David Farnor | On 04, Dec 2014

Sky Movies have been everywhere this year with their Christmas advert, telling the world that The LEGO Movie and Frozen will be available to Sky customers on their Sky boxes. What the advert doesn’t tell you is that you can watch them both without a Sky contract on NOW.

The VOD service is split into two: a NOW Cinema Membership gives you access (live and catch-up) to all of Sky Movies for £9.99 a month, while an Entertainment Membership gives you access (live and catch-up) to Sky’s TV channels, including Sky Atlantic and Sky 1.

So if you’ve signed up to NOW for Arrow Season 3, The Walking Dead Season 5 or The Flash and you’re wondering what else to stream, here’s some of NOW’s upcoming releases in December 2014:

The Book Thief – 5th December (NOW Cinema Membership)

This adaptation of Markus Zusak’s best-selling novel sees a young girl – Liesel – adopted by a German family in WWII, who ends up sheltering a Jew in the basement. Geoffrey Rush is her surrogate father. He plays the accordion.

True Detective – 12th Dec, Sky Atlantic (Entertainment Membership)

With all the cold and darkness outside, it’s easy to get a little down during the December nights. A surefire way to do that? The superbly twisted True Detective, one of the most talked about TV shows of 2014, which sees Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson play two deeply messed-up detectives investigating the nastiness lying beneath the surface of a quiet community. Gripping stuff.

Endless Love – 12th December (NOW Cinema Membership)

Alex Pettyfer fans rejoice! You will soon be able to stream Endless Love – the story of a boy and girl whose love affair is opposed by their parents – endlessly.

A New York Winter’s Tale – 12th December (NOW Cinema Membership)

Colin Farrell stars in this barmy fantasy about a thief raised by a demon (Russell Crowe), who falls in love with an heiress (Jessica Brown Findlay) and finds himself having to fight for his life against Lucifer, who is played by Will Smith. We’ll pause for a minute to let that sentence sink in. (A contender for the best worst film of the year.)

Her – 12th December (NOW Cinema Membership)

Spike Jonze’s superb drama about a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls in love with his operating system (Scarlett Johansson) is a near flawless study of loneliness, romance and technology in the modern age. Funny, tragic and completely consuming.

Olive Kitteridge – 14th / 15th December, Sky Atlantic (Entertainment Membership)

This two-part HBO miniseries, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, stars Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins and Bill Murray in a poignant story of a seemingly placid New England town wrought with illicit affairs, crime and tragedy, told through the lens of Olive (McDormand), whose wicked wit and harsh demeanor mask a warm but troubled heart and staunch moral centre.

Playhouse Presents: Marked – 18th December, Sky Arts (Entertainment Membership)

Kiefer Sutherland and Stephen Fry star in the story of James, a seemingly regular guy who has been ground down by the pressures of work, family, money and life. James hits crisis point and agrees upon an unlikely opportunity to make some easy money: bumping off a mark, who turns out to be the last person he expects to see…

Ride Along – 19th December (NOW Cinema Membership)

For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Kevin Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Ice Cube) that he’s more than just a video-game junkie who’s unworthy of James’ sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he asks for his blessing to marry her – but first must prove himself…

Escape from Planet Earth – 19th December (NOW Cinema Membership)

Brendan Fraser, William Shatner and Sarah Jessica Parker all in the same movie? Escape from Planet Earth cannot live up to its cast list, but the tale of an astronaut caught in a trap on an alien planet may provide a couple of hours of distraction while the Christmas dinner dishes are being done.

Muppets Most Wanted – 19th Dec (NOW Cinema Membership)

The follow-up to The Muppets sees our fuzzy friends team up to make a sequel – only to have their plans scuppered by evil frog Constantine, who infiltrates the group disguised as Kermit. Genuine hilarity ensues, with more celebrity cameos than you can shake a stick at.

Game of thrones – 20th December, 9pm, Sky Atlantic (Entertainment Membership)

Winter is coming – so it’s only right that Game of Thrones is too. All four seasons of the HBO show will be shown again on Sky Atlantic, one episode at a time, from 20th December. This will not be available on catch-up after broadcast and will only be available to stream live.

(Season 1 of Game of Thrones is available on catch-up on NOW, so you have until 30th December to get ready for the broadcast of Season 2.)

The LEGO Movie – Christmas Eve (NOW Cinema Membership)

A laugh-out-loud anti-capitalist satire created to advertise a capitalist giant’s child-friendly toy? Somehow, The LEGO Movie works. Is it Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s anarchic sense of humour (see 22 Jump Street)? Chris Pratt and the rest of the excellent voice cast’s comic timing? The non-stop fascination of watching tiny bricks come together? Or is it the toe-tapping soundtrack? Either way, everything about this really is awesome.

Frozen – Christmas Day (NOW Cinema Membership)

A tale of two sisters, who happen to be princesses, this charming Disney flick is surely the House of Mouse’s most feminist to date. More a tale of female relationships than a rom-com or adventure, this is refreshing, amusing and moving stuff. If you’re already singing “Let It Go” in your head, this is for you.

Noah – Christmas Day (NOW Cinema Membership)

What better way to celebrate Christmas than with a daringly revisionist account of a well-known Bible story? Examining what it takes to blindly follow instructions to wipe out the rest of humanity, Darren Aronofsky’s version of Noah is bold and idiosyncratic, taking into account everything from fertility and sin to evolution itself. Russell Crowe and Ray Winstone go full pelt at the material, but it’s Logan Lerman as Noah’s conflicted son, Ham, who steals the show.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Boxing Day (NOW Cinema Membership )

One of Marvel’s best to date, the sequel to Captain American takes Steve Rogers’ biggest flaw – his unwavering nobility and honesty – and contrasts it with a modern world of espionage and double-crosses. The result is more 70s political thriller than superhero movie and all the better for it.

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death – Boxing Day, 8.30pm, Sky 1 (Entertainment Membership)

This quirky crime drama, based on the novels by M C Beaton, stars Ashley Jensen as a PR worker who sells her London firm and moves to the Cotsworlds – only to find out that not everything is as perfect as it seems. When the city girl becomes a suspect in a countryside murder, Agatha tries to clear her name, and solve the mystery of the quiche of death.

Other TV shows available:

Scandal Seasons 1 to 3 (ahead of Season 4 in January)
Girls Season 1 to 3 (ahead of Season 4 next year)

The TV channels available on NOW with an Entertainment Membership are: Sky 1, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic, GOLD, Comedy Central, ITV Encore, FOX, MTV, Sky Arts, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Nick Jr. and abc studios.

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