I’m sure you won’t want to waste time sifting through HBO GO’s extensive catalogue of shows and movies just to decide on what to watch. The streaming site updates its site every day, week, and month with new content, so I’m here to save your precious time.

Here are my personal recommendations and highlights for HBO GO December 2023 lineup and how to fill up your free time with worthwhile content at home:

Blue Beetle (Now Streaming)

Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto, the Warner Bros. Pictures feature film Blue Beetle, marks the DC Super Hero’s first time on the big screen. Recent college grad Jaime Reyes returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armour capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero. Stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role.

Check out our review by heading over here.

8-Bit Christmas (Now Streaming)

Every gamer can relate to wanting the shiny new console for their birthdays or holidays.

From New Line Cinema and HBO Max comes “8-Bit Christmas,” a humorous and heartfelt look back at the adventures of childhood. Set in suburban Chicago in the late 1980s, the story centres on ten-year-old Jake Doyle’s herculean quest to get the latest and greatest video game system for Christmas.

The film stars Neil Patrick Harris (upcoming “The Matrix Resurrections,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events”) and Winslow Fegley (“Come Play,” “Fast Layne”) as the adult and young Jake, respectively, June Diane Raphael (“Long Shot,” “Grace and Frankie”), with David Cross (“Pitch Perfect 2,” the “Kung Fu Panda” films), and Steve Zahn (“The White Lotus”).
Michael Dowse (“Coffee & Kareem”) directed the film from a screenplay by Kevin Jakubowski, based on his book of the same name. Tim White, Trevor White, Allan Mandelbaum, Jonathan Sadowski and Nick Nantell produced, with Nikki Ramey, Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Kevin Jakubowski and Whitney Brown executive producing.

Violent Night (16 December 2023)

From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.

The film also stars Emmy winner John Leguizamo (John Wick), Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse), Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop), Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise).

Directed by razor-edged Norwegian director Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow franchise), Violent Night is produced by 87North’s Kelly McCormick David Leitch and Guy Danella. The original screenplay is by Pat Casey & Josh Miller, the writers of Sonic the Hedgehog. The film’s executive producer is Marc S. Fischer.

Transformers Rise Of The Beasts (23 December 2023)

Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new faction of Transformers – the Maximals – to join them as allies in the existing battle for earth. Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback.

Check out our review here and a breakdown of the movie here.

Cocaine Bear (30 December 2023)

Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner’s plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it, this wild dark comedy finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500- pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow … and blood.

Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell (The Americans), O’Shea Jackson, Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (BlacKkKlansman), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Hannah Hoekstra (2019’s Charlie’s Angels) and Aaron Holliday (Sharp Objects), with with Emmy winner Margo Martindale (The Americans) and Emmy winner Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark).

Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2) from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar® winners Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines) for Lord Miller, Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect franchise) and Max Handelman (Pitch Perfect franchise) for Brownstone Productions, Brian Duffield (Spontaneous) for Jurassic Party Productions and Aditya Sood (The Martian) for Lord Miller. The film is executive produced by Robin Mulcahy Fisichella, Alison Small and Nikki Baida.