Watchlist
Notable DVD releases for June 4, 2013
By Max Braden
June 7, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com

What an eerie family resemblance.
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 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
June 4th (click the movie title to see the trailer)

Deep in the Heart
Who: Jon Gries, Elaine Hendrix, Val Kilmer, DB Sweeney
What: A spiritual-based drama about an alcoholic father (Gries) who tries to make things right by his young adult son and daughter. In taking on a steady job selling windows he becomes an inspiration to others. He receives guidance from a spiritual figure called "The Bearded Man" (Kilmer).
When: June 7th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Jon Gries and Val Kilmer back together again! If only it were Real Genius 2. Back in the day, director Christopher Cain directed Young Guns, The Next Karate Kid, and Pure Country.

Escape From Planet Earth
Who: (voices:) Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Ricky Gervais, Jessica Alba, Sofia Vergara, Sarah Jessica Parker, William Shatner, Steve Zahn, Chris Parnell, George Lopez, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch
What: A 3D animated sci-fi adventure, about an alien astronaut (Fraser) named Scorch Supernova who gets an SOS signal to go to Earth. Scorch is captured by humans and taken to Area 51 to join other captured "aliens", and it's up to Scorch's brother to save them.
When: June 4th - DVD and online on demand
Why: This family-friendly animated comedy comes from The Weinstein Company, and looks fairly similar to DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens from a few years ago. The movie didn't open well either financially or critically. Still, it would be easy viewing for a family with kids.

It's a Disaster
Who: Julia Stiles, David Cross, America Ferrera, Erinn Hayes
What: An end-of-the-world comedy about a group of friends who meet for a regular brunch but suddenly have to deal with a poison gas attack on the city. The comedy is in watching each character react in panic, revealing their own personal tales of doom.
When: June 4th - DVD and online on demand
Why: I'm a long time Stiles fan, but dark comedy isn't her usual bit, so this will be interesting. Fans of Arrested Development probably have a sense of the kind of comedy David Cross will bring to the movie. Think of this not as a horror movie but a chance to eavesdrop into the scandalous private conversations of others, sort of a gun-to-your-head game of truth or dare.

The Last Ride
Who: Henry Thomas, Jesse James, Fred Dalton Thompson, Kaley Cuoco, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ray McKinnon
What: A country music road trip biopic, about Hank Williams (born 1923, died 1953) set in 1952. Henry Thomas plays Hank Williams, whose manager hires a kid (James) to drive Williams to a New Years Eve gigs without getting drunk or waylayed. Hank Williams being Hank Williams, getting their won't be easy.
When: June 4th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Thomas was of course once famous for being the kid in E.T. He kept acting but hasn't really been a leading actor. James is still young and working to become established. I only vaguely know about Hank Williams, country not being my typical genre, but I'd be interested to see him depicted. I'm always interested in seeing Law & Order/The Hunt For Red October/former politician Fred Dalton Thompson back on screen, as well as Sneakers/Groundhog Day's Stephen Tobolowsky. Kaley Cuoco's star has shot up since starring on The Big Bang Theory, so fans of hers might want to see her in something else like this.

Mama
Who: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nelisse, Daniel Kash
What: A paranormal suspense thriller playing on both the genre of creepy kids and an evil spirit. Chastain and Coster-Waldau play a couple who are informed that his nieces have been found living alone in the woods for five years, originally kidnapped and presumed dead. The feral kids are taken in to be cared for, but it's soon apparent that something else was caring for them and still feels very possessive.
When: June 4th - DVD and online on demand
Why: The big name of course is Jessica Chastain, who was receiving awards praise for Zero Dark Thirty at the time this movie was in theaters. The movie is based on an Argentinian short film and produced by Mexican horror filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Critics generally liked the movie. I liked Dark Skies from last week for its creepy suspense, and this movie looks like it will work in the same vein.

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
Who: Toby Regbo, Marcia Gay Harden, Peter Gallagher, Lucy Liu, Stephen Lang, Deborah Ann Woll, Ellen Burstyn, Aubrey Plaza
What: A personal drama based on the young adult novel by Peter Cameron. Regbo plays James Sveck, who has graduated high school and is struggling to fit in as he enters college. Gallagher and Harden play his divorced parents, Burstyn plays his grandmother.
When: June 4th - DVD, online on demand, and streaming
Why: This movie first showed up in the festival circuit two years ago, and apparently Regbo is pretty good in his first leading role. You've got some Academy award pedigree in the the cast, but I'd be mostly interested in seeing Lang and Plaza, albeit in small roles.

Warm Bodies
Who: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Dave Franco, Analeigh Tipton, Rob Corddry, John Malcovich
What: A romantic comedy twist on the zombie horror genre: Hoult plays a zombie named R who actually has a soul and feelings, and when he saves Julie (Palmer), a living, breathing girl, they form an unusual post-apocalyptic bond. Julie starts to think that zombies can be saved, which puts her at odds with other humans who are all death-to-zombies. Corddry plays R's best zombie friend.
When: June 4th - DVD and online on demand
Why: The movie is based on Isaac Marion's novel, which I haven't read, but I thought the Romeo and Juliet twist on the genre was brilliant when I saw the trailer. Director Jonathan Levine previously directed Joseph Gordon-Levitt's cancer comedy 50/50, so he's experienced in dark humor.

Release Note: A Good Day to Die Hard is available in some formats; I'll include it in my July 2nd tally (its Netflix release date).

What I'm watching this week:Zombie movies seem like a dime a dozen (and I'm a devoted watcher of The Walking Dead), but they offer a fairly large palette to work with storywise, and every once in a while you can get something great. Shaun of the Dead was great; Zombieland was a ton of fun. I'm hoping for something similar from the zombie romance Warm Bodies. I'd only call that light horror, though. For my next pick of the week, I'll prepare myself for some serious scares in Mama. I don't expect Jessica Chastain's performance to be particularly notable, or the plot to be much different than others in this genre, but if it makes me look over my shoulder more than once (as Dark Skies did last week), I'll be a satisfied - if sleepless - viewer. Next I might check out It's a Disaster mostly to watch Julia Stiles and see how others might react to the end of the world - as an exercise in preparedness. If I were babysitting my niece, I'd have no problem watching Escape From Planet Earth but just for myself it doesn't interest me that much when I've already seen Monsters vs. Aliens and wasn't very impressed. Similarly, I've seen road movies and country music star biopics, and The Last Ride doesn't look like it offers much new there. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You could very well be well acted, but I'd be just looking for some of the brief performances and then dreading the somber introspection for the rest of the movie. Finally, up until now I've been a diehard Val Kilmer fan. And I mean diehard - I've rented all of his movies, including the one where he just played a corpse. But given how preachy Deep in the Heart looks, I may have to finally draw the line.

Coming next week:
Absolute Deception, Cloud Atlas, Frankie Go Boom, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Knife Fight, Oz the Great and Powerful, Snitch, Wrong