8/29/16:
The State of Marriage (2015)
Available 8/31/16:
Ku’damm 56: season one
WHAT’S LEAVING:
Leaving 8/1/16:
Addams Family Values (1993)
The Best Man (1999)
Bowfinger (1999)
The Gabby Douglas Story (2014)
Jennifer 8 (1992)
Johnny English (2003)
The Nutty Professor (1996)
The Replacements (2000)
Roseanne Collection: Collection 2 (1996)
Rugrats Go Wild (2003)
The Sandlot (1993)
Suspect Zero (2004)
Teen Witch (1989)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
Where the Red Fern Grows (1974)
The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002)
Leaving 8/11/16:
Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)
Leaving 8/14/16
Clifford the Big Red Dog: seasons one and two
Clifford’s Puppy Days: seasons one and two
Leaving 8/15/16:
Charlie’s Angels (2000)
Wish Upon a Star (1996)
Leaving 8/16/16:
Inside Man (2006)
Leaving 8/20/16:
Harry the Bunny (2009)
Leaving 8/23/16:
Blitz (2011)
Leaving 8/27/16:
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Leaving 8/30/16:
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
Leaving 8/31/16:
Death Note (2006)
Naruto Shippûden the Movie: Bonds (2008)
Naruto Shippuden: The Movie (2007)
Zathura (2005)
