Need something new to watch on Netflix? With the holidays upon us, no doubt folks are about to do some much deserved clocking out of work and settling in for streaming hours. Netflix has a surprisingly short supply of new movies this month, with less than 10 archival films announced to arrive on the first (when the bulk of new titles are usually added) and a slighter-than-usual handful of originals too. Not to worry, we were still able to handpick five must-watch titles among the bunch, so here’s this month’s curated list of the best new movies on Netflix right now.
‘That Christmas’
Co-written and produced by “Love Actually” filmmaker Richard Curtis and based on Curtis’ trilogy of popular children’s books, the animated holiday film “That Christmas” stages a series of intertwined Christmas tales in a fashion that will be familiar to any “Love Actually” fan. Featuring music from “How to Train Your Dragon” composer John Powell and a cast that includes Bill Nighy, Fiona Shaw, Jodi Whittaker and Brian Cox as Santa, the film takes place on a blizzard-blown Christmas where nothing goes to plan — not even for Santa himself.
‘Carry-On’
A thoroughly satisfying “Die Hard” riff set in an airport, “Carry-On” stars ever-versatile “Kingsman” and “Rocket Man” star Taron Egerton as a TSA agent who gets bribed by a no-nonsense traveler to let a dangerous package through security and onto a plane. Added to Egerton’s resume: a fantastic action movie run. Directed by “The Shallows” and “Orphan” filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra, who truly knows his way around a crowd-pleasing thriller, “Carry-On” has the benefit of being shot in a real airport and looking all the better for it. It’s also got a surprisingly robust cast, from Danielle Deadwyler to Dean Norris.
‘Maria’
Angelina Jolie commands the screen as opera legenda Maria Callas in “Jackie” and “Spencer” filmmaker Pablo Larrain’s latest cinematic portrait of a high-profile woman fraying under society’s microscope. Though there’s some debate from the experts on how accurate the film is, Larrain seems all but entirely disinterested in the bio part of his biopic, crafting a lush, textural Paris from which his La Callas, a mythic figure poisoned by the creativity that fuels her, emerges. Jolie isn’t entirely convincing as an opera singer, but it matters very little when she’s so completely absorbing as the diva with a faltering voice.
‘The Dead Don’t Die’
Decidedly a “not for everyone” movie, Jim Jarmusch’s zombie comedy “The Dead Don’t Die” was far from a critical success when it debuted in 2019, but there is plenty to love if you’re a fan of the zanier, dryer, more allegorical filmmaking spectrum. The all-star cast includes Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Selena Gomez, Austin Butler and doesn’t quit from there.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
You can ring in the new year with one of the best movies of the decade, because Netflix will have “Mad Max: Fury Road” available to stream as of Dec. 30. Directed by the great George Miller, the action spectacle is an absolute marvel of filmmaking, with an endless display of the best action sequences ever shot for the screen. As Steven Soderbergh put it, “I don’t understand two things: I don’t understand how they’re not still shooting that film and I don’t understand how hundreds of people aren’t dead.” Tom Hardy takes over in the title role alongside Charlize Theron as the instantly iconic Furiosa, who makes an unlikely alliance with one of cinema’s great lone wolves to save the wives of a wasteland warlord. If you want to catch the not quite as perfect but still stunning sequel next, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is streaming on Max.
