The days of this month are running out rapidly, which means that you only have a limited time to catch our picks for the five movies leaving Hulu in September that you have to watch. Almost all of these films will soon settle in at a new streaming home before the content reshuffles yet again. And if you can wait, then they will likely return to Hulu at some point in the future. But you already paid for this month’s Hulu subscription, and we feel that you should get your money’s worth out of it.
This month’s choices include one of the best action films ever made, a remake of a horror classic, the only fantasy movie to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars, a terrific dramedy from the ’80s, and one of Robin Williams’ funniest performances. These are the five movies leaving Hulu in September that you have to watch.
Die Hard (1988)
Everyone’s favorite Christmas movie is packing up and leaving Hulu a few months before the holiday season. Die Hard is more than just a holiday classic — it’s one of the all-time great action flicks that modern movies are still emulating decades later. Bruce Willis became a movie star thanks to his portrayal of John McClane, a New York City police detective who only came out to Los Angeles to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly Gennaro-McClane (Bonnie Bedelia).
While attempting to reconnect with Holly at her office holiday party, John finds himself outnumbered and outgunned when terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take Holly and her co-workers hostage. Now, John has to find a way to stop the terrorists, save his wife and her co-workers, and get out alive without any guns … or even shoes.
Watch Die Hard on Hulu.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
There are other Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies leaving Hulu in September, but this is the greatest of them all. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept the Oscars with 11 awards, including Best Picture. More importantly, director Peter Jackson and his collaborators successfully closed out the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, and it remains a stunning cinematic achievement 20 years later.
As Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and his best friend, Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), struggle with their task to destroy the One Ring, they are unaware of just how far Gollum (Luther: The Fallen Sun‘s Andy Serkis) will go to betray them. Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) rallies the rest of the surviving Fellowship to defend the great city of Gondor from Sauron’s forces. But to win the final battle, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) must literally confront the dead and lay claim to the throne that is his birthright.
Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on Hulu.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
On paper, a comedy about a divorced dad who contrives to see his children by masquerading as their much older female nanny sounds like it would be a colossal dud. And yet it turned out to be a blockbuster hit. It’s highly doubtful that Mrs. Doubtfire would have been as successful without the late Robin Williams’ brilliant performance in the title role. Williams is alternately dramatic and sensationally funny as Daniel Hillard, the father of three kids with his wife, Miranda Hillard (Sally Field). But when Daniel screws up one too many times, Miranda decides that she and the kids are better off without him.
Out of desperation, Daniel convinces his brother, Frank (Harvey Fierstein), to make a woman out of him so he can pull off his Mrs. Doubtfire disguise and trick Miranda into hiring him as the family nanny. It’s the role of a lifetime for Daniel, and it may even save his struggling acting career. But it may also put a further strain on his family if the truth about his cross-dressing deception comes to light.
Watch Mrs. Doubtfire on Hulu.
St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
Director and co-writer Joel Schumacher really picked an amazing cast for St. Elmo’s Fire, including Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Andie MacDowell, and Andrew McCarthy. That went a long way toward making this one of the seminal coming-of-age flicks of the 1980s. The story focuses on a group of recent college graduates and friends, including Kirby Keager (Estevez) Billy Hicks (Lowe), Jules Van Paten (Moore), Alec Newbury (Nelson), Kevin Dolenz (McCarthy), Leslie Hunter (Sheedy), and Wendy Beamish (Mare Winningham).
While this group has close connections, their bonds of friendship may not survive their intersecting romantic interests or the very deep problems that now dominate their lives. Growing up was the easy part for them. Becoming actual adults is still a work in progress
Watch St. Elmo’s Fire on Hulu.
The Omen (2006)
The 2006 remake of The Omen isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, but it’s a fun way to get an early start on Huluween with a very effective horror story. Diplomat Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) and his wife, Katherine (Julia Stiles), are the proud parents of Damien Thorn (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick). But only Robert knows that Damien isn’t their biological child. Unfortunately for Robert, what he doesn’t know about Damien could prove to be very deadly to his family and everyone else around him.
As Robert and Katherine begin to suspect that something is very wrong with their son, evidence mounts that Damien is the antichrist. And if Robert can’t find it within him to accept that fact. then the world as we know it may be doomed.
Watch The Omen on Hulu.
