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Get 10 free movies from CinemaNow

CinemaNow and UltraViolet, sittin' in a tree, giving away movies for you and me.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read
After linking your CinemaNow and UltraViolet accounts, you can choose 10 free movies from a catalog of 22.
After linking your CinemaNow and UltraViolet accounts, you can choose 10 free movies from a catalog of 22. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Remember CinemaNow? The company has been slinging digital movies since 1999. But although it got picked up by Blockbuster in 2009, it has never achieved what I'd call critical mass. Indeed, I kinda thought it had gone the way of so many Blockbuster stores.

Nope! In fact, CinemaNow (currently owned by Best Buy) appears to be working on a comeback, as evidenced by this new promotion: 10 free CinemaNow movies when you link to an UltraViolet account.

Don't have a CinemaNow account? No problem, it's free to sign up for one, though you can also use an existing BestBuy.com account. (Note that a credit card is required for either.) Don't have an UltraViolet account? No problem, it's free to sign up for one of those, too.

From there you get to choose from 22 available titles -- mostly B-grade stuff, but some pretty decent picks given the price. My recommendations:

  • "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." Yeah, baby!
  • "Adaptation." Weird but entertaining, especially for writer types like myself.
  • "Lean on Me." Morgan Freeman doing what he does best.
  • "The Land Before Time: The Great Day of the Flyers." A family-friendly pick that's sure to please younger kids.
  • "Legends of the Fall." Hammy and melodramatic, but come on: Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins!

There's also "Big Trouble in Little China," which I know has something of a cult following, but I've never really seen the appeal. Hit the comments and tell me which flicks you're gong to pick.

By the way, you can watch these and other CinemaNow movies on a variety of devices, including your PC, your PlayStation or Xbox game console, or your Android or iOS device.

This promotion runs through the end of 2013, so you've got loads of time to decide which free films you want.

Bonus deal: Speaking of movies, now's your chance to bulk up your 3D Blu-ray library. (You do have a 3D TV and Blu-ray player, right?) For a limited time, Fry's has more than a dozen 3D movies on Blu-ray for $14.99 each. Shipping is included, though you may be on the hook for sales tax. Available titles include "Avatar," "Life of Pi," and "Madagascar 3." Many of them also include regular Blu-ray, DVD, and/or digital copies. (A few are back ordered, FYI.)

Bonus deal No. 2: Game time! For a limited time, Gameloft is giving away mega-popular first-person shooter N.O.V.A. 3 for iOS. It normally sells for $6.99. Sorry, Android users: for the moment, this is an iOS freebie only.

Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.

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