The world’s most festive holidays are rapidly approaching, but the world’s best streaming services aren’t slowing down ahead this year’s winter-themed celebrations. Indeed, many of them are still releasing new movies and TV shows for us to enjoy, with Netflix gifting us no fewer than seven new things to watch this weekend.
That’d be enough to ensure Netflix fills this week’s streaming list on its own but, in the interests of fairness, you’ll only find three of them in this article. The others have been saved for four other unmissable (for good and bad reasons) films and series – unfortunately for Elton John and Bookie fans, though, neither the former’s Disney Plus documentary and the latter’s second season have secured a spot this time around. Nonetheless, I’m sure you’ll find something worth streaming with the below picks. Enjoy! – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
Carry-On (Netflix)
If airport security wasn’t hard enough, one of December’s final new Netflix movies Carry-On just made it even more difficult thanks to an evil Jason Bateman promising to ruin everyone’s Christmas this year.
Prepare to see Die Hard’s Bruce Willis replaced with modern-day action hero Taron Egerton in this festive thriller as he plays young TSA agent Ethan. While working the nightmare airport shift, Ethan’s day takes a deadly turn when he’s blackmailed by a mysterious passenger into letting a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight. With car crashes and gun fights galore, Carry-On is certainly on my Christmas watch list this year and, with its 82% Rotten Tomatoes critical score, has the potential to join our best Netflix movies list.
Grace Morris, entertainment writer
Dream Productions (Disney Plus)
As if Disney and Pixar didn’t already have one of the biggest animation hits ever on their hands, there’s a brand new spin-off series from one of the best Disney Plus movies that’s sure to delight Inside Out 2 fans.
Taking the spot of Pixar’s first original series Win or Lose, which had originally been slated to arrive in December but has been moved to next February, Dream Productions arrived on the service on Wednesday. Set between Inside Out and the sequel, it takes us back inside the mind of Riley to meet the team behind her dreams. Like the movie business, it’s a full scale production making dreams that require different directors depending on whether it’s a comedy, action, or a dreaded nightmare. I’ve no doubt it’ll carve out a dedicated spot in our best Disney Plus shows list.
Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor
Joker: Folie a Deux (Max)
Considering the first Joker movie won two Oscars, DC fans everywhere were excited for its follow-up. Unfortunately, the reception Joker: Folie a Deux has been met with is mostly negative. So, if you were waiting to see this on streaming instead of paying for a movie ticket, it’s made its Max debut just two months after originally airing in theaters.
Given how panned it’s been, we won’t be adding it to our best Max movies round-up. However, since films are subjective, you might enjoy this one and go against the general consensus. And, if you want to revisit the original which is, admittedly, very good, that’s also streaming on the same platform.
Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer
Secret Level (Prime Video)
Fresh from leading development on Netflix’s R-rated sci-fi anthology series Love, Death, and Robots, Tim Miller and the masterminds at Blur Studio have teamed up with Prime Video and numerous other animation studios to create Secret Level. An anthology series comprising non-canonical stories set in the universes of popular videogame franchises, Secret Level aims to entertain the masses and convince them to try out titles including New World, Sifu, Warhammer 40K, and – if you’ve been living under a rock for the past 40-plus years – Pac-Man.
Unfortunately, Secret Level isn’t all that great. I’ve seen all 15 episodes and, while I can vouch for how gorgeous some of them look and the intriguing stories they tell, many of them come across as hollow, cash-grab-esque advertisements – one entry is just four minutes long, for crying out loud – that could’ve been much more creative with their art styles and innovative with their storytelling. Don’t expect to see this one on our best Prime Video shows list anytime soon.
Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter
No Good Deed (Netflix)
After watching the trailer for No Good Deed, I knew it was a dark comedy that I couldn’t wait for. From the creator of one of the best Netflix shows Dead to Me, this series follows three very different families vying to purchase the same 1920s Spanish-style villa in LA. However, what might be the house of their dreams may not be so perfect after all.
If The White Lotus can produce a critically acclaimed show about wealthy people visiting a hotel, then I guarantee Netflix will have success transforming this seemingly ordinary premise into something extraordinary with its star-studded cast.
Grace Morris, entertainment writer
Red One (Prime Video)
After watching this movie a few weeks ago, I concluded that Red One isn’t perfect but it proves we need more action-packed Christmas movies. And, if you want to swap Hallmark romance for something that’s arguably even more ridiculous, I really recommend this story about a kidnapped Santa Claus and the people that fought to rescue him and save Christmas.
Yes, its Rotten Tomatoes score suggest it’s pretty rubbish, but it’s nonetheless entertaining and has an impressive ensemble cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, JK Simmons, and Lucy Liu. Now it’s streaming on Prime Video, it could make the perfect double bill alongside Carry-On.
Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix)
Netflix has only gone and done the impossible. Thought to be unfilmable, the first-ever screen adaptation of Gabriel García Márque’s Noble Prize-winning novel One Hundred Years of Solitude has arrived in the form of a TV show comprising 16 episodes. The first eight of those are now available, with part two set to be released at an unconfirmed date.
Before you watch them (and I appreciate this is the opposite of a streaming recommendation, but I hope you’ll let me off just this once), I’d suggest reading the book first. This fantasy epic is a family saga of heroic proportions that can only really be first experienced on page. Based on its trailer, Netflix’s adaptation promises to be authentic and has the support of the author’s family, making it an ambitious project and one that I hope will be as good as it looks.
Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor
For more entertainment-based coverage, read our guides on the best Disney Plus movies, best Hulu shows, best Paramount Plus movies, and best Apple TV Plus shows.
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