Munching on leftover turkey sandwiches and stuffing (pro tip: the calories don’t count if you eat it straight from the fridge), we head into the weekend with a smorgasbord of new movies to watch across the best streaming services. But only a few of these new additions are worth adding to your weekend watchlist.
Leading the pack this week is the crowd-pleasing Christmas caper “Jingle Bell Heist” on Netflix, which I wouldn’t be surprised to see hold the No. 1 spot through Christmas. It premieres alongside one of my favorite movies of the year, Austin Butler’s punchy sleeper hit “Caught Stealing.”
‘Jingle Bell Heist’ (Netflix)
Watch On
A Christmas-themed caper seems like such an obvious conceit for a crowd-pleaser, I’m surprised there haven’t been more. This year, Netflix mixed up its usual holiday movie slate with “Jingle Bell Heist,” a romantic comedy with a “Ocean’s Eleven” style swing.
Sophia (Olivia Holt) is a quick-thinking retail worker barely scraping by as she cares for her ailing mother. Nick (Connor Swindells), a struggling repairman and former security consultant, is in a similar bind as he tries to provide for his daughter while finding them a new home.
The two concoct a plan to rob a swanky London department store on Christmas Eve, and along the way, the unlikely pair of criminals gets more than they bargained for when sparks fly.
Watch “Jingle Bell Heist” on Netflix now
‘The Ugly Stepsister’ (Hulu)
Watch On
It’s rare to see horror movies get full marks from critics, so when I saw “The Ugly Stepsister’s” near-perfect 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it immediately jumped to the top of my watchlist.
This twisted Cinderella story shifts the focus to her eldest “ugly” stepsister, Elvira (Lea Myren), for a gleefully wicked horror comedy that tosses subtlety aside for a hypnotic and disturbing deconstruction of internalized misogyny. Convinced that marrying the eligible Prince Julian (Isac Calmroth) is their family’s only escape from crushing debt, Elvira’s step-mom (Ane Dahl Torp) forces her through a punishing makeover in hopes of turning her into the “perfect” bride contender.
Watch “The Ugly Stepsister” on Hulu now
‘Mickey 17’ (Prime Video)
Watch On
“Mickey 17” is an unforgettable sci-fi fever dream, but if you’re expecting it to be anything like director Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite,” you’ll walk away more confused than entertained.
It’s two hours of hilarious sci-fi weirdness where Robert Pattinson delivers one of his best (and most pathetic) performances of the year. The oddball energy works because the cast throws themselves completely into these over-the-top roles, but whether the humor lands as well depends on your taste.
In a future where humanity is scrambling to flee a dying Earth, Mickey Barnes (Pattinson) signs up for a far-off mission to get a loan shark off his tail. His job is to take on hazardous tasks with the knowledge that if he dies, he’ll be cloned and return to work in a fresh, vat-grown body with his memories intact.
But when Mickey survives a job and returns to find his newest clone already living his life, it sparks a darkly hilarious odyssey that tosses logic out the nearest airlock.
Watch “Mickey 17” on Prime Video now
‘Flight Risk’ (HBO Max)
Watch On
If you’re a fan of “so-bad-it’s-good” movies, “Flight Risk” should scratch the itch. This action-thriller is unapologetically dumb fun, nothing more, and it sees Mark Wahlberg breaking his 28-year villain streak in a campy way.
He stars as a pilot tasked with flying an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery of “Downton Abbey” fame) and a fugitive (Topher Grace) headed to trial. Once they’re airborne, it quickly becomes clear that not everyone is who they say they are.
With the three trapped in a cramped cabin at 30,000 feet above the Alaskan wilderness, it’s only a matter of time before tensions boil over.
Watch “Flight Risk” on HBO Max now
‘Caught Stealing’ (Netflix)
Watch On
Of all the entries on this list, “Caught Stealing” is the one you really shouldn’t sleep on. It’s like “The Hangover” reimagined as a crime thriller starring a schmuck with the world’s worst luck.
Bad Bunny plays a gangster too squeamish to get his hands dirty, someone’s surgical staples get yanked out to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” and Matt Smith is a weird little guy. In short, it’s amazing.
Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), a washed-up former baseball player from the sticks, spends his days manning a local dive bar, calling his mom like clockwork, and hanging out with his new girlfriend(Zoë Kravitz).
But when his British punk neighbor Russ (Smith) asks him to watch his cat while he’s out of town, that favor throws him into the crosshairs of dangerous criminals. As the threats close in, Hank reluctantly channels his inner action hero to try and make it out of this ungodly mix-up alive.
Watch “Caught Stealing” on Netflix now
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
