With the recent launching of Disney’s never-ending lane of nostalgia streaming service, Netflix is on the ropes. With new documentaries and original films, Netflix is showing that they are still in this online fight, still adding to their library of entertainment. Here’s what’s new and noteworthy this December.
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby
December 5th
Okay, yes, before you ask… Netflix did actually make another sequel to a film they openly mocked people for watching. After finally tying the knot in A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, Amber and Richard are ready to bring the best gift to their kingdom this holiday season: a new life into the world. While that’s going on, Aldovia is attempting to sign a peace treaty with the nation of Penglia, who’s traditions are a few hundred years out of date.
But when the treaty is stolen before the signing could commence, so begins a game of whodunnit to find out who is trying to stop the peace between these two nations. Not to mention that an ancient curse might be put on their child if the treaty isn’t signed by midnight on Christmas Eve.
Marriage Story
December 6
Who says romance movies must stick to the formula of guy meets girl and falls in love? Director and screenwriter, Noah Baumbach simply asks, “Why not explore a more realistic look at relationships.”
In this Netflix original movie, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson portray what should be the most compatible couple you’ve ever seen. He works as a successful theater director and she’s a former teen film actress. She admires how driven and intelligent he is while he admires how brave and supportive she is.
So, why are they getting a divorce? Co-starring Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Wallace Shawn and Merritt Wever, this film takes a look at a couple splitting apart while trying hard to keep their family together. This is not a movie where the audience is meant to pick sides, but actually understand the loss the main characters are going through due to their inability to understand each other.
The Confession Killer
December 6th
Henry Lee Lucas was a small-time convicted murderer who was convicted in the killing of his mother in 1960 and two others in 1983. However, after his conviction, he suddenly confessed to approximately 600 more unsolved murders to the Texas Rangers and other law enforcements while serving his sentence.
This rose him to infamy, becoming known as the biggest serial killer of all time. However, just how much can you believe a confession? That’s the question Netflix’s first true-crime docu-series of the month wants to explore. Was he just a singing jailbird or Texas’s more infamous convicted murderer?
Jack Whitehall: Christmas with my Father
December 12
Coming off the success of his reality-comedy series Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father, Jack Whitehall visits the London Palladium, trying to convince his old man to participate in an old-fashioned comedy/variety Christmas show. Hugh Bonneville, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Tim Rice and many more celebrities will be stopping by the stage to attend what Whitehall calls “the weirdest Christmas party you’ve ever attended.”
Inappropriate dad jokes, explaining genderfluid and stuffing a turkey with the cast of Queer Eye is only scratching the surface of what this special will offer.
6 Underground
December 13
Yeah, Scorsese and Baumbach might be having field day with their Netflix films, but what about Michael Bay? Yes, the guy who almost turned the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into aliens. 6 Underground forms a vigilante squad of six untraceable agents who use their unique skills and talents to take the most notorious criminals the world has ever seen. Lead by Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds and co-starring Mélanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins and Ben Hardy, you know this will, at the very least, be a huge spectacle of a movie. Oh, and there might be an explosion or two… maybe.
The Witcher
December 20
Looks like we’re not in Metropolis anymore. Coming off his Man of Steel role in the DC Extended Universe, Henry Cavill returns to the small screen as the titular Witcher. The series will follow monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia trying to find his place in a world where people are frequently more malevolent than the beasts that inhabit the land.
When his quest brings him on the path of a powerful sorceress and a young princess holding a dangerous secret close to her chest, navigating the dangerous region will prove to be a daunting task. Despite being turned into a hit video game series, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said that they will not be adapting incorporating them into the show. Instead the first season will be adapted from Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Last Wish, the first book of his Polish fantasy Witcher Saga.
The series will also star Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Jodhi May and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson.
Pet Semetary
December 20
The Stephen King adaptation that taught us maybe dead really is better. After moving to Maine, Louis and Rachel Creed think they’ve found the ideal community to raise their children Ellie and Gage. The countryside is beautiful, their elderly neighbor Jud is friendly, and Louis has a great job as a physician with the University of Maine.
However, these blessings take unexpected turn when their family’s pet cat, Church is accidentally rundown on the highway. Not knowing how his family, especially his daughter, will take this tragedy, Louis secretly buries the cat behind their house at the infamous Pet Semetary. Thinking the worst is over, he is shocked to his core when Church reappears in his garage.
Was there was kind of misunderstanding, or did the Pet Semetary somehow bring the dead back to life?
Starring Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne and Miko Hughes, this film really dives into the pain of loss and expecting the harsh reality that sometimes, dead is better.
Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up
December 27
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5DMlIilE6E/
This year has not been a prosperous one for Kevin Hart. You may remember earlier this year when he was fired from his gig as host for the Academy Awards for old homophobic tweets. More recently, he was in an automobile accident that left him with a serious back injury.
Well, the famous comedian is back with his own six-part docu-series diving into his life, his career and even his memorable 2019. Hart wants to tackle what it means to be a husband, father, role model and businessman by looking at his own personal day-to-day challenges and blunders. After his previous specials Kevin Hart: Irresponsible and Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History Himself, this will mark his third program with the streaming service.
By Kory Glover
Other titles coming in December:
Dec. 1
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019)
American Made (2017)
Crocodile Dundee (1986)
Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
Gladiator (2000)
Look Who’s Talking Too (1990)
Steel Magnolias (1989)
Terminator Genisys (2015)
The Duchess (2008)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Lovely Bones (2009)
The Shape of Water (2017)
The Terminal (2004)
Titanic (1997)
Dec. 4
About a Boy (2002)
Baby Mama (2008)
Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)
Cinderella Man (2005)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Jarhead (2005)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Notting Hill (1999)
Savages (2012)
The Bone Collector (1999)
Dec. 25
All the Money in the World (2017)
Dec. 31
Happy Death Day (2017)
Made of Honor (2008)
