Candy Cane Lane, Netflix’s May December, and every new movie to watch

Happy December, Polygon readers.

Christmas movie season is here, and there are tons of new Christmas movies slated to come out over the next month. This week, there are four in that category: the critically acclaimed The Holdovers, Eddie Murphy’s Candy Cane Lane, Netflix’s Family Switch, and the horror movie It’s a Wonderful Knife. But that’s not all that’s new this week: Carol director Todd Haynes has a buzzy new movie out on Netflix, there’s a second movie with musical numbers named Leo dropping on Netflix in as many weeks, and big franchise reboots Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and The Exorcist: Believer make their streaming platform debuts. That’s only touching the surface — December is usually a busy time for new movies to watch at home, and this year is no different. Let’s dig into it.

New on Netflix May December

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Photo: Francois Duhamel/Netflix

Genre: Drama

Run time: 1h 57m

Director: Todd Haynes

Cast: Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Charles Melton

One of our great modern filmmakers is back with another thorny story — this about an actor (Natalie Portman) studying a woman (Julianne Moore) she is going to play in a film. The woman (based loosely on convicted sex offender Mary Kay Letourneau) is known for her scandalous relationship with her husband (Charles Melton), who she first met when he was a minor. Melton has already won multiple awards for his portrayal of the husband, and as it’s a Todd Haynes movie, you can expect a sumptuous, at times uncomfortable watch led by fantastic performances.

Leo

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Seven Screen Studios

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 2h 39m

Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj

Cast: Vijay

No, you are not seeing double. Yes, last week, Netflix premiered its “Adam Sandler as a talking lizard” animated musical Leo. This week, the Tamil box-office hit Leo, a remake of David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, lands on the platform. Both Leos on Netflix prominently feature musical numbers, but they couldn’t be more different movies. In this one, a coffee shop owner and family man (Vijay) dispatches a group of killers at his business, making him an overnight sensation. This raises the interest of a gangster, who believes the man is his long-lost son. Leo is the third movie in director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s LCU, after Kaithi and Vikram. There are a few repeat characters in this one, but neither of the previous movies are necessary to understand it (but they are both better, so I’d say they’re worth checking out).

Family Switch

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Photo: Elizabeth Morris/Netflix

Genre: Sci-fi family comedy

Run time: 1h 41m

Director: McG

Cast: Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, Emma Myers

It’s Freaky Friday, squared! From McG (Charlie’s Angels), this spin on the body-swap trope adds a dash of Christmas to the formula and has all four members of the principal family swap bodies.

American Symphony

Where to watch: Available to stream on Netflix

Image: Netflix

Genre: Documentary

Run time: 1h 44m

Director: Matthew Heineman

Cast: Jon Batiste, Suleika Jaouad

This documentary follows two artists in love facing a difficult situation: One, award-winning musician Jon Batiste, is writing a symphony, while his partner, bestselling author Suleika Jaouad, is being treated for cancer.

New on Disney Plus

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Where to watch: Available to stream on Disney Plus

Image: Lucasfilm

Genre: Action-adventure

Run time: 2h 34m

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen

Harrison Ford’s final outing as Indiana Jones sees the whip-wielding archaeologist adventurer embark on one last intrepid expedition with his estranged goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) as they race across the world in search of an ancient artifact before a Nazi rocket scientist (Mads Mikkelsen) gets his nefarious hands on it.

New on Hulu

A Compassionate Spy

Where to watch: Available to stream on Hulu

Image: Magnolia Pictures

Genre: Documentary

Run time: 1h 41m

Director: Steve James

Cast: Tom Goodwin, Mickey O’Sullivan

Legendary documentarian Steve James (Hoop Dreams) turns his camera toward the story of Theodore Hall, a physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project and gave information to the Soviets about the development of The Bomb. The documentary uses interview footage with Hall and his wife, as well as reenactments and archival footage.

New on Prime Video

Candy Cane Lane

Where to watch: Available to stream on Prime Video

Image: Prime Video

Genre: Christmas

Run time: 1h 57m

Director: Reginald Hudlin

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell

It’s a very Eddie Murphy Christmas on Prime Video. He’s a man determined to win a Christmas home decoration contest, and he makes a deal with an elf (Jillian Bell) that has unforeseen consequences on his town.

New on Paramount Plus

The Lesson

Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount Plus

Image: Bleecker Street

Genre: Thriller

Run time: 1h 43m

Director: Alice Troughton

Cast: Daryl McCormack, Richard E. Grant, Julie Delpy

A young writer (Daryl McCormack) agrees to tutor the son of his idol (Richard E. Grant). But all is not as it seems, as dark secrets threaten to tangle the writer in this family’s web.

Earth Mama

Where to watch: Available to stream on Paramount Plus

Image: A24

Genre: Drama

Run time: 1h 37m

Director: Savanah Leaf

Cast: Tia Nomore, Erika Alexander, Doechii

A pregnant single mother in the Bay Area hopes to reclaim her two children from foster care in this moving drama from first-time feature director Savanah Leaf. It’s one of the best movies of the year.

New on Peacock

The Exorcist: Believer

Where to watch: Available to stream on Peacock

Image: Universal Studios

Genre: Horror

Run time: 1h 51m

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Ann Dowd

After a short theatrical run, David Gordon Green’s new entry in the Exorcist franchise arrives at home. It’s a bizarre twist on the franchise, per our review: Up until this most recent movie, the title The Exorcist carried some weight. While its role as a representation of quality was up for debate, its mark as a sign of ambition was not. Since the original Exorcist, the series has provided some of American cinema’s best and most interesting artists with space to ruminate on faith and evil. Believer lacks the ambition that’s meant to define an Exorcist movie. This is the most profound statement the movie has to offer, seemingly by accident: If the result of moving past God is that everything in the world will feel as empty and pointless as The Exorcist: Believer, we should cling to faith forever.

New on Shudder

It’s a Wonderful Knife

Where to watch: Available to stream on Shudder

Image: RLJE Films

Genre: Horror

Run time: 1h 27m

Director: Tyler MacIntyre

Cast: Jane Widdop, Justin Long, Joel McHale

It’s a Wonderful Life meets the slasher genre in this Christmas movie about a girl who wishes she’d never been born, only to discover how many lives that would truly cost.

New on Starz

Joy Ride

Where to watch: Available to stream on Starz

Image: Araquel/Lionsgate

Genre: Comedy

Run time: 1h 35m

Director: Adele Lim

Cast: [Missing information]