1. MOVIE: Wake Dead: The Mystery of the Knives Out (December 12, Netflix)
Halle Berry! Rian Johnson's third film, Knives Out, arrives on Netflix after theatrical release. Daniel Craig returns as Southern detective Benoit Blanc, who investigates the case of a monsignor (Josh Brolin) who dies mysteriously during a church service. The film explores how different people view religion, but there are just as many comedic elements as the first two films. Likewise, the ensemble cast has the same number of stars as the previous films. Even the value of the galaxy. There is Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Thomas Haden Church and others.
2. TV: “American Masters: Starring Dick Van Dyke” (Dec. 12, PBS, check local listings)
Not that we need another reason to celebrate Dick Van Dyke, but the actor turns 100 on December 13th. The documentary revisits his career, which includes films such as Bye Bye Birdie, Chitty Chitty Bang, Mary Poppins and Night at the Museum, as well as the sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. There is never-before-seen footage, as well as new interviews with Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, Martin Short and others. But Van Dyke himself is planning a modest celebration. “He doesn’t want to do anything,” his wife Arlene Silver told People. “…He wants to sit in his room and watch Jeopardy reruns with me.”
3. MUSIC: “Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately” (December 18, Crave)
The group behind the 1993 hit “Mr. Jones” was documented on HBO's Music Box. The film chronicles the band's rise and the pressure its members felt following their breakthrough album August and Everything After. The story is told through candid interviews with current and former participants and contemporaries, using archival footage and personal photographs. “This is a portrait of creative defiance and the tension between visibility and vulnerability,” the official description reads. Other Counting Crows hits include Rain King, A Long October, Hanginaround and a cover of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi.
4. BOOK: The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love and Adventure at the Bottom of the World.
A newly released book by Tilar J. Mazzeo details the true story of Mary Ann Patten, the first female merchant ship captain. In 1856, aged 19 and pregnant, she piloted the ship Neptune's Engine through the deadly waters of Antarctica after her husband Joshua Patten became ill with tuberculosis and became delirious. Mazzeo is an accomplished sailor herself, as well as a food and wine writer and the author of the New York Times bestseller Veuve Clicquot, turned into a 2023 film starring Haley Bennett and Tom Sturridge. Mazzeo lives in Saanichton, British Columbia.
5. CELEBRATION: National Poinsettia Day (December 12).
Some facts about poinsettias you may not know: In their native Mexico, they grow up to 12 feet (3.6 meters), they require 12 to 14 hours of darkness each day to turn red, and rumors of their toxicity have been greatly exaggerated—at best, they can cause mild irritation or stomach upset in pets and people. The parts of poinsettias that appear to be their petals are actually modified leaves called bracts, and they can have pink, white, orange, and even speckled or marbled patterns. According to Canadian magazine Local Gardener, there are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias.
