September is coming to a close, meaning over 50 movies are departing Netflix at the end of the month. One of those movies is Friday Night Lights, an excellent depiction of high school football in Texas.
Other movies leaving this month include Dazed and Confused, a sensational coming-of-age pic set in the ’70s, and Mission: Impossible, the first entry in the long-running series. Stream these movies and more before it’s too late.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on HBO Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
In Texas, football is a religion. Friday Night Lights perfectly encapsulates that phrase. Based on Buzz Bissinger’s landmark book, Friday Night Lights chronicles the Permian High School football team in 1988. In Permian, the players follow two rules: be perfect, and win the state championship.
The entire program — from Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) and Boobie Miles (Derek Luke) to Mike Winchell (Lucas Black) and Donny Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund) — must carry the weight of the entire town on their shoulders. Friday Night Lights is just as much a character study about small-town life as it is a football story.
Stream Friday Night Lights on Netflix.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
The greatest summer movie is Dazed and Confused, Richard Linklater’s seminal coming-of-age comedy. Set on the last day of high school in 1976, the rising seniors plan to start the summer off with a bang by hazing the ninth graders. There is no central plot in Dazed and Confused, but there are a few integral characters.
Randy “Pink” Floyd (Jason London) is the football star who refuses to conform, and Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) is the young freshman he takes under his wing. Dazed and Confused captures the nostalgia of your teenage years, when finding the next hangout was all that mattered.
Stream Dazed and Confused on Netflix.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Earlier this year, Tom Cruise said goodbye to Ethan Hunt (for now) in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. Return to the first movie that started the saga nearly 30 years ago. Directed by Brian De Palma, Mission: Impossible follows Ethan after a mission gone wrong leads to the death of his team.
Ethan becomes the prime suspect and must go on the run to prove his innocence. To clear his name, he must break into the CIA to retrieve a confidential list. While later entries have better action, the first Mission: Impossible is the superior espionage thriller.
Stream Mission: Impossible on Netflix.
American Pie (1999)
Long live the raunchy comedy. American Pie has sex jokes, lewd humor, and a surprising amount of heart. At East Great Falls, four high school seniors — Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs), Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Chris “Oz” Ostreicher (Chris Klein) — make a pact to lose their virginity before prom.
For Jim, that means wooing the foreign exchange student (Shannon Elizabeth). Kevin wants it to be with his girlfriend (Tara Reid). For others like Oz and Finch, it means finding another girl, or in the latter’s case, an older woman. The only thing that could ruin their plans is their immature and rambunctious friend, Stifler (Sean William Scott).
Stream American Pie on Netflix.
Talk to Me (2022)
Danny and Michael Philippou began their career as YouTube stars under the stage name RackaRacka. The Philippous used their knowledge of content creation for their feature film directorial debuts, Talk to Me. The horror movie follows a group of teenagers who communicate with spirits through a severed, embalmed hand.
The game gets out of hand when one of the spirits takes over and causes chaos. Talk to Me is a legitimately wild ride at the movies, capturing the energy and passion of its eccentric directors.
Stream Talk to Me on Netflix.
