11 movies to check out on Prime Video in December

Eddie Murphy gets heavily into the holiday spirit with the Christmas comedy Candy Cane Lane. Murphy plays a man so determined to claim his neighborhood’s annual home decorating crown that he unwittingly makes a deal with a mischievous elf, causing the 12 days of Christmas to come to life. The Reginald Hudlin-directed Amazon original also stars Tracee Ellis Ross, Robin Thede, Nick Offerman, Jillian Bell, and Chris Redd.

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The Matthew Vaughn-directed romantic fantasy-adventure Stardust is based on Neil Gaiman’s 1999 novel of the same name. The magical movie stars Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert De Niro. The A.V. Club’s Tasha Robinson writes, “The film’s merry, enthusiastic tone—set largely by Robert De Niro, playing a giddy transvestite sky-pirate to the hilt—is hard to beat. The effects are terrific, and Gaiman’s story is full of enough unexpected turns to buoy the story along.”

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Several arguably “lesser” Star Trek movies beam down to Prime Video this month, including Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek: Nemesis. The best of the bunch is the Leonard Nimoy-directed Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, which explains how Spock returns after his ultimate sacrifice in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. Star Trek III is also notable for showing the destruction of the original Enterprise. The sequel stars William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Merritt Butrick, Christopher Lloyd, and, of course, Nimoy.

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Tales From The Darkside: The Movie is an anthology horror-comedy directed by John Harrison that serves as a spin-off of the TV series. The movie features three tales (“Lot 249,” “The Cat From Hell,” and “Lover’s Vow”) tied together by a wraparound story starring Deborah Harry as a modern-day witch. Tales From The Darkside: The Movie stars Christian Slater, David Johansen, William Hickey, James Remar, Rae Dawn Chong and, in an early movie appearance, Julianne Moore. It feels like it’s only a matter of time before another popular anthology horror series, such as American Horror Story, makes the jump to the big screen.

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The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the third movie in the main The Conjuring series and the seventh installment in The Conjuring universe, which also includes the Annabelle and Nun movies. In The Devil Made Me Do It, self-professed demonologist couple Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren investigate a Connecticut case about the first American murder trial that used demonic possession as a defense. The A.V. Club’s A.A. Dowd writes, “There’s almost no real subtext in The Conjuring, which can be oddly refreshing, given how often movie monsters turn out to be bald metaphors for something else (usually grief) these days. In this unambiguously Catholic franchise, good is good, evil is evil, and the difference can’t be missed.”

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A long time in a ago in a galaxy not so far away, there were these things called VHS tapes that played video recordings on a device known as a VCR. In Gore Verbinski’s The Ring—a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring—Naomi Watts plays a woman who watches a cursed videotape that causes those who view it to die in seven days. The box office hit spawned the sequels The Ring Two (also starring Watts) and Rings, as well as other J-horror remakes, including The Grudge and Dark Water. None of them top The Ring, also starring Martin Henderson and Brian Cox.

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Ok, so The Turkey Bowl arrives on Prime the week after Thanksgiving, but just because it’s a bit late doesn’t mean it’s not worth having a taste. The sports comedy directed by Greg Coolidge stars Ryan Hansen, Alan Ritchson, and Matt Jones and tells the story of a thirtysomething guy who returns to his rural hometown to join his high school pals as they try to finish an epic football game against their crosstown rivals, 15 years after it was snowed out.

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If you’re in need of more Asa Butterfield now that Sex Education has wrapped, the British Christmas rom-com Your Christmas Or Mine 2 is here for you. Butterfield and Cora Kirk star as James and Hayley, a couple facing a decidedly tumultuous family Christmas when their respective parents each decide to book a ski getaway to a luxury resort in the Austrian Alps. Mixups and hopefully hilarity ensue.

Wes Anderson’s comedy-drama Asteroid City is set in 1955 and stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, and many more as part of its huge ensemble cast. As with all of Anderson’s eccentric and quirky films, you either vibe with the director’s style or just don’t get it and never will. The A.V. Club’s Murtada Elfadl writes, “Anderson builds gorgeous worlds. They are filled with such detail that there’s always something to marvel at. Yet narratively Asteroid City doesn’t fully come together. It remains a beautiful artifact but, despite a few moments of resonant storytelling, is too easily forgettable.”

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Everyone is sick of the multiverse—South Park skewered it in Joining The Panderverse—and superhero fatigue exists. The Flash also had a ridiculously high budget, iffy CGI, and a lead actor (Ezra Miller) who became a magnet for controversy. Those are just some of the reasons why the movie bombed at the box office (and why you shouldn’t hold your breath for The Flash 2: Flashier). What the movie does have going for it is Michael Keaton, reprising his role as Batman for the first time since 1992’s Christmas-set Batman Returns. The Flash is worth a look just for him, especially since Keaton’s appearance as Batman in the scrapped Batgirl movie will never see the light of day.

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The controversial crime-thriller and MAGA rallying point Sound Of Freedom is based on the work of Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard. Jim Caviezel stars as Ballard, a former U.S. government agent who tries to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. The Alejandro Monteverde-directed movie became a box office hit despite pushing dubious theories and featuring a lead character who has been accused of sexual misconduct. Sound Of Freedom also stars Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp.

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