The final month of the year is finally upon us, and with it comes a bounty crop of new movies available to stream to get us through the winter.
We’ve highlighted the best of the best new movies on Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Hulu, and other streaming platforms in December 2022. Our list includes fast trainthe outrageous new action comedy from John Wick Co-directed by David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt, 2004 Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou with Bill Murray, a tender 2019 bromance about two men and a cow, and a neo-noir thriller and a classic revisionist western drama to spice things up. If you are looking for a certain mood, we have a film for you.
Editors Favorites
First reformed
Year: 2017
Duration: 1h 53m
Director: Paul Schrader
Pour: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric the Entertainer
If I were asked to pick my favorite 21st century movies, I’d spend quite a bit of time figuring out what my top pick is. But I know First reformed would argue.
Paul Schrader is a filmmaker obsessed with contradictions, often pairing unlikely sets of themes or characters to wonderful effect. We saw it early on taxi driver and recently with card counter (or movies like hardcore, autofocusand Patty Hearst), but for me this is the highlight First reformed.
Anchored by a masterful performance by Ethan Hawke, First reformed follows a minister (Hawke) of a small, old church in New York. More of a museum than an actual congregation, his church is funded by a local megachurch led by a famous pastor (Cedric the Entertainer). For many filmmakers, that conflict alone would be rich enough to embark on. But Paul Schrader is unlike many filmmakers.
Schrader sensitively weaves a story about climate change, grief and the challenges that lie ahead, both as individuals and as a society. What could easily be a downer to me (and it’s grim at times) instead manifests a very human connection, even in desperation. It’s a wonderful film and I’m happy that more people can see it now. —pete people
First reformed is available for streaming HBO Max.
Thief
Year: 1981
Duration: 2h 3m
Director: Michael man
Pour: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky
Michael Mann’s 1981 neo-noir crime thriller is extraordinary. The late, great James Caan (The Godfather) stars as Frank, a skilled safecracker and ex-convict who dreams of retiring from his life of crime to pursue a normal life and start a family. After losing the money in his last big heist, Frank agrees to sign up for another heist with a big-time gangster who, unbeknownst to him, plans to cheat him out of his share again. Even if you’ve never seen the movie, you can probably put two and two together and guess how well that goes for the gangster. Featuring stunning nocturnal cinematography by Donald Thorin and throbbing synthesizer music by Tangerine Dream, Thief is a true marvel sustained by an inimitable lead performance. End of blurb. – Toussaint Egan
Thief is available for streaming Prime video.
New on Netflix
fast train
Year: 2022
Duration: 2h 7m
Director: David Leitsch
Pour: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor Johnson
One of the greatest action film traditions is to take an ordinary, everyday place — say, a train — and promise the audience about two hours of outrageous violence in that mundane place. In this sense, fast train – named after Japan’s famous high-speed aerial tramway – didn’t have to do much to succeed; a couple of good fights with funny actors and a decent ending would have been enough. But Leitch turns with the help of a stellar cast, including Brian Tyree Henry, Bad Bunny, Joey King and lead actor Brad Pitt fast train into a nesting doll of misunderstandings and complications that build into a steady stream of jokes and violence, gaining so much momentum that the only way to stop it is to blow it all up. —Joshua Rivera
fast train will be available to stream on Netflix starting December 3rd.
New to Hulu
Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou
Year: 2004
Duration: 1h 59m
Director: Wes Anderson
Pour: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett
You know what you get with a Wes Anderson comedy, and Zissou is one of his best.
Dedicated to legendary French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, Murray stars as Cousteau-like documentarian Steve Zissou, who embarks on a persistent quest to find and kill the shark that killed his best friend.
Featuring an expansive cast of Anderson regulars and an excellent soundtrack of David Bowie covers by Brazilian singer-songwriter Seu Jorge, Zissou not only features hilarious gags, delivered by some of the funniest actors in the business, but also Anderson’s trademark attention to detail in his visual compositions. It’s a beautiful film and A funny one. It’s not an easy combination. — P.V
Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou can be streamed on Hulu.
The best of the rest
First cow
year: 2019
Duration: 2h 2m
Director: Kelly Reichhardt
Pour: John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones
One of my favorite films of the decade First cow is a tender romance about two men in 1820s Oregon, the unlikely friendship they form, and a very cute cow they meet and (kindly) steal milk from. They use this milk to bake treats with a view to living in comfort and security. —PV
From our glowing review:
The way Cookie and King-Lu’s story fits into a larger picture of American history isn’t as important or as touching as the way their relationship blossoms onscreen. They’re both odd ducks at Fort Tillicum, where the ability to punch and get rowdy is a dominant force in securing social status. King-Lu is more of a dreamer while Cookie is more of a practical person, but despite their occasional arguments, they are kindred spirits. […]
It’s the little things that make life worth living. The key to this rise is how well Magaro and Lee are a match. Magaro’s sad eyes and slightly raspy voice convey a gentleness and warmth as he chats politely to the cow as he milks her. His slight sense of insecurity is offset by Lee’s confidence. Even when King-Lu faces moments of doubt, Lee speaks with a soothing timbre, expertly balancing King-Lu’s professional sharpness with his genuine affection for Cookie as their situation grows more complicated.
First cow is available for streaming peacock.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
year: 1971
Duration: 2h 1m
Director: Robert Altman
Pour: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, René Auberjonois
In a oeuvre of films that includes such undisputed classics as The long goodbye and MASH, this 1971 revisionist western drama stands out as the only one of Robert Altman’s works that Roger Ebert called “perfect.” It is not difficult to understand why – McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a massive historical drama fueled by the combined charisma of Warren Beatty and Julie Christie as a notorious gambler and street prostitute, respectively, who join forces to run a successful brothel in a Pacific Northwest mining town in 1902. McCabe must be bought out and later blackmailed resort to desperate measures to fend off a trio of bounty hunters and protect what is his.
Featuring beautiful cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond’s woods and hills of West Vancouver, whip-sharp dialogue, captivating characters and a haunting, plaintive score composed of songs written by the one and only Leonard Cohen. McCabe & Mrs. Miller is an exciting, tragic portrait of frontier life on the fringes of civilization perfect for any show fanatic deadwood or movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. -THE
McCabe & Mrs. Miller can be streamed on Criterion Channel.
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