Want to know what’s coming soon to digital and what to watch right now on FandangoNOW? Here is your weekly guide to the latest releases:
What are the latest new releases to watch right now?
One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is now available for digital purchase. The sci-fi spy movie features a cast including John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh and Nolan regular Michael Caine and involves a time-altering story with high stakes. All you need to know is that Washington plays a character called Protagonist and he’s tasked with preventing World War III. It’s Nolan, so you can expect a twisty plot and spectacular visuals.
Get nostalgic about brick and mortar video stores and physical media by digitally renting or buying the new documentary The Last Blockbuster. The film takes us on a virtual trip to the titular holdout, located in Bend, Oregon, for a blast from the past that still exists in the present, as well as for a bit of history of the Blockbuster Video chain and the home video business in general. Featuring interviews with Kevin Smith, Doug Benson, Adam Brody, Paul Scheer, Ione Skye and more.
What movies are great to pair with those new releases?
There’s nothing like a Christopher Nolan movie, so the best pairings for Tenet are other Christopher Nolan movies. The closest of his past releases aesthetically and narratively is probably the Best Picture-nominee Inception or his backwards breakout, Memento. If you’re looking for a double feature with something not by Nolan, though, some options include Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, Rian Johnson’s Looper and any James Bond movie but especially the Sean Connery-led installment From Russia with Love.
For The Last Blockbuster, there are some other documentaries available to rent or buy that look back fondly on the VHS era, with niche focus. There’s Direct to Video about horror movies that went straight to video in the 1990s and then there’s VHS Nasty about controversial horror movies known as “video nasties.” If you’d like to pair the doc with a non-doc, I recommend Kevin Smith’s Clerks, which features hilarious scenes in a video store, and Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind, which will cater to your VHS nostalgia.
Are there any other big movies coming out this week?
The disaster movie Greenland reunites Gerard Butler with his Angel Has Fallen director, Ric Roman Waugh, and is exclusively debuting on digital this Friday, December 18. Butler plays a structural engineer who is selected for shelter, with his estranged wife (Morena Baccarin) and their son (Roger Dale Floyd), when a comet threatens the planet. But getting to the titular location hosting the special secure bunkers is not as easy as it seems, especially with all of the envious unchosen Americans in their way.
Also out this Friday on digital, following its Thanksgiving theatrical release, is The Croods: A New Age. Even better than the original, this hilarious animated sequel follows the titular clan of cavepersons as they meet the more-evolved Betterman family who live on their own bountiful and seemingly utopian compound. The visuals are trippy, the jokes are punny and just when you think you know where it’s going, it just gets more imaginatively weird. The voice cast includes Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Peter Dinklage.
What are some other end of the world disaster movies to rent this week?
In Greenland, a comet is heading toward Earth, threatening an extinction-level disaster. If you’re into that specific sort of global-and-beyond thrill ride, you’ll also enjoy two similar disaster movies from 1998: Michael Bay’s Armageddon, which involves a meteor threat, and Mimi Leder’s Deep Impact, which also deals with a comet. I also have a soft spot for Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive, in which a comet causes machines on Earth to go on a killing spree. But if you want something for the whole family, there’s the animated sequel Ice Age: Collision Course.
Are we celebrating any big anniversaries this week?
The original Jumanji starring Robin Williams turns 25 this week, as does Oliver Stone’s president biopic Nixon, Michael Mann’s Heat and the remake of Sabrina with Harrison Ford. Movies celebrating their 30th anniversary include Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids, Awakenings and the Mel Gibson-led Hamlet. Then there’s Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple and the sci-fi drama Enemy Mine, which both turn 35 years old, and the feminist workplace comedy 9 to 5, the rom-com Seems Like Old Times and the orangutan-led sequel Any Which Way You Can, which all turn 40.
Going back further, John Huston’s adventure throwback The Man Who Would Be King and Lina Wertmüller’s Seven Beauties, which earned the first Best Director Oscar nomination for a woman filmmaker, both turn 45. The iconic romance drama Love Story, the John Wayne Western Rio Lobo, the Hollywood-set Alex in Wonderland and the classic holiday special Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town all turn 50. The war movie Battle of the Bulge, the original version of The Flight of the Phoenix and Sergio Leone’s Clint Eastwood Western A Few Dollars More all turn 55. Plus, Otto Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm turns 65, Harvey, starring James Stewart, turns 70 and Captain Blood turns 85.
More recent movies with anniversaries include Miss Congeniality, the artist biopic Pollock, the romantic drama Chocolat, the fantasy rom-com What Women Want, the Japanese cult classic Battle Royale, the historical thriller Thirteen Days, the coming-of-age drama Finding Forrester, the teen comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? and Disney’s animated feature The Emperor’s New Groove, which all turn 20. Also, Peter Jackson’s King Kong turns 15, the sci-fi sequel Tron: Legacy is 10 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant are both already five years old.
Can you recommend any great binge bundles to rent or buy?
Since we’re celebrating the anniversary of Miss Congeniality, I recommend going ahead and renting the sequel as well, if you’re a fan of the Sandra Bullock-led franchise. Fortunately, there’s a binge bundle for that featuring both the original comedy and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. The two are also available to buy as a bundle at a discounted price if you’re that big of a fan. And if you can’t get enough of Bullock, you can buy The Heat in a bundle with Spy or Ocean’s 8 in a bundle with Ocean’s 11.
Which must-see movies are coming soon to FandangoNOW?
The award-winning drama Yellow Rose arrives on digital next Tuesday, December 22, from acclaimed Filipino-American filmmaker Diane Paragas, based on her short of the same name. An audience favorite at festivals around the world, the movie follows the story of a Filipino-American teen (Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada) who dreams of leaving her small town in Texas and becoming a country singer. But she has to put a pause on her pursuits when her mother is detained by immigration officials.
What are the 10 most popular new movies on FandangoNOW?
1. Honest Thief
2. Freaky
3. Let Him Go
4. Songbird
5. Love and Monsters
6. Fatman
7. Elf
8. Wild Mountain Thyme
9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
10. Buddy Games
