Luke Grimes (Fifty Shades of Grey and American Sniper) plays Eric Norris, an out-of-towner who finds himself in a whole lot of unexpected trouble in the fictional town of El Camino, Nevada on Christmas Eve in the new Netflix Original movie, El Camino Christmas. Directed by David E. Talbert (Almost Christmas and Baggage Claim), El Camino Christmas is a thoughtful film, even if it is rather mild in its action, as well as predictable.

When Eric Norris rolls into El Camino, two members of the local police force slow down to take notice of him. El Camino is a small town and no newcomer goes unnoticed. Corrupt officer Carl Hooker (Vincent D’Onofrio, Men in Black and Jurassic World) and dim-witted officer Billy Calhoun (Dax Shepard of CHIPS and TV’s Parenthood) arrest Eric after wrongly assuming he is a drug dealer, but he soon is out of the county jail with officers pursuing him once again.

Eric winds up at a local liquor store where he encounters owner Vicente (Emilio Rivera of Sons of Anarchy and Gang Related), store clerk Kate Daniels (Michelle Mylett of Letterkenny and Ascension) and her son Seth, and a local man (Tim Allen of Wild Hogs and The Shaggy Dog), as well as Officer Hooker. Each of the people in the liquor store on Christmas Eve has his or her own story to tell, and most of their stories are sad ones.

Gun shots are fired, hostages are taken without anyone ever actually intending to take hostages, and the liquor store is surrounded by the local bumbling police force headed up by Sheriff Bob Fuller (Kurtwood Smith of Robocop and TV’s That ’70s Show) and eventually by the FBI, too. In addition, local news personality Beth Flowers (Jessica Alba of Fantastic Four and Machete) begins to broadcast news of the event which quickly becomes a story of national interest.

Eric only came to town looking for his long-lost father, but he finds trouble in ways that he never would have expected just as the hostages at Vicente’s liquor store are finding truth that they didn’t expect.

In addition –

New to Netflix on Friday, Dec. 22 is the highly anticipated new Netflix Original movie Bright, starring Will Smith (Suicide Squad and I Am Legend) and Joel Edgerton (Loving and The Gift). Bright is a fantasy crime movie in which Smith stars as an LAPD officer who finds an otherworldly instrument that gives him the potential power to change the world. Bright is Smith’s first Netflix project; his participation in the film has been getting a lot of hype.

Also new to Netflix on Friday, Dec. 22 is the third season of Fuller House starring most of the original cast of the ’90s favorite Full House. DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy live together in the Tanners’ childhood home and depend upon one another as they navigate being adults and parenthood.

New stand-up comedy from Dave Chappelle begins streaming on Netflix on Sunday, Dec. 31. Dave Chappelle: Equanimity promises all-new comedy material from a comic whose fans have been wanting more since his hit TV show Chappelle’s Show ended abruptly in 2006.

New to Amazon Prime as of earlier this month is the horror film It Comes at Night. It stars Joel Edgerton and centers around two families who survived an unknown disaster only to encounter even more terror in their new surroundings.

An Amazon Prime original series starring Jean Claude Van Damme (Double Impact and Hard Target) titled Jean Claude Van Johnson premiered earlier this month. In it, Van Damme fictitiously reveals that his career in film has actually been a cover-up for his actual career as a spy and it is sure to entice any fans of the action star.