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?
Wrath of Man, the first movie to reunite actor Jason Statham and writer/director Guy Ritchie since 2005’s Revolver, is now available as a premium rental from FandangoNOW and Vudu following its recent theatrical release. Statham plays an armored truck driver whose mysterious past comes to light after he foils a robbery attempt. The twisty and action-packed heist thriller co-stars Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor), Jeffrey Donovan (Sicario), Holt McCallany (Fight Club) and Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Eleven).
Also available as a premium rental on FandangoNOW and Vudu, the new horror movie The Unholy is about a hearing-impaired girl who is suddenly cured, supposedly by the Virgin Mary. And speaking of stories of miraculous healers, David Oyelowo’s acclaimed feature directorial debut, The Water Man, is newly available to rent or buy from FandangoNOW and Vudu. Oyelowo (Selma) also co-stars as the father of a boy who sets out to find the titular magical being in order to help his sick mother.
What movies are great to pair with that release?
When you rent Wrath of Man, you’re going to want to watch more collaborations between Statham and Ritchie. Both of them broke out together with the 1998 action comedy Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and then re-teamed soon after for Snatch. The actor and filmmaker worked together again for Revolver. Just go ahead and grab all four of them and make a night of it. Then you could pair The Unholy and The Water Man together given the similar healing element, but other options include last year’s historical drama Fatima and the fantasy drama A Monster Calls.
Are there any other big movies coming out this week?
Coming to FandangoNOW and Vudu this Friday, May 28, Endangered Species follows a family attempting to survive their safari trip to Kenya after a rhinoceros overturns their vehicle and leaves them hurt and stranded. Philip Winchester (Flyboys) and Rebecca Romijn (the original Mystique in the X-Men movies) are the parents who, along with their two adult children (Michael Johnston and Isabel Bassett), must avoid leopards, hyenas and more wild animals. Jerry O’Connell (Kangaroo Jack, Piranha 3D) co-stars.
What are some great summer blockbusters to buy this month?
With the summer movie season beginning this weekend, Vudu is spotlighting blockbusters of the past in their Summer of Savings sale. Do I have some double feature recommendations from the summertime releases among the lot, which are all 25% off? You bet: Jaws and World War Z for the blockbuster horror; Independence Day and Edge of Tomorrow for the alien invasion action; Braveheart and Gladiator for sword and sandals action; and you need Armageddon and Bad Boys II for the Bayhem.
I also recommend Star Trek Beyond and The Mummy because Sofia Boutella rules in both; Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Transformers: The Last Knight for enjoyably ridiculous historical-fantasy entertainment; San Andreas and Skyscraper for Dwayne Johnson disaster spectacles; Inside Out and Minions for animated movies about the creatures doing all the work for a master-mind; and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Legally Blonde for summer comedy (with an Election connection!).
Are we celebrating any big movie anniversaries this week?
This week marks the 30th anniversary of the theatrical releases of Ron Howard’s firefighter action drama Backdraft, Ridley Scott’s feminist road movie Thelma & Louise, the imaginary friend comedy Drop Dead Fred and the Bruce Willis cult classic Hudson Hawk. Also, the John Waters melodrama satire Polyester turns 40, while Nicolas Roeg’s David Bowie-led sci-fi flick The Man Who Fell to Earth and Alan Parker’s musical gangster comedy Bugsy Malone, which features an all-kid cast, both turn 45.
Going back further, Escape from the Planet of the Apes and the John Wayne-led western Big Jake both turn 50 years old this week, while Norman Jewison’s Cold War comedy The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming turns 55. Also, the James Stewart-led western Two Rode Together and the Jerry Lewis-led comedy The Ladies Man turn 60, the Burt Lancaster-led drama Trapeze turns 65, the World War II action flick The Frogmen turns 70 and the Sherlock Holmes mystery Dressed to Kill turns 75.
More recent movies with notable anniversaries include the Leslie Nielsen-led spoof Spy Hard, which turns 25, Michael Bay’s World War II blockbuster Pearl Harbor, which turns 20, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, Kevin Smith’s Clerks II, Richard Linklater’s trippy animated feature A Scanner Darkly, the superhero sequel X-Men: The Last Stand and Davis Guggenheim’s Oscar-winning climate change documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which all turn 15. Also, The Hangover Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life all turn 10 years old.
Can you recommend some more great movie deals on Vudu?
With Memorial Day coming up this weekend, Vudu has a sale on movies to watch while remembering those lost. They include the aforementioned anniversary title Pearl Harbor, which could be paired with Tora! Tora! Tora!. Other recommend double features include the Vietnam War duo of Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, the D-Day-depicting World War II films The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. And if you want to honor the fallen with some laughs, pair up M*A*S*H and Catch-22. Also, pick up Glory along with the essential Ken Burns docuseries The Civil War.
Disney’s live-action prequel Cruella hits theaters this weekend (tickets are on sale here), but as you wait to see that, Vudu has a sale on the studio’s other Classics Come to Life. They include Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Aladdin, Cinderella and Maleficent and its sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Also related to Cruella is Vudu’s Iconic Villains sale. For the specific occasion, I recommend picking up the ‘90s live-action version of 101 Dalmatians along with The Devil Wears Prada, Dredd and the Snow White reimagining Mirror Mirror.
What are the 10 most popular new movies on FandangoNOW?
1. Godzilla vs. Kong
2. The Marksman
3. Raya and the Last Dragon
4. Nobody
5. Tom & Jerry
6. Four Good Days
7. The Little Things
8. Chaos Walking
9. Riders of Justice
10. Together Together
What are the 10 most popular movies on Vudu?
1. Godzilla vs. Kong
2. Raya and the Last Dragon
3. Tom & Jerry
4. The Marksman
5. Chaos Walking
6. Nobody
7. The Little Things
8. Four Good Days
9. The Croods: A New Age
10. Justice Society: World War II
