What’s New to Stream on Netflix for December 2022

Crossing the Streams is a series of columns spotlighting all the offerings hitting the big streaming services each month. This time we’re checking out the new Netflix arrivals for December 2022. They include The Big 4, Glass Onion, a Matilda musical, and more!

Netflix Pick of the Month for December 2022

One of the best action movies of the past few years is Timo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes for Us (2018), and now four years later, the filmmaker has returned to Netflix. The Big 4 (premieres December 15th) doesn’t look to be as brutal or deadly serious as that earlier film — and it’s not the long-teased spinoff focused on Julie Estelle’s character The Operator — but Tjahjanto is as reliable an action director as you’ll find. The Big 4 is an action/comedy about a woman who discovers a troupe of assassins trained by her father, and soon she’s being hunted by his old enemies. A sound premise, a reliable director, and a fun-looking trailer make for a promising time.

More New Netflix Original Films for December 2022

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (premieres December 9th) marks the beloved genre filmmaker’s first directorial foray into animation, and it’s been racking up critical acclaim. The film takes the classic tale of a woodworker who gives life to a wooden boy and spruces it up with new and wondrous fantastical elements. The voice talents include Ewan McGregor, Ron Perlman, John Turturro, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Tim Blake Nelson, and more.

After kicking off his film career with acclaimed ensemble dramas like 21 Grams and Babel, Alejandro G. Iñárritu climbed even higher with 2014’s Birdman and 2015’s The Revenant. Seven years later, he’s returned with another big tale of personal discovery. BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (premieres December 16th) follows a famous journalist who looks inward by traveling outward. The character’s homeland is Mexico, and Iñárritu’s film is intent on exploring his character’s (and his own) relationship to it.

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is a delightful and tight little mystery, and his plans for a franchise found a home at Netflix. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (premieres December 23rd) is already earning new fans in both audiences and critics. It’s pretty good! The cast is great, with Daniel Craig being joined by Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson, and more, although both Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline are the underused standouts. The writing isn’t as tight as the first, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had.

Even More New Netflix Original Films for December 2022

Sometimes a book is adapted too many times to the point of asking what’s the point, but sometimes filmmakers find a new angle. Roald Dahl’s Matilda: The Musical (premieres December 25th) gives a song-and-dance spin to the classic children’s tale of a young girl whose imagination — and telekinesis — helps drive some bad adults batty. The idea is already a fun one, but what sold me is the first teaser showcasing one of the film’s wildly energetic musical numbers.

Murder mysteries are back on the rise thanks to Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptations, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, and others. The latest to swim in those waters is Alessandro Genovesi’s 7 Women and a Murder (premieres December 28th) drops seven women into a house where a murder has occurred. All seven are suspects with compelling motives, and over a brief eighty-two minutes, this dark comedy promises to unravel the mystery and delivers some laughs.

Netflix’s last big Original film of 2022 comes from Noah Baumbach. And it’s worth noting that White Noise (premieres December 30th) is legitimately a big film — definitely one far bigger than we’ve seen from Baumbach before. Explosions, hundreds of extras, CG effects. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig play a married couple with four kids facing all kinds of conflicts and issues, and it’s a comedy. It’s also a film that doesn’t wholly work. Other opinions vary, though, so give it a go, and maybe you’ll enjoy all of its quirkiness.

The Oldest New Arrival on Netflix for December 2022

One of the ongoing criticisms of Netflix’s streaming service is the increasingly dire selection of older films. This month marks the worst on record as there are only sixteen non-Netflix films arriving for December. Sixteen! Anyway, while most are from the past decade or so, this month’s oldest new arrival is 1991’s My Girl. It’s a tearjerker classic starring a young Anna Chlumsky as a girl who finds a friend in Macaulay Culkin. Well, at least for a little while. It remains a sweet, funny coming-of-age tale dealing with love and grief in equal measure. Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis are along for the ride as something of a PG-rated Trading Places reunion.

The Complete Netflix List for December 2022

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Related Topics: Crossing the Streams, Netflix

Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.