Each month, lots of new films and TV shows are added to Stan‘s library. Critic Craig Mathieson surveys each month’s selections and picks for titles most worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.
Top Picks: TV
The Reunion (December 2)
Adapted from a French best-seller, Guillaume Musso’s La Jeune Fille et La Nuit, this European co-production is a thriller that entangles the graduates of an international high school on the French Riviera at their class reunion, and the adolescent secrets that bond them together from 25 years prior.
The three central characters—played by Ioan Gruffudd, Ivanna Sakhno, and Gregory Fitoussi—have all been driven to make a contribution to society, which perhaps stems from a collective mistake in their youth. Expects shadowy tension and a sun-drenched setting.
I Hate Suzie: Season Two (December 21)
Starting with a modern celebrity nightmare—successful British actor Suzie Pickles (Billie Piper) wakes up to find that phone hacking has put images of her in a sexual situation online—the first season of this blackly comic drama revealed itself to be more of a sustained character study than a satire of fame and fortune. Piper and writer Lucy Prebble had previously collaborated on Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and this show matched surreal interludes to scathing coping mechanisms. It was one of 2020’s hidden gems, with the second season following Suzie’s attempts to resuscitate her career and make sense of her self-destructive needs.
Bump: Season Three (December 26)
Bump on Boxing Day has been a success for Stan the last two years, and they’re aiming for third time lucky in 2022. Kelsey Munro’s comic-drama about the unexpected baby that changes the life of Sydney high-school over-achiever Oly (Nathalie Morris) and her happy-go-lucky hook-up and fellow student, Santi (Carlos Sanson Jr), has been a terrific Australian chronicle of blended families, cultural expectations, and multi-generational bonds.
The third season takes a leap into the show’s future, jumping ahead five years so that baby Jacinda (Ava Cannon) is now starting primary school with a different home life than where the series previously left off. What shouldn’t change is the telling laughs and bittersweet wisdom.
Top Picks: Movies + Specials
Christmas Ransom (December 1)
The key to a good Christmas comedy is to lean right into the comic mayhem. This Australian feature does just that, with actor turned filmmaker Adele Vuko giving audiences comedian Matt Okine as the owner of a toy store whose beloved establishment is taken over by criminals, leaving Miranda Tapsell’s very pregnant security guard and a pair of kids hoping to shoplift in peace to save the day. The Home Alone and axis is appropriate here, but there’s a great opportunity for the gifted Tapsell to once again shine.
Glengarry Glen Ross (December 17)
David Mamet’s 1984 Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a group of increasingly desperate real estate salesmen was an electric stage experience. By the time James Foley (At Close Range) directed Mamet’s adaptation in 1992, actors who’d played roles onstage wanted back in and more were asking to be added. Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, and Alan Arkin headlined the cast, delivering the pithy, self-incriminating dialogue with the perfect mix of bravado and unease. It’s a cloistered, combative male realm—30 years on, it looks and sounds prescient.
Official Competition (December 28)
This Spanish-language satire of the creative ego operates on many levels, beginning with the itchy concept and extending to the self-reflexive casting. When an ageing billionaire goes into film production, he puts power in the hands of a feted if eccentric filmmaker, Lola (Penelope Cruz), who for the story of two intractably opposed brothers hires an international star, Felix (Antonio Banderas), and an unflinching method actor, Ivan (Oscar Martinez).
Many things start to go wrong, which may be part of Lola’s plan. The disastrous film set is a familiar outline, but there’s genuine wit and charismatic performances elevating this visit.
All titles arriving on Stan in December
December 1
Christmas Ransom
Amsterdam Undercover: Season 2 Premiere
Allied
Ghost in the Shell (2017)
Open Season (2006)
Philadelphia
December 2
The Reunion: Season 1 Premiere
Burlesque
December 3
Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars
Bad Boys (1995)
Bad Boys II
December 4
Last Ride
Keep Going
Final Destination (2000)
December 5
A Lion Returns
December 6
Kedi
The August Virgin
December 7
T2 Trainspotting
Three Perfect Daughters
Beauty
December 8
Dead Europe
Delicious
December 9
The Social Network
December 10
The Magic Of Belle Isle
Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby
December 11
Us: Season 1
The Craft
Don’t Breathe
December 12
Evil: Season 3
Forgotten We’ll Be
December 13
New York, I Love You
December 14
Disclosure (2021)
Todd Sampson’s Body Hack: Season 3
Timbuktu
December 15
The Mule
A Woman As A Friend
Declaration Of War
December 16
I Am Not Your Negro
Pineapple Express
December 17
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Life (2017)
December 18
Sex Tape
Tokyo Shaking
December 19
Between Two Waters
The Notebook
December 20
Rock ‘N’ Roll Nerd: The Tim Minchin Story
Unclenching The Fists
Limbo
December 21
I Hate Suzie: Season 2 Premiere
After the Verdict: Season 1
Easy A
An Impossible Love
Lucia’s Grace
December 22
The Motorcycle Diaries
Tom of Finland
Once In Summer
December 23
Loving Vincent
Captain Phillips
December 24
Step Brothers
December 25
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
December 26
Bump: Season 3 Premiere
Argo
Call The Midwife: 2020 Christmas Special
December 27
Dumb Criminals (2015)
I’m Glad My Mother Is Alive
December 28
Ghosts: 2021 Christmas Special
Official Competition
Paris, 13th District
December 29
McQueen
Sorry Angel
The Longest Night (La Mala Noche)
December 30
Lady Macbeth
District 9
December 31
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
See also
* Best new movies and TV series on Netflix Australia
* Best new movies and TV series on Amazon Prime
* Best new movies and TV series on Disney+
* All new streaming movies & series
