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?
Two very different movies about thieves are newly available to buy this week following their theatrical release. Liam Neeson stars in the action thriller Honest Thief, about a master criminal in love who decides to go straight but runs into trouble with corrupt law enforcement who want to rob him. Then there’s Miranda July’s quirky crime comedy Kajillionaire about a family of con artists (Evan Rachel Wood, Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) and the stranger (Gina Rodriguez) they rope in for their latest heist.
What movies are great to pair with those new releases?
You could make a double feature out of Honest Thief and any of Neeson’s action movies, the original Taken being the obvious choice, but I recommend the 1976 neo-noir Straight Time, starring Dustin Hoffman as a thief in love and trying to go legit and not really getting the chance. For Kajillionaire, go with Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men, which involves con artists, family and the risk of recruiting someone you don’t know too well into your scams.
Are there any classic movies that have been released anew with director’s cuts this week?
As a matter of fact, there are two! Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is an improved reworking of 1990’s The Godfather Part III, starring Al Pacino in the final chapter of the Godfather saga. Director Francis Ford Coppola has changed the beginning and ending and reworked a number of other scenes for a slightly shorter version that better represents his and Puzo’s original vision for the sequel as epilogue.
The other reworked film is Jamie Babbit’s satirical 1999 LGBT rom-com But I’m a Cheerleader, which Lionsgate re-released with a new Director’s Cut. Natasha Lyonne stars as a teen suspected of being a lesbian. Despite her own belief that she’s straight, she’s sent away to a camp for “rehabilitating” gay kids and discovers the truth about herself. The cult classic also features early appearances from Michelle Williams, Melanie Lynskey, RuPaul Charles and Happiest Season director Clea DuVall.
Are there any other big movies coming out this week?
Songbird, a Michael Bay-produced thriller inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and quickly shot this year, arrives exclusively on digital this Friday, December 11. The movie is set a few years into the future and imagines an extreme situation of military-enforced quarantine due to an even deadlier version of the coronavirus. KJ Apa (Riverdale) leads a cast that includes Sofia Carson (Disney’s Descendants), Craig Robinson (The Office) and Demi Moore.
I also recommend the new metaphysical drama Wander Darkly, written and directed by Tara Miele and starring Sienna Miller as a new mother who believes she has died in a car crash and is now a ghost. Diego Luna co-stars as her partner, who assists her in a trip through their life together, reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That one also comes out this Friday.
What are some Hanukkah movies to rent this week?
Hanukkah begins this weekend, so it’s time to spotlight the few holiday movies set during the occasion. The most famous about the Jewish festival is, of course, Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights. Inspired by Adam Sandler’s “The Chanukah Song,” the animated musical comedy stars the voice of Sandler as a petty small-town criminal who is given one last chance to reform his ways during the holiday season.
There’s also the more kid-friendly 1986 animated feature An American Tail, which opens with the Mousekewitz family celebrating Hanukkah when their home is destroyed. For younger children, try the 1991 puppet short Chanuka at Bubbe’s. And for older viewers, two recent releases include the slasher horror movie simply titled Hanukkah and the Hallmark romantic drama Double Holiday, which is both a Hanukkah movie and a Christmas movie.
Can you recommend any great binge bundles to buy?
With this week’s release of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, the reworked sequel is also available in a bundle for purchase only alongside the first two installments of the Godfather trilogy. All three movies are Best Picture nominees with the original The Godfather and The Godfather Part II both Oscar winners in that top category. Now you can own them all together and decide which one is truly the best.
Are we celebrating any big anniversaries this week?
Terry Gilliam’s time-travel sci-fi thriller 12 Monkeys turns 25 this week, while Tim Burton’s suburban fantasy Edward Scissorhands turns 30. The Best Picture winner Out of Africa, the Romancing the Stone sequel The Jewel of the Nile, the ensemble mystery comedy Clue and the Broadway musical adaptation A Chorus Line all turn 35 while the buddy comedy Stir Crazy turns 40.
Going back further in time, Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon turns 45, while the James Bond movie Thunderball, the iconic animated holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas and the classic drama A Patch of Blue all turn 55. And the original version of The Ladykillers and the musical Kismet both turn 65.
More recent movies with anniversaries include Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which turns 20, and Brokeback Mountain, which turns 15. Memoirs of a Geisha and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe also both turn 15, while The Fighter, The Tourist and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader all turn 10. And it’s already been five years since the release of The Big Short.
Which must-see movies are coming soon to FandangoNOW?
Greenland, a new disaster movie starring Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin, arrives on digital next Friday, December 18. Butler reunites with Angel Has Fallen director Ric Roman Waugh for the story of a family attempting to survive a global apocalypse when a comet heads toward Earth. But as they start to make the trek to the safety of the titular country, fragments from the celestial threat begin devastating areas around the world.
What are the 10 most popular new movies on FandangoNOW?
1. Freaky
2. Let Him Go
3. Fatman
4. Buddy Games
5. The New Mutants
6. Unhinged
7. Wander
8. Come Play
9. Love and Monsters
10. Elf
