Watchlist
Notable DVD releases for June 12, 2013
By Max Braden
June 13, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Have you ever heard the song Short People?
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 week of
June 11th (click the movie title to see the trailer)

Absolute Deception
Who: Cuba Gooding Jr., Emmanuelle Vaugier, Evert McQueen
What: A crime thriller starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as an FBI agent whose informant is killed. When he goes to inform the man's widow, she tells him that he faked his death years earlier. Together they dig into the details and find a lethal conspiracy.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Yet another Cuba Gooding action thriller. I'm not familiar with Vaughier, but she looks like she could hold her own alongside Gooding. This would be easy mindless watching while I multitask other chores.

Cloud Atlas
Who: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Xun Zhou, David Guasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant
What: Based on the 2004 novel by David Mitchell, this is an epic sci-fi adventure that covers multiple character stories over multiple timelines. They all tie in to the theme that we're all connected in a way that our lives impact each other, including in the past and future. Each of the half dozen main actors (mostly starring Hanks and Berry) play four or five different characters in time periods from the 19th century to the distant future.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: The novel was apparently considered unfilmable for its epic, multi-storyline structure. I have another reason to be wary - I have a serious distaste for these preachy, existential-themed movies. I happen to love doing genealogy and seeing the connections between relatives over long periods of time, but when it comes to being poetic about the concept, movies like this just hit you over the head with it. The overly existential Sean Penn movie It's All About Love comes to mind. On the other hand, I do like history, and the sci-fi aspect of Cloud Atlas makes me think of Southland Tales, which I liked for its oddness. I like Tom Hanks, but I think the reason to see this movie is all about the plot and visuals.


Frankie Go Boom
Who: Charlie Hunnam, Nora Dunn, Sam Anderson, Chris O'Dowd, Chris Noth, Lizzy Caplan, Whitney Cummings
What: A comedy starring Hunnam and O'Dowd as brothers who don't get along. O'Dowd plays the older brother who tortured Hunnam when they were kids, and now that O'Dowd is clean and sober... he's still a jackass. Hunnam hooks up with a girl (Caplan), O'Dowd records a video of it, and Hunnam scrambles to recover the tape while O'Dowd just keeps making things worse.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: A little less winking into the camera than Will Ferrell's Step Brothers, this looks like a straight up crazy life comedy. I thought O'Dowd was pretty funny in Bridesmaids. Mostly, though, I want to see this because I want to see everything that involves Lizzy Caplan.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Who: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Pihla Viitala, Peter Storemare, Zoe Bell
What: An R-rated action fantasy that looks like a cross between Van Helsing and The Brothers Grimm. Renner and Arterton play the brother and sister fairy tale characters of the title, but they're not children anymore. The two are out to save children and destroy witches (using guns and crossbows), and Janssen plays their number one target.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Let's be honest, this just looks trashy... and yet, it's the kind of guilty pleasure trashy that makes you want to see it. Good looking actors kicking ass is always going to be a draw. Both Renner and Arterton look good in the roles even if the roles are beneath their talents. It was the same with Van Helsing. I expect this movie to be just a little better, but not by much. Mindless entertainment.

Knife Fight
Who: Rob Lowe, Jamie Chung, Jennifer Morrison, Julie Bowen, Carrie-Anne Moss, Saffron Burrows, Eric McCormack, Richard Schiff, David Harbour
What: A political drama (rated R), starring Rob Lowe as a political strategist who wants to be clean and upstanding but finds that very difficult when he's serving morally corrupt clients. McCormick, Harbour, and Moss play political candidates, Bowen plays a reporter, and Chung and Schiff play Lowe's assistants.
When: June 11th - DVD
Why: Here you have Rob Lowe back in the political environment, and with his West Wing costar Richard Schiff to boot. If you're a political junkie, that would be a draw. If you find the same old good-man-in-dirty-politics theme boring, maybe it's not for you.

Nine Miles Down
Who: Adrian Paul, Kate Nauta
What: An action thriller, starring Adrian Paul as a security expert who goes to find out why a remote desert oil drilling station has gone silent. When he arrives, he meets a mysterious woman and finds signs that there's something paranormal going on.
When: June 12th - DVD
Why: Adrian Paul will be known to fans of Highlander, and that would indicate what kind of movie this is: low budget action horror suitable for late night cable viewing. They seemed to have wanted to make this a psychological thriller but the trailer includes plenty of blood. Nauta looks great. This would be a late round draft pick, but I could watch it.

Oz, The Great and Powerful
Who: James Franco, Mulia Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Wiliams, Zach Braff, Tony Cox, Bruce Campbell, director Sam Raimi
What: A fantasy adventure from Disney that takes place in the land of Oz prior to Dorothy's arrival (in The Wizard of Oz). Franco plays a circus magician named Oscar Diggs who is swept away to Oz and becomes entangled in the land's politics. He must deal with witches Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz), and Glinda (Williams) while trying to figure out whose side he's on.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: I probably should have caught this in the theater, since the trailer makes it look like it would be a great visual experience on the big screen. I love the idea of a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, and I'm looking forward to how the actresses play the witches.

Snitch
Who: Dwayne Johnson, Rafi Gavron, Barry Pepper, Jon Bernthal, Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt, Harold Perrineau
What: A crime thriller starring Dwayne Johnson as John Matthews, the father of a kid who's been set up in a drug deal and is faced with serious prison time. Johnson makes a deal with the DEA to go undercover in the drug world in order to reduce his son's sentence. Of course, the dangerous mission now puts Matthew's life in danger (in a PG-13 way) if he gets caught snitching. Pepper plays a Fed, Sarandon plays a U.S. Attorney, and Bratt plays a drug cartel kingpin.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: I always find it strange how popular Johnson can be, likely a significant reason for the boost in Fast & Furious movie box office, and yet he has these smaller films that don't do as well. Snitch reminds me of Faster, and also Vin Diesel's revenge movie A Man Apart. I'm looking forward to the action and the drama in this one.

Wrong
Who: Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, Steve Little, William Fichtner
What: An off-beat surrealistic comedy from French director Quentin Dupieux (in English language) starring Jack Plotnick as a depressed suburban man who is losing his mind. He's also lost his dog, and while on a journey to find the dog, things get strange.
When: June 11th - DVD and online on demand
Why: I'm not familiar with Plotnick, nor am I sure from the trailer that there's any dog, so don't approach this as a man's best friend movie. It looks weird. I can do weird. I also like William Fichtner, who is the main draw for me.



Release Note: the movies Betty and Coretta, Horrid Henry: The Movie, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Movie 43, and Ring of Fire may be available in some formats now but I'm waiting for their Netflix release dates to include them in the Watchlist.

What I'm watching this week: I missed Oz, The Great and Powerful in theaters, so that's easily the first movie I want to see this week. The effects look great, the spectacle looks great, and I want to see Mila Kunis be a witch. The rest of this week's movies look less appealing to me but I'm open to watching them as a way to relax. I'll be watching Snitch and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters mostly for the action. Absolute Deception and Nine Miles Down would qualify for the same reason if I had nothing else to watch, but since I do, these two won't make the cut. Cloud Atlas is something I feel like I need to see more than I want to see. Some of the effects look neat, and I'll enjoy some of the historical setting, but I'm dreading the touchy-feely theme (and seeing Tom Hanks with terrible hair styles). Frankie Go Boom is a comedy that's probably entertaining, but I wouldn't necessarily regret missing, were it not for the presence of Lizzy Caplan. I'll make an effort to see it for her. Knife Fight and Wrong are the more intellectual choices this week. Like Frankie Go Boom, I wouldn't be rushing to see these movies, but the presence of Lowe and Schiff, and the potential for something weirdly funny, make them considerations.

Coming next week:
21 and Over, Beautiful Creatures, The Brass Teapot, Come Out and Play, The Last Exorcism II, Movie 43, Open Road, Quartet, Side Effects, Stoker