The digital movie rental deal of the day over at Amazon today is Contagion, starring Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, for only $.99.

This deal is valid through today, Thursday, April 19, 2012, until 11:59pm PST. Once you activate the rental through Amazon’s Instant Video on demand service, you’ll have access to the movie for 48 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $14.99.

Also, if you’d like to own a physical copy of Contagion, the Blu-ray Edition is available for $19.49 while the DVD is $18.99. Both editions are part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program “” you get the film as a FREE digital rental you can watch immediately when your purchase the physical copy.

Contagion
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Elliott Gould, Jennifer Ehle, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Chin Han, Griffin Kane, Sanjay Gupta
Release Date: September 9, 2011

Contagion is a movie that showed much promise with its previews and its advertised premise, but in reality it turns into 100 minutes of wasted production opportunities used instead to push stereotypical propaganda at the viewer. With its notable ensemble cast, and a plot device that is not new but has been proven to be popular over the years, the Steven Soderbergh film had huge potential that will do nothing but disappoint the thriller/horror fans expecting an epidemic epic.

I have been quite a big fan of medical thrillers over the years, particularly those that focus on diseases and outbreaks. From stories of crazy Ebola-like viruses to weaponized disease, I’ve been fascinated with the concept both in its reality, and in its use as a plot device in thrillers. I have no rationalization for this attraction: perhaps it was the wonderful conclusion H.G. Wells brought us to in War of the Worlds, or perhaps it is the disease-based plot devices of some of my favorite zombie flicks. Either way, when word came out Soderbergh was taking up the subject; I was thrilled at the prospect.

After quietly filing out of the theater after screening Contagion, one question popped into my head: What marketing genius over at Warner Bros. decided to open a movie in which millions of [fictional] people die on THIS weekend of all the other weekends one could have picked? Though one may never get an answer, if you do choose to see Contagion, it’s the scariest non-horror movie you’ll see all year, and is worth the price of admission just to see so many recognizable actors bite it.

Not even having an Academy Award can prevent you from a gruesome death as the cast boasts four Oscar Winners (Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow), not including Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight, The Informant), along with 3 other nominees (Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, and Winter’s Bone‘s John Hawkes) all serving the ensemble but never overshadowing the main story. If it weren’t for the mega-wattage stars highlighting which characters you should be paying attention to, the movie almost has a documentary feel, with other than the most obvious concessions that yes, you really are just watching a movie.

As Steven Soderbergh‘s epic global pandemic drama Contagion prepares for its theatrical premiere this Friday, Warner Bros. has established a viral web site for a faux organization called Family Values @ Work to help promote the film. You can read news articles and watch videos about topics related to the film.

When you click on the link scroll to the bottom right and click the 1000 Voices link to view the videos.