Friday, Sept. 29, marks the end of Netflix’s DVD-by-mail service after 25 years and the delivery of more than 5 billion disks. At its peak, customers were inundating the United States Postal Service by returning more than 1.6 million disks daily. It’s the end of an era; let’s take a trip down memory lane with the five most-rented DVDs from Netflix in this week’s Five For Friday:
#5: The Bucket List
“The Bucket List” is a 2007 comedy-drama starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson as two terminally-ill men living out their dreams before they kick the bucket. According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, audiences felt mostly positive about the film. But famed critic Roger Ebert, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002, gave it a one-star review. At the time, Ebert wrote that the film “thinks dying of cancer is a laff riot followed by a dime-store epiphany.”
“The Bucket List” isn’t free on any streaming service, but you can buy or rent it digitally at your online marketplace of choice. Streaming really took off around 2010-2011, so the films on this list were released at the height of Netflix’s DVD dominance, which led to Blockbuster filing bankruptcy in 2010.
#4: The Departed
Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson again and Mark Wahlberg: That’s a surefire recipe for a box office hit and critical acclaim, and “The Departed” didn’t disappoint.
It’s well known that Nicholson’s role was based on Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. It’s less known that the movie is a remake of the Hong Kong film, “Infernal Affairs.” Audiences and critics loved “The Departed.” It secured four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director. If you are looking to watch this masterpiece, you can stream it on Netflix for a few more days.
#3: The Hurt Locker
Future Avengers Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie starred alongside each other in 2008’s “The Hurt Locker.” The thriller features Renner as part of an explosive ordnance disposal team during the Iraq war. It’s a heavy film and was rewarded for its handling of the subject matter.
“The Hurt Locker” won three Oscars, including Best Picture and Director for Katheryn Bigelow, who also directed “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Point Break.” It has solid reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and is available to stream on MAX.
#2: Crash (2005)
The 2005 movie “Crash” is a hard drama featuring an ensemble cast of Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard and rapper Ludacris. IMDB describes the film as “Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss, and redemption.”
“Crash” took home three Academy Awards — including Best Picture — and has better-than-average reviews. It can be streamed with ads on Prime Video’s Freevee.
#1: The Blind Side
America’s sweetheart Sandra Bullock also stars in Netflix’s most-rented DVD of all time. “The Blind Side” follows the supposed real-life story of the Tuohy family bringing struggling future NFL player Michael Oher into their home.
Fourteen years after the film’s 2009 release, Oher filed a lawsuit claiming the family never adopted him but tricked him into signing a document making them conservators to make money off his story. Oher claims the Tuohys made millions off the rights to the film while he took home nothing.
None of that has to do with the performances in the film, and Bullock received a Best Actress Oscar for her contributions. It has a decent showing on Rotten Tomatoes but is not currently available to stream for free as part of any subscription service.
