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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.

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