The best movies new to Netflix, HBO Max, and Prime (December 2022)

It’s the last month of 2018, and that means a lot of great movies to stream on YouTube.

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 Bullet TrainThis is the new outrageous action comedy. John Wick co-director David Leitch and starring Brad Pitt, 2004’s Steve Zissou, The Life AquaticStarring Bill Murray. A tender bromance between two men and a woman. There’s also a neonoir thriller, classic Western drama, and a neonoir thriller. If there’s a particular mood you’re looking for, we’ve got a movie for you.

Editor’s picks

The First Reform

Image: A24

Year: 2017
Run time: 1h 53m
Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Cedric The Entertainer, Amanda Seyfried and Ethan Hawke

It would take me a while to decide my favorite movie of the 21st Century if I was being asked. But, I’m sure. First Reformed You would have to be there.

Paul Schrader, a filmmaker who is obsessed with contradictions, often combines unlikely characters or themes to great effect. It was obvious to us early. Taxi driver And more recently, with The Card Counter (or movies likeHardcore, Auto FocusAnd Patty HearstBut to me, it is the pinnacle Erste Reformation.

Ethan Hawke gives a magnificent performance that anchors this show. First Reformed Follow a New York minister, Hawke. It is more like a museum than an actual congregation. The megachurch that funds it, Cedric Entertainer (Celeb Pastor), is also funding the church. That conflict would have been enough to make many filmmakers want to get into it. Paul Schrader, however is a different filmmaker.

Schrader delicately weaves together a tale of grief, climate change, and all the problems we face as individuals and collectively as a society. While it could have been a sad story, and sometimes the ending is quite depressing at times, Schrader shows us a human connection in spite of our despair. It’s a wonderful film, and one I’m excited more people now get to watch. —Pete Volk

The First Reformcan be streamed on HBO Max.

Thief

Warner Home Video

Year: 1981
Run time: 2h 3m
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky

Michael Mann’s 1981 neo-noir crime thriller is exceptional. James Caan (the late and great James Caan)The GodfatherFrank, a professional safecracker and former convict who hopes to retire from crime and live a normal and happy life. Frank is disappointed to lose the last big heist and agrees to join a heist with another big-time gangster. He plans to cheat him once more. Even if you’ve never seen the film before, you can probably put two and two together and guess how well that goes for the gangster. Beautiful nighttime cinematography from Donald Thorin, and an evocative synth score by Tangerine Dream. ThiefThis is an exceptional wonder, anchored by a unique lead performance. End of blurb. —Toussaint Egan

ThiefYou can stream it on Prime Video.

Netflix just added a new feature

Bullet Train

Image: Scott Garfield/Sony Pictures

Year: 2022
Run time: 2h 7m
Director: David Leitch
Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

One of the greatest action movie traditions is taking a common, everyday location — say, a train — and promising an audience approximately two hours of outrageous violence in that mundane place. Keep that in mind. Bullet Train — named after Japan’s famous high-speed commuter rail — didn’t have to do much to succeed; some good fights featuring fun actors and a tidy ending would’ve been enough. Leitch turned the tables with help from a great cast that included Joey King and Bad Bunny as well as Brad Pitt. Bullet TrainIt has become a monstrous mass of misunderstandings and complications, which then becomes a constant stream of violence and jokes. —Joshua Rivera

Bullet TrainIt is now available on Netflix beginning Dec.

Hulu has a new feature

Steve Zissou, The Life Aquatic

Buena Vista Pictures

Year: 2004
Run time: 1h 59m
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. Cate Blanchett

You know what you’re getting with a Wes Anderson comedy, and Zissou He is one of the best.

Murray portrays the Cousteau-like documentaryarian Steve Zissou. He is dedicated to the French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

The film features an impressive cast of Anderson characters and excellent music by Brazilian singer Seu Jorge covering David Bowie songs. Zissou excels not only because of the hilarious gags delivered by some of the funniest actors in the business, but because of Anderson’s typical attention to detail in his shot compositions. It’s a gorgeous movie A funny one. That’s not an easy combo to nail. —PV

Steve Zissou, The Life AquaticHulu streams it.

Best of the Rest

First Cow

Image: A24

Year: 2019
Run time: 2h 2m
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Cast: John Magaro and Orion Lee. Toby Jones

This is one of my favourite movies from the past decade. First Cow A tender story of two gentlemen in Oregon 1820s, their friendship, and the sweet, friendly cow from whom they stole milk. With their eyes set on security and comfort, they use the milk to make some delicious treats. —PV

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 blooms onscreen. They’re both odd ducks in Fort Tillicum, where the ability to throw a punch and get rowdy is a dominant force in securing social status. King-Lu is more of a dreamer, while Cookie is more practical, but they’re kindred spirits, in spite of their occasional arguments. […]

It’s the little things that make life worth living. Magaro’s and Lee’s compatibility is key to this rise. Magaro’s sad eyes and faintly scratchy voice convey a softness and warmth, as he politely chats with the cow as he milks it. His faint sense of uncertainty is offset by Lee’s self-assurance. Even when King-Lu experiences moments of doubt, Lee speaks with a reassuring timbre, and expertly turns the dial between King-Lu’s professional sharpness and his genuine affection for Cookie as their situation becomes more complicated.

First CowThe stream is now available Peacock.

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Image: The Criterion Collection

Year: 1971
Run time: 2h 1m
Director: Robert Altman
Cast: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, René Auberjonois

There are so many classics in the oeuvre that it includes films like A Long GoodbyeAnd M*A*S*H, this 1971 revisionist Western drama nonetheless stands out as the only one of Robert Altman’s works Roger Ebert championed as “perfect.” It’s not hard to see why — McCabe & Mrs. MillerThis period drama is powered by the charisma of Warren Beatty (a famous gambler) and Julie Christie (a streetwise prostitute). They join forces in order to manage a brothel that was established in a Pacific Northwest town. It took place in 1902. When a mining company attempts to buy out and later extort McCabe, he’ll have to resort to desperate measures to fend off a trio of bounty hunters and protect what’s his.

This film features stunning cinematography from West Vancouver, featuring Vilmos Zsigmond’s breathtaking forest and hill shots, captivating characters and haunting music composed of Leonard Cohen songs. McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a exhilarating, tragic portrait of frontier life on the fringes of civilization that’s perfect for any fan of shows like DeadwoodFilms like Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. —TE

McCabe & Mrs. MillerYou can stream it on Criterion Channel.