Watchlist
Notable DVD releases for the weeks of April 16 and 23
By Max Braden
April 22, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Drapes and Ugly Jacket: 19th Century Detectives.
Every week, I search through movie release schedules to find movie rentals that I would have otherwise missed for lack of TV advertising. I'll watch the big name releases along with everyone else, but I know from experience that sometimes the box office failures, critically panned, straight-to-DVD, and independently financed movies that nobody's heard of can offer some real hidden gems. As they say, one man's trash is another man's treasure. This column is dedicated to bringing awareness to those potential treasures. Listed alphabetically, each movie includes a list of notable cast members, a basic plot summary, its DVD and/or cloud release date (based on Netflix - other services may have the movie earlier), and the basic reason why the movie caught my attention. With any luck, one or more of these will catch your attention, too. My four picks of the week are listed at the end of the column.

Here's my watchlist of DVD and cloud releases for the weeks of
April 16th and 23rd (click the movie title to see the trailer)

Django Unchained
Who: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, James Remar, Don Johnson, Tom Wopat, Bruce Dern, Jonah Hill, Zoe Bell, Robert Carradine, Quentin Tarantino
What: Tarantino's highly violent revenge western tells the tale of a freed slave who is determined to take his wife out of bondage from a Mississippi plantation owner, with the help of a German bounty hunter.
When: April 16th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Popular with Tarantino fans, the movie also earned Waltz an Oscar for Acting, Tarantino an Oscar for writing, and was a Best Picture nominee. I'm all for gunslinging and watching Foxx deliver some vengeance. I was also interested in being exposed to some of the brutality of slavery to put things in perspective. The movie is both fun and brutal, though slow and long, and in some ways O Brother Where Art Thou does it better.

Empire of Silver
Who: Aaron Kwok, Lei Hao, Jennifer Tilly
What: A 2009 Mandarin language drama set at the turn of the last century, about a young man who must decide if he will take responsibility as head of his family's banking empire in China.
When: April 16th - DVD, Ultraviolet, and Netflix streaming
Why: This came up in my search primarily because of Meg Tilly, and is probably a movie of interest for fans of Chinese cinema. The movie won the Jury Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2009, and Kwok has a bunch of acting nominations from the Hong Kong Film Awards.

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia
Who: Abigail Spencer, Morgana Shaw, Chad Michael Murray, Katee Sackhoff, Cicely Tyson
What: A not-quite sequel, this horror movie about a family in Georgia who can see dead people.
When: April 16th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I include this movie for its sequelness, but given its poor reception, I wouldn't bother with it unless you're a completionist for the genre or actors. Spencer may be familiar from All My Children, Angela's Eyes, and Hawthorne TV series, Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica and Longmire, Murray from One Tree Hill, and Tyson from Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Who: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood
What: Set some decades before The Lord of the Rings, Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins is drawn into an adventure to help the Dwarves reclaim their mountain of gold from the dragon Smaug. But they'll have to get through some trolls, orcs, goblins, and other nasties before they get there. Again directed by Peter Jackson, with two sequels on the way.
When: April 16th (on Netflix. Previously available on DVD and Ultraviolet)
Why: Obviously if you're a big fan of the Tolkein, or Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, or comicons you *have* to see this. Certainly the cinematography is lush and it's fun to see Ian McKellan act. But I've seen it and felt it starts off as a Broadway musical and then just turns into a rehash of the previous movies.

Save the Date
Who: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Mark Webber, Timothy Busfield, Martin Starr
What: Caplan plays an independent opposite of her sister, played by Brie, who is headed to the altar in this comedy drama.
When: April 16th
Why: I'm a big fan of Lizzy Caplan (and enjoyed her performance in the other recent wedding-related comedy, Bachelorette) and of course Brie, from both Community and Mad Men.

Les Miserables
Who: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, director Tom Hooper.
What: Based on Victor Hugo's tale of triumph over poverty in early 1800s Paris, this is an all-musical version (almost no spoken dialogue). Jackman plays Jean Valjean, the prisoner who is on the run from Javert the policeman (played by Crowe). Hathaway plays the laborer Fantine.
When: April 19th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Almost every reason to see this movie comes down to Anne Hathaway. She handily won an Oscar and other awards for her performance, and her anguished take on "I Dreamed a Dream" must be one of the highlight moments of the year. Hooper won an Oscar for directing The King's Speech. On the other hand, his choice to make the actors sing every bit of communication, with almost no unsung dialogue, might put off some audiences.

This Is 40
Who: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Megan Fox, Michael Ian Black, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Tatum O'Neal, Melissa McCarthy, director Judd Apatow
What: A sort of sequel to Knocked Up, about a couple struggling to find happiness as busy parents.
When: April 19th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I thought Knocked Up was good, and I've always liked Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. But now that I just turned 40 myself, do I want to look in the mirror?

Any Day Now
Who: Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, Isaac Leyva
What: Set in the 1970s, Cumming and Dillahunt play a gay couple who are left with an abandoned Down Syndrome teenager and go on to fight for the right to raise him as part of their family.
When: April 23rd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I'm particularly a fan of Dillahunt, who has been both evil (on Life) and funny (on Raising Hope). Cumming is currently seen on The Good Wife.

The Impossible
Who: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast
What: Based on a true story of survival from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a tourist family is separated and struggles to find each other amidst the devastated landscape.
When: April 23rd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I saw this in theaters and thought it was so gripping it should have been a Best Picture nominee at the Oscars. It did earn Naomi Watts a nomination for her performance. The initial impact is a sight to see. Be ready for some rough injuries and sniffles and tears, but it's well worth it.

K-11
Who: Goran Visnjic, Kate del Castillo, D.B. Sweeney, Jason Mewes, Portia Doubleday
What: Visnjic plays a once-powerful record producer who wakes up in a jail ruled by a transsexual diva, played by Castillo, in this drama.
When: April 23rd
Why: The subject matter isn't exactly my genre, but I find Visnjic interesting. He currently appears on the TV series Red Widow.

The Mark
Who: Eric Roberts, Craig Sheffer, Gary Daniels
What: A techno thriller about a man implanted with a biometric chip sought after by both good and bad guys for its ability to control people.
When: April 23rd - DVD, Ultraviolet, and Netflix streaming
Why: This is the type of movie that meets my low-budget action thriller tastes. Eric Roberts is always good for this.

Parental Guidance
Who: Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Bailee Madison, Joshua Rush, Tony Hawk
What: Crystal and Midler play grandparents who have to watch over the kids in this family-friendly comedy.
When: April 23rd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Although it's been two decades or more since they were well-known movie actors, Crystal and Midler probably still have their fans around. I'd watch this for Marisa Tomei. Director Andy Fickman previously directed The Rock in Race to Witch Mountain and The Game Plan.

Pawn
Who: Michael Chiklis, Nikki Reed, Forest Whitaker, Common, Ray Liotta, Martin Csokas, Stephen Lang, Jonathan Bennett, Sean Faris
What: A couple at an all-night diner is caught in the crossfire between the mob and police as a robbery turns into a hostage crisis.
When: April 23rd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Liotta, Chiklis, Csokas, Lang, Common - this is a bevy of tough guys promising action and thrills.

To the Arctic
Who: Meryl Streep (voice over narration)
What: A nature documentary about a polar bear and her two cubs and their life in the changing Arctic.
When: April 23rd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Nature documentaries are always good options for family viewing (as long has you don't mind seeing prey become dinner.)

What I'm watching this week:
Based on a goal of watching 200 movies per year, I try to watch - or limit myself to - four movies per week. In this edition of the Watchlist I'm covering two weeks of release. To start, I'll suggest The Impossible. I've already seen it but it was missed by most moviegoers, lost among the glut of holiday Oscar contenders. There are some agonizing images of wounds, both physical and emotional, but this is a drama everyone should see. Another one I've seen, and which many other people have as well, is Django Unchained. It's not Tarantino's best work, and some may find the violence and depictions of slave abuse off-putting. There are fun moments, and I actually felt it was important to face a reminder of the time with open eyes. Jumping to direct-to-video fare, the one I want to see most is Pawn, starring a bevy of tough guys in an action thriller. It sounds like the perfect Friday night viewing to me. I'm pretty selective about musicals, so though I'm hesitant about Les Mis, I have to see it. The clips of Hathaway's key moment look like she found the perfect pain for what otherwise sounds like an uplifting song. I do want to see This is 40 too because of the people involved, but at 40 I'm a little worried this will be something of a downer. I'm a little more interested in Save the Date. I'll watch anything with Lizzy Caplan, and many would say that about Alison Brie. The two together make the movie sound very tempting, both for comedy and dramatic possibilities. Families looking for something to watch together will be able to pick up Parental Guidance. Lastly, I haven't forgotten about The Hobbit, and I've already rented it. The thing is, it's just an inferior rehash of Lord of the Rings, and ultimately you can probably skip it because it's just a warmup to the next two sequels. But that's blasphemy for some moviegoers, and McKellan and the visuals make it at least interesting.
Note: you may find A Haunted House and Promised Land available - I'll include these in a future column according to their Netflix release dates.

Coming next week:
The Details, The Guilt Trip, Not Fade Away, Silver Linings Playbook