Now that we’re all recovering from our massive tryptophan hangovers, and November is coming to an end, it’s time to plunge forward into the final month of the holiday season: DECEMBER. With the flipping of the calendar comes a slate of new and exciting content from Netflix, still the reigning champ of the streaming wars. Arriving this month, we’ve got a biopic blockbuster, a WW2 gem asking serious questions about identity and marriage, an empathetic study of two women at the fringe of American cultural life, and an indie instant classic starring Richard Gere. Check out our featured recommendations, and read on for the full list of this month’s new offerings. Also make sure to see what’s new on Hulu and Amazon Prime.
(Note: Don’t miss an interesting slate of Netflix originals, including A Very Murray Christmas on Dec. 4, which is basically as it sounds—Billy Murray invites a bunch of his friends over for “music, comedy, and good cheer” in a nod to holiday variety specials.)
Ray
Year: 2004
Director: Taylor Hackford
Available: Dec. 1
Jamie Foxx portrays the legendary Ray Charles from his early days as a backing pianist on the “chiltin’ circuit” of African-American friendly venues, to his commercial peak in the late 1950s and early ’60s, including the recording of his most notable singles. But what makes Ray a fantastic adaptation of Charles’ life isn’t just its focus on his musical career, but its brutally honest treatment of the late musician’s heroin addiction, legal troubles and tumultuous relationship with his wife Della Bea Robinson (Kerry Washington).—John Connor Coulston
Tangerine
Year: 2015
Director: Sean S. Baker
Available: Dec. 2
Tangerine is about Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor), two transgendered prostitutes working Santa Monica Boulevard. Sin-Dee is our miffed heroine, fresh off a prison stint and newly aware that her beau/pimp Chester (James Ransone) cheated on her with a cisgendered white gal. Tangerine is lurid, ribald and sleazy in the best ways possible, because it’s suffused with rich empathy. Baker’s aesthetic boasts neon vibrancy—the kind of sparks only real life can generate—but amidst the bombastic crackle of his mise en scène, he maintains a down-to-Earth naturalism.—Andy Crump
Phoenix
Year: 2014
Director: Christian Petzold
Available: Dec. 8
Rarely in recent memory has the insoluble mystery of other people been so potent a driving force as it is in Phoenix. Here’s a drama that starts off with a seemingly simple conceit but eventually grows more and more troubling—and fascinating—into a critique of collective moral blindness and an up-close examination of marriage. The latest from German filmmaker Christian Petzold, Phoenix works best for all the answers it doesn’t provide, honoring the mysteries of everyday life rather than explaining them away.—Tim Grierson
Time Out of Mind
Year: 2015
Director: Oren Moverman
Available: Dec. 15
The headliner here is Richard Gere, sporting a scraggly gray beard, and a wardrobe that seems to be perpetually pulled tight against his neck—save for when his character George sells his coat for a few bucks at a local pawn shop. George is homeless, and writer-director Oren Moverman’s film charts his day-to-day with quiet, precise attentiveness; Moverman follows George as he sleeps on New York City benches, eats out of garbage cans, dozes in hospital waiting rooms, and spies on a young bartender, Maggie (Jena Malone), whom he then has a stranger give a series of photographs which bring her to tears. —Nick Schager
December 1
#DeathToSelfie (2014)
30 For 30: Chasing Tyson (2015)
50 Shades Of THEY, season 1
A Christmas Star (2015)
A Genius Leaves The Hood: The Unauthorized Story Of Jay Z (2014)
Amnesiac (2015)
Broadchurch, season 2
CBGB (2013)
Christmas Wedding Baby (2014)
The Chronicles Of Riddick: Dark Fury (2004)
Cradle 2 The Grave (2003)
Darkman (1990)
Detectorists, season 1
I’m Brent Morin
Jenny’s Wedding (2015)
Las Mágicas Historias De Plim Plim, season 1
Ray (2004)
Real Rob, season 1 (2015)
See You In Valhalla (2015)
Sensitive Skin, season 1
Starting Over, season 1
Stir Of Echoes (1999)
Stir Of Echoes: The Homecoming (2007)
That Touch Of Mink (1962)
Tyke: Elephant Outlaw
Winning Life’s Battles, season 1
December 2
Stations Of The Cross (2014)
Tangerine (2015)
December 3
Matt Shepard Is A Friend Of Mine (2015)
December 4
A Very Murray Christmas (2015)
Comedy Bang! Bang!, season 4 (more episodes)
December 5
A Case Of You (2013)
Dinosaur 13 (2014)
Inside Man, season 3
December 7
Vampire Academy (2014)
December 8
One & Two (2015)
Phoenix (2014)
Xenia (2014)
December 9
Phineas And Ferb, season 4
Trailer Park Boys: Drunk, High And Unemployed Live In Austin (2015)
December 11
The Adventures Of Puss In Boots, season 2
The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
December 14
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
December 15
Drown (2014)
Hart Of Dixie, season 4
High Profits, season 1
Time Out Of Mind (2014)
December 16
Fresh Dressed (2015)
Helix, season 2
December 18
F Is For Family, season 1
Glitter Force, season 1
Making A Murderer, season 1
Mike Epps: Don’t Take It Personal
December 19
Chloe And Theo (2015)
December 20
Leo The Lion (2013)
Magic Snowflake (2013)
Santa’s Apprentice (2010)
December 21
El Señor De Los Cielos, season 1
December 22
Queen Of Earth (2015)
December 23
Invisible Sister (2015)
December 24
Dawn of the Croods, season 1
December 25
Black Mirror, “White Christmas”
December 28
Maron, season 3
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, season 5
December 30
Parenthood, season 6
December 31
Battle Creek, season 1
Manhattan Romance (2014)
Violetta, season 3
Nurse Jackie, seasons 1-7