9 New Movies You Can Watch on Netflix This Weekend
Including one film critics say is a lock for several Oscar nominations.
December is a great time for movies, as any buff will tell you. Studios are releasing their Oscar hopefuls and potential end-of-year blockbusters, not to mention holiday-themed entertainment. And plenty of those options are readily available for you on Netflix, along with some older favorites that just hit the streaming service. From a Spielberg/Cruise team-up to a surefire Best Picture contender, read on to find out what new movies you should be watching on Netflix this weekend.
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1
The Power of the Dog
Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Kodi Smit-McPhee star in acclaimed filmmaker Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, based on a 1967 Western novel of the same name. And this exploration of rural toxic masculinity is already building tons of Oscar buzz. "Campion understands the genre she's working in, setting the roiling emotions of her characters against the striking landscapes; Cumberbatch's performance is as immense as the peaks and valleys around him," David Sims writes for The Atlantic. "Right now, it feels like a Best Picture front-runner."
2
Single All the Way
In this Netflix original rom-com, after an embarrassing breakup, Peter (Michael Urie) decides to bring his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) home for the holidays in his ex-boyfriend's place. Of course, Peter's family loves Nick so much that they embark on a festive scheme to get the pair to realize that they may be better off as more than friends. Jennifer Coolidge, Kathy Najimy, and Barry Bostwick co-star.
3
Closer
Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman star in this sleek and chilly 2004 drama, about two couples who cross each other's paths and then cross monogamous lines. Owen and Portman both got Supporting nods at the Oscars that year.
4
Think Like a Man
Rather than being adapted from a piece of fiction, the 2012 ensemble rom-com Think Like a Man is actually based on a relationship advice book by comedian and host Steve Harvey. And the cast is packed with stars, from Kevin Hart and Taraji P. Henson to Regina Hall and Michael Ealy. Harvey also makes a cameo appearance as himself.
5
Stepmom
Julia Roberts is the title character in this 1998 weeper, opposite Susan Sarandon as the ex-wife. Stepmom focuses on the relationship between the two women and the children they both love as they work out how to co-parent and co-exist. The inevitable twist ups the melodrama, but you'll still be tempted to call your own mother figure as soon as the credits roll.
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6
Minority Report
In this futuristic 2002 Steven Spielberg sci-fi flick, premeditated murders can be detected before they happen, but only by using gifted humans called "pre-cogs." The program is thrown into chaos when they predict that the head of the whole thing, Tom Cruise's Chief Anderton, is about to kill a man he's never met. As he goes on the run and tries to get to the bottom of the accusation, he learns some disturbing information the origin of the Precrime division.
7
Looper
Before Knives Out and his Star Wars installment, The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson wrote and directed this well-received time travel thriller, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt. Looper, released in 2012, follows assassins who hide their targets in time, sending them back and offing them there. The only complication is that traveling through time increases your chances of running into yourself…
8
A Castle for Christmas
Dreaming about escaping for the holidays? The next best thing to your dream December vacation may be A Castle for Christmas, another new Netflix seasonal rom-com. This one features Brooke Shields as an author who runs away to a remote castle in Scotland to avoid some bad publicity and ends up falling for the grumpy duke (Cary Elwes) who owns the place.
9
Bruised
Halle Berry not only stars in this boxing drama, it also marks her directorial debut. Bruised tells the story of an MMA fighter who desperately needs a comeback and who tackles her personal traumas too when a figure from her past comes back into her life. The movie has been such a success on the service so far that Berry just signed a deal with Netflix to produce and act in more streaming movies.
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