Want to know what’s coming soon to digital and what to watch right now on FandangoNOW and Vudu? Here is your weekly guide to the latest releases:
What are the latest new releases to watch right now?
One of the biggest and best and certainly most thrilling movies of the year is now available on digital for the first time! John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II, which currently reigns as the domestic box office champion as well as the best-reviewed blockbuster of 2021, can be purchased as a 4K UHD download via FandangoNOW and Vudu. The sequel follows up the 2018 sci-fi horror original about a family (Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe) trying to survive an invasion of creatures with a heightened sense of hearing. When you buy the movie on FandangoNOW, you get bonus content, including making-of features.
Also new to digital concurrent with its ongoing theatrical release, The Sparks Brothers can be rented on FandangoNOW and Vudu as a Home Premiere title. Directed by Edgar Wright, best known for the genre movies Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver, the feature documentary follows the career of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, who form the band Sparks. Never heard of them? That’s part of the point of this fascinating film, which is essential viewing for anyone who likes pop and rock music of the last 50 years and has a sense of curiosity about the corners of culture that aren’t part of the mainstream but seem like they should be.
What movies are great to pair with those new releases?
The most obvious movie to pair with A Quiet Place Part II is the first movie, A Quiet Place. And you can actually buy the original and the sequel together in a two-movie collection, which saves you a lot of money. I also recommend picking up some other post-apocalyptic horror movies starring Cillian Murphy, who joins the Quiet Place franchise for Part II. There’s Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, of course, which deals with a zombie-like pandemic. And also Boyle’s Sunshine, which takes the survival of humanity to space with a mission to jump-start the Sun. And while M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs doesn’t star Murphy and it fits more with the original, I still suggest pairing it with A Quiet Place Part II.
What Edgar Wright narrative feature goes best with his new documentary? Maybe Baby Driver or Scott Pilgrim vs. The World since the former involves music in its story most and the latter features characters in a band. But the optimal double feature pairing with The Sparks Brothers would have to be another music documentary. Searching for Sugar Man, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2013, is about a would-be rock star who surprisingly never found greater fame despite his talents. And Alex Winter's Zappa will enlighten you about another act who is interesting to know about even if he’s not your musical cup of tea.
Are there any other big movies coming out this week?
Coming to digital this Thursday, July 15, is a new shark-centric action horror movie from the makers of 47 Meters Down. This one, titled Great White, stars Katrina Bowden and Aaron Jakubenko as a couple whose seaplane goes down in the ocean and who have to survive along with other passengers while two great white sharks circle what, to the hungry sea creatures, must look like a banquet. That’s available for pre-orders right now.
What are some great movies starring athletes-turned-actors to buy this week?
In honor of Space Jam: A New Legacy opening in theaters this Friday, you probably want to catch up with the original Space Jam starring basketball icon turned actor Michael Jordan. Also, Vudu has a sale on other movies starring athletes who became movie stars, such as weight-lifting champ Arnold Schwarzenegger and pro wrestlers Dwayne Johnson, John Cena and Andre the Giant, whose The Princess Bride is my top pick. For a Schwarzenegger double feature, I recommend The Running Man with Total Recall, and for some gross-out laughs, you could pair Kevin Smith’s Mallrats, starring skater Jason Lee, with the Cena-led Blockers.
Are we celebrating any big movie or TV anniversaries this week?
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of the iconic Reese Witherspoon comedy Legally Blonde, the blockbuster sequel Jurassic Park III, Jon Favreau’s crime comedy Made and Frank Oz’s The Score starring Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando. Also, the Meg Ryan war movie Courage Under Fire, the Michael Keaton clone comedy Multiplicity, Nicole Holofcener’s Walking and Talking and the Shaquille O’Neal genie movie Kazaam all turn 25. Plus, Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break, John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood and Mike Nichols’ Regarding Henry starring Harrison Ford all came out 30 years ago.
Going back further, James Cameron’s Aliens turns 35 this week. Also: Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur, the romantic drama Endless Love and the POW soccer drama Victory all turn 40; Ingmar Bergman’s The Touch turns 50; Alfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain and the Audrey Hepburn comedy How to Steal a Million both turn 55; the musical High Society turns 65; Disney’s The Reluctant Dragon turns 80; and the Barbara Stanwyck crime drama Night Nurse turns 90. More recent titles with anniversaries include the Russo Brothers’ You, Me and Dupree, which turns 15, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 and Disney’s animated Winnie the Pooh both turn 10.
Can you recommend some more great movie deals on Vudu?
Vudu’s latest Actor Spotlight celebrates the work of Keanu Reeves, Chloe Grace Moretz and Oscar-winners Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. For Reeves, I recommend a double feature of My Own Private Idaho and I Love You to Death as both also star River Phoenix. For Moretz, go with a vampire duo of Let Me In and Dark Shadows. For Freeman, grab the three-movie collection of Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls and The Sum of All Fears. And for Jolie, I recommend the underrated action movies Mr. & Mrs. Smith (there’s also an unrated version) and Salt (and there’s also an unrated version of that as well).
What are the 10 most popular new movies on FandangoNOW?
1. Cruella
2. Those Who Wish Me Dead
3. Spirit Untamed
4. Wrath of Man
5. Nobody
6. Godzilla vs. Kong
7. The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2
8. Till Death
9. Spiral: From the Book of Saw
10. Demon Slayer
What are the 10 most popular movies on Vudu?
1. Wrath of Man
2. Nobody
3. Cruella
4. Godzilla vs. Kong
5. Till Death
6. Those Who Wish Me Dead
7. Werewolves Within
8. Demon Slayer
9. Spirit Untamed
10. The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2
