Watch these Stanley Kubrick's films before they leave Netflix on December 30

MANILA, Philippines — If you're a fan of cinema, then you've got two days max to catch some of Stanley Kubrick's films streaming on Netflix. 

This is an ICYMI missive to film enthusiasts both old and new. It would be wise to catch some of the works of the master filmmaker whom the likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, the Coen brothers and George Lucas highly regard. 

Kubrick, who died in 1999, recently went viral because his 1968 film. "2001: A Space Odyssey" was heavily referred to last month and mid-December when monoliths started sprouting in various parts of the world, from the United States all the way to the Pacific in Australia.

Some noted the striking resemblance of the monoliths to the ones that appeared in his groundbreaking movie. These monoliths were believed to bestow or influence higher intelligence. 

Anyone who has seen "2001" would know it is a film with its own genre, a pioneer and an original. Keir Dullea, who played Dr. David Bowman, revealed in the 2014 TIFF Originals video, that "not one of this film was made with computer-generated special effects. Everything you see in this film or saw in this film was done physically or chemically, one way or the other." 

Indeed, by the end of the film, one would both be stunned at the turn of events as well as awed at the effort it took for Kubrick to finish the movie's effects. It's the 1960s where computer-generated effects in movies is basically nil, zilch, nada and yet "2001" looks like it is better than many other sci-fi releases post-2000s.

Do take note that he made this for four years prior to its release in 1968 and in close collaboration with Arthur C. Clarke, author of the 1951 short story "The Sentinel", which it is inspired from. It is also visionary in a sense because it was made years before the 1969 Apollo mission which was the landmark year for man's first landing on the moon. 

Kubrick likes to adapt or make better versions of novels and books into films. His other works currently streaming on the site are "A Clockwork Orange," "Full Metal Jacket," "Eyes Wide Shut" and "The Shining." 

There's variety in the genre of films he makes. "Full Metal Jacket" is a 1987 epic, psychological war drama set during the Tet invasion during the Vietnam War. It is based on the 1979 novel "The Short-Timers" by Gustave Hasford who also co-wrote the screenplay. 
 
"A Clockwork Orange" is a 1971 crime film set in a dystopian Britain. It is based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. 

It stars renowned British actor Malcolm Macdowell as the falsies- and Y-front wearing Alex DeLarge who leads a foursome of miscreants out to do crime of the highest order on the streets of London. 

DeLarge is a recognizable character in pop culture as his is a costume that stands out and continues to be used until today. DeLarge is rated as the 12th greatest film villain of all time by the American Film Institute. 

"The Shining" is another cult favorite in the psychological horror film thriller sub-genre. It contains many images that continues to be referred to this day.

Remember that  deranged, animalistic look that Jack Nicholson sports while peeking out from the hole of the door frame he axed? Or him uttering, "Come out, come out wherever you are"? Or the images of an elevator from where waves of blood are seen gushing out? Or photos of the twinning The Grady Girls in cute blue dresses that are referenced in many other works as a "horror" device?  

"Redrum" and the Overlook Hotel have also become catch-phrases in the genre as these play significant parts in the 1980 film based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. 

"Eyes Wide Shut" is another film that stars an A-lister. It stars then husband-and-wife tandem of Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in the 1999 erotic psychological thriller based on the 1926 novella "Traumnovelle" (Dream Story) by Arthur Scnitzler. It Kubrick's last film before he died six days after he showed its final cut to Warner Brothers Pictures, Kidman and Cruise. 

It's a film that follows the adventures of Dr. Bill Harford (Cruise), a sexually charged man who goes on a downward-spiraling adventure that involves a secret society. He does so after his wife Alice (Kidman) confesses that she had once considered having an affair with a naval officer upon first glance of him at a party they attended the year before. 

Many of Kubrick's films take time to watch, with "A Clockwork Orange" as the one that is the hardest because of its violent and disturbing scenes. Ironically, it is also the most with color that shows evidence of Kubrick's love of anything colorful and paintings adorning his movie sets. We see more artworks and paintings as well in "2001" and "Eyes Wide Shut." 

The master filmmaker Is also a big fan of music as he uses mostly classical scores in many of his films like the work of Richard Strauss and Beethoven. He is often credited as a huge influence among film scorers in his use of "evocative" music to underscore a scene or the climax. 

If one is set to catch these films, then it is better to pace watching as marathoning these is impossible. With so many elements that surprise, disturb, provoke, excite, dread, awe viewers in one sitting, it is but best to pause for an hour to digest whatever Kubrick wanted his audience to think or feel. 

All films except "Eyes Wide Shut" are streaming on Netflix until tomorrow, December 30.