The first week of the month is a busy one for Netflix this December. The streaming platform is churning out a slew of original films, including the Southern-fried Dumplin’ (starring Jennifer Aniston) and Andy Serkis’ dark Jungle Book remake. If full-length features aren’t your thing, The Ranch is back for another round, and a new documentary about social media influencers might find a place in your queue. Of course, it can be tough to keep up with all of the new content the streaming service is putting out, so we’re bringing you a round-up of what’s new to Netflix and what’s departing this week of December 7th.
Dumplin’ (film streaming 12/7)
Willowdean “Dumplin” Dickson (Danielle Macdonald) is the titular star of this comedy that’s been plunged into a deep-fryer and emerged as a dark comedy about the societal pressures of conventional beauty and the tug-and-pull of complicated mother-daughter relationships. Dumplin’ is a curvy, confident heroine, the daughter of a beautiful mother who runs beauty pageants for the fun of it (Jennifer Aniston giving just the right amount of Southern-snark). When Dumplin’ decides to enter a pageant to show the judges, and her mother, that she can win and that beauty shouldn’t conform to their standards, she ends up turning the world of feather boas and press-on nails and hairspray on its head.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (film streaming 12/7)
Andy Serkis is giving us a decidedly darker twist on a childhood favorite with his live-action, motion-capture reimagining of The Jungle Book. The bones of the story are the same: Mowgli, a young orphan, is raised by a pack of wolves, taught survival by a panther named Bagheera (Christian Bale), and offered friendship by a lazy, good-natured bear named Baloo (Serkis). Shere Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) has it out for the young man-cub, which causes conflict amongst Mowgli’s protectors and forces the boy to prove himself to his pack or join the human village nearby. What’s different from the iteration Warner Bros. produced last year is Serkis’ desire to soak each of these characters in blood to give a grittier version of the story. Does it work? You be the judge.
The American Meme (documentary streaming 12/7)
This latest Netflix documentary focuses on a fascinating, if not completely bizarre, topic: Social media influencers. We’ve all heard of them. They’re the people getting millions for broadcasting ads to their Instagram followings, but this film takes us behind-the-scenes of that job. And it is a full-time job. Paris Hilton, Josh Ostrovsky (aka The Fat Jewish), Brittany Furlan, and Kirill Bichutsky allow cameras to follow them as they grow their social media empires with famous faces like DJ Khaled, Hailey Baldwin, and Emily Ratajkowski popping up along the way. If being Insta-famous is your goal in life, take notes.
Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:
Avail. 12/1/2018
8 Mile
Astro Boy
Battle
Bride of Chucky
Christine
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Crossroads: One Two Jaga (NETFLIX FILM)
Friday
Friday After Next
Hellboy
Man vs Wild with Sunny Leone: Season 1
Meet Joe Black
Memories of the Alhambra (Streaming Every Saturday) (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
My Bloody Valentine
Next Friday
Reindeer Games
Seven Pounds
Shaun of the Dead
Terminator Salvation
The Big Lebowski
The Great British Baking Show: Masterclass: Season 5 Masterclasses
The Last Dragon
The Man Who Knew Too Little
Avail. 12/2/2018
The Lobster
Avail. 12/3/2018
Blue Planet II: Season 1
Hero Mask (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
The Sound of Your Heart: Reboot Season 2 (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Avail. 12/4/2018
District 9
Avail. 12/6/2018
Happy!: Season 1
Avail. 12/7/2018
5 Star Christmas (NETFLIX FILM)
Bad Blood (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Dogs of Berlin (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Dumplin’ (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Free Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Nailed It! Holiday! (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Pine Gap (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
ReMastered: Who Killed Jam Master Jay? (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
Super Monsters and the Wish Star (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
The American Meme (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
The Hook Up Plan (Plan Coeur) (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
The Ranch: Part 6 (NETFLIX ORIGINAL)
And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:
Leaving 12/10/18:
Battle Royale
Battle Royale 2
Teeth
