Hulu routinely has some of the best movies available to stream, and that’s a nice change of pace from Disney+, which doesn’t add much of anything these days. Hulu may not have the subscriber count of its sister streaming service, but it does have something for movie fans of all stripes.
Sadly, not even Hulu is immune to losing some great titles on a month-to-month basis. Because February is a short month, most of Hulu’s departures have been scheduled for both February 28 and 29. Below, are our top picks for the five movies leaving
Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
There’s so much discourse about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie that fans tend to overlook Die Hard with a Vengeance, aka the last great Die Hard movie. A youngish Samuel L. Jackson plays Zeus Carver, an ordinary man who stumbles upon John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he is forced to play the most deadly version of Simon Says.
Simon (Jeremy Irons) has a particular grudge against McClane, and he won’t let Zeus escape unharmed for interfering with his revenge. That forces McClane and Zeus to work together to prevent the deaths of innocent people. However, McClane soon realizes that as much as Simon wants him dead, the games are just a distraction from his real plans.
Watch Die Hard With a Vengeance on Hulu.
Paddington (2014)
What’s not to love about Paddington Bear? Paddington perfectly captures the charm of Michael Bond’s fan-favorite children’s character, with Ben Whishaw (Passages) as the voice of Paddington. This talking bear makes his way from Peru to London in search of a home, where he quickly meets Henry (Hugh Bonneville) and Mary Brown (Sally Hawkins), as well as their two children.
The Brown family takes Paddington in and embraces him with their hearts, but not everyone is happy to have him around. Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman) wants to turn Paddington into a stuffed bear to spite her late father. And this is one jam that Paddington can’t get out of by himself.
Watch Paddington on Hulu.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1991)
The only knock against The Nightmare Before Christmas is that it’s a little out of season in any month that isn’t October, November, or December. But there’s no denying that director Henry Selick did a masterful job of bringing Tim Burton’s bizarre characters to life in glorious stop-motion animation.
Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), the self-proclaimed Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, has suddenly discovered the existence of other holidays. Jack is particularly enamored with Christmas, so much so that he decides to take Santa Claus’ place and add his own spin on the holiday. Catherine O’Hara co-stars as the voice of Jack’s beloved, Sally, and the music of Danny Elfman makes their love shine on the screen. Thankfully, Disney has yet to attempt to make a live-action version of this animated classic.
Watch The Nightmare Before Christmas on Hulu.
Sommersby (1993)
Since February is a month for lovers, it just wouldn’t feel right to leave a romance of this list. Sommersby stars Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country) as Laurel Sommersby, a woman who believed that she was widowed in the Civil War until her husband, John Sommersby (Richard Gere), suddenly reentered her life. John’s experiences in the war have left him a changed man, and a better father to their son, Rob (Brett Kelley).
John is so different that Laurel is convinced that he isn’t her husband … and she isn’t the only one. John’s willingness to help the town, donate part of his land, and give freed Black farmers a fair stake riles up the racists in their midst. Unfortunately, John is also charged with murder, and the only way to save his life is if Laurel can convince him to admit that he isn’t who he claims to be.
Watch Sommersby on Hulu.
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Music bio movies are all the rage, as exemplified by Bob Marley: One Love leading the box office last weekend. Comparatively, there haven’t been as many biopics about rappers, but Straight Outta Compton fills the void with a look back at one of the most influential groups of all time: N.W.A.
Ice Cube (as played by his son, O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Andre “Dr. Dre” Young (Corey Hawkins), Eric “Eazy-E” Wright (Jason Mitchell), Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby (Neil Brown Jr.), and Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson (Aldis Hodge) came together and changed rap music forever. As fast as N.W.A rose, their fall was equally swift as Ice Cube, Dre, and Eazy-E turned against each other and went their own ways. Regardless of the group’s fate, their music lives on.
Watch Straight Outta Compton on Hulu.
