MUST-WATCH: Big, blue, and ready to fight

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss in Avatar: The Way of Water, courtesy of Disney.

By James Mackin

Posted December 19, 2022 1:35 pm.

After more than a dozen years, the sequel to Avatar is finally here! But it will rule the MUST-WATCH Top 10? Perhaps it will go to the latest Christmas rom-com, or maybe a documentary about a modern natural disaster? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!

Candy Coated Christmas

Where to watch: Crave

First up, let’s start with something sweet!

Candy Coated Christmas is a collaboration between Discovery and the Food Network. It’s about a woman (played by Molly McCook from Last Man Standing) who realizes that her business is going bankrupt right before Christmas. She needs a major cash injection for her business to survive, so she decides to go back to her hometown and sell her mother’s house. The only problem is she’ll have to evict the current tenant, a father (played Aaron O’Connell from the Haves and the Have Nots) and his daughter. This town is famous for its sweets, and how sweet all the residents are. But she’s noticeably bitter compared to the whole town. As she tries to get this family out of her mother’s house, she finds that they are incredibly embracing of her. And maybe, just maybe, this family could be her home too.

You can watch this film on Crave now!

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari

Where to watch: Netflix

Next up, it’s time for a documentary about a recent, horrific tragedy.

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari is a documentary about the 2019 volcanic eruption of Whakaari, an island volcano off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The volcano erupted in December of 2019, with 47 tourists from around the world visiting that island at the time. As the sky filled with ash, the people on the island realized they couldn’t get off easily and were trapped there. In total, 22 people died from this volcanic eruption, and over two dozen others were seriously injured. Many of the survivors are still recovering from the extensive burns they received. This documentary interviews the survivors, the rescue workers, and paints a portrait of a modern national disaster that shook the world.

You can watch this terrifying documentary on Netflix now.

About Fate

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Next, a romantic comedy about fate!

Emma Roberts and Thomas Mann in About Fate, courtesy of Amazon Studios.

About Fate is based on a Soviet tv film called the Irony of Fate. This new version stars Thomas Mann (from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) as Griffin, and Emma Roberts (from Scream 4) as Margot. The two of them happen to be in a restaurant sitting apart with their respective partners, Griffin proposing, and Margot expecting her boyfriend to propose. Griffin’s partner asks him to wait and save it for the next night, during a New Year’s Eve party as it will look better for social media. Margot’s partner doesn’t propose, angering her, and she leaves. Both Griffin and Margot get drunk, and accidentally end up in Margot’s place together that night (as it turns out, they live down the street from each other). When she discovers Griffin in her place, the two connect and decide that he will pretend to be her girlfriend at her sister’s wedding the next night. As the night goes on, the two start to think maybe fate brought them together? This also stars Madelaine Petsch (from Riverdale), Lewis Tan (from Mortal Kombat), and Cheryl Hines (from Curb Your Enthusiasm).

You can watch this film on Amazon Prime Video now!

Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths

Where to watch: Netflix

Next up, one of our best modern directors takes a look at his own life!

Daniel Giménez Cacho in Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths, courtesy of Netflix.

Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths is a movie by Mexican auteur Alejandro González Iñárritu (the director of Amores perros, the Revenant, and Birdman) that is semi-autobiographical. It stars Daniel Giménez Cacho (from Cronos) as Silverio Gama, a Mexican journalist who moved to America to become a successful documentary filmmaker. As he’s getting older and preparing to receive a prominent American journalism award, becoming the first Latin American ever to do so, he finds himself afflicted with visions of Mexico’s past. He’s struggling with his identity, as he believes that he fled his country and his identity simply to live a successful, wealthy life in America. As the visions grow stronger, he finds he might be losing his grip on reality.

You can watch this film on Netflix now!

Avatar: The Way of Water

Where to watch: Cinemas

Lastly, the first film in 13 years by an Canadian filmmaker extraordinaire!

Avatar: The Way of Water is a sequel to 2009’s Avatar, and director James Cameron’s first film since then. Cameron says the wait was necessary so the technology to successfully shot motion capture underwater could be properly developed. This film picks up with Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington from Under the Banner of Heaven) and Neytiri (played by Zoe Saldana from Star Trek) several years later with a family of their own, including their adopted Na’vi daughter Kiri (played by Sigourney Weaver from Aliens). As the humans return with a desire to colonize Pandora once again, specifically with the intention of murdering Jake Sully for his betrayal, Sully’s family decides to flee their forest home for an ocean tribe of Na’vi far away. As they join up with them and learn the way of water, the humans (now including more avatars of their own) come after them with colonial, bloody vengeance in their hearts. This film also stars Stephen Lang (from Don’t Breathe), Kate Winslet (from Titanic), and Edie Falco (from the Sopranos).

You can watch this film in cinemas now, and read our review of it here!