Best films and series (December 20-22)

Clockwise from top: Mufasa: The Lion King, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, LaidAnd Juror #2.
Photo Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Disney, Claire Folger/Warner Bros./Everett Collection, James Dittiger/PEACOCK, Paramount

Congratulations kids (and animals), this weekend is yours. The two biggest releases of the week are about lions and hedgehogs, both have a stacked cast, and both are “live-action” animated sequels. On the other hand, if you’re in New York City or Los Angeles, you get it The brutalist in 70mm. Who says life is fair? Here are the rest of the tips for this weekend.

In case you sorely missed Lin-Manuel Miranda while watching Moana 2Well, now you can hear what he’s up to Mufasaa “live-action” prequel The Lion King Director: Barry Jenkins. It’s wild to remember, but 2019 The Lion King made so much money at the box office that of course there is another film, but this one takes place before Simba and Nala’s time in the animal kingdom, when Mufasa and Scar were young boys.

This franchise is doing really well. They even have Keanu Reeves as a new villain, Shadow the Hedgehog. Good luck to the rest of the hedgehogs because we’ve all seen it John WickSo we know that Reeves’ villain won’t go down without a long fight.

The eight-episode romantic comedy stars Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu as Ruby, a woman who realizes that all of her former lovers are dying in strange and mysterious ways. Is she cursed? The format is a little similar Scott Pilgrim vs. the World vice versa. — Roxana Hadadi

What if What if … ended? The MCU’s animated series starred the universe’s many superheroes – including Chadwick Boseman’s final appearance as T’Challa – and placed them in some fantastic scenarios thanks to the multiverse. Each episode asks the main question of “What if?” about an MCU hero, throwing them into a very different world, like sending T’Challa into space to be the new Star-Lord. It seemed like a concept the MCU could continue with for a while, but this third season is its last.

Three and a half decades ago this month The Simpsons premiered on television for the first time as a standalone film The Tracey Ullman Show. That first episode was a Christmas special, which is why the long-time animated purveyor of infinite memes is releasing a separate two-episode Christmas special this year. –JC

Hulu is doing its best to break into the comedy world, even announcing a comedy brand Hularious (they tried), and one of the specials coming out now is Ilana Glazer: Human Magic. The Broad city The actress and comedian’s second special, recorded during her recent tour, is directed by Jeff Tomsic and talks about the deeply awkward moments in high school, as a mother and in the rest of life.

The streaming platforms know that you will be spending a lot of time with your family. “Rose Matafeo” is the special to watch if you want to watch the film with your sister or younger millennial cousins. After you’re done, you can immediately enjoy their entire show Struck by the stars. — Kathryn VanArendonk

For some reason, Warner Bros. has buried this Clint Eastwood crime thriller – it had a limited release in theaters last October without causing much of a stir. That’s a shame, because critics largely agree that it’s good! Nicholas Hoult plays Justin, who sits on the jury for a murder case in which a man is accused of killing his girlfriend. However, Justin knows that this man is innocent, but revealing the truth would cost him dearly. —Tolly Wright

One of the most talked-about films of awards season is now coming to streaming. Finally, you get to see Mikey Madison’s acclaimed performance as the title character, a sex worker who crosses paths with a rich Russian boy (Mark Eidelstein) who blows her away. But this is a Sean Baker film, so with the highs of fantasy come the lows of reality.

➼ Plus, surprise! Barbie is now on Netflix. Gilmore Girls is on Hulu (complete with a collection of holiday episodes). And the Barry Keoghan drama Bird is on Mubi.

Want more? Read our recommendations from the Weekend of December 13th.