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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 four 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 February 26th:

Border Run
Who: Sharon Stone, Billy Zane
What: Billed as based on true events, this thriller stars Stone as an American reporter set out to expose illegal immigration, and finds herself in danger when her brother goes missing.
When: February 26th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: It's Sharon Stone and Billy Zane! On paper, she's an Oscar nominee, but on camera, sometimes we watch just to gawk.

Company of Heroes
Who: Tom Sizemore, Vinnie Jones, Neal McDonough, Jurgen Prochnow, Chad Michael Collins
What: Set during WWII, a company of American soldiers caught behind German lines goes on a daring mission to grab a German scientist involved in a secret weapons program.
When: February 26th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I can't tell if this is based on the video game of the same name. Sony Pictures is describing it as "Based on true events." From the trailer, the production quality looks pretty good, so if you're into WWII movies, this looks promising.

Girls Against Boys
Who: Danielle Panabaker, Nicole LaLiberte
What: Panabaker plays a girl who is sexually violated by a club guy, and is convinced by her coworker (LaLiberte) to get vengeance on abusive men by seducing and killing them. Similar to Ellen Page's thriller Hard Candy.
When: February 19th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: There's girl power for female audiences and skin and action for the guys.

Holy Motors
Who: Denis Lavant, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue, Edith Scob
What: It's hard to describe this French surreal fantasy from director Leos Carax (Pola X), starring Lavant in parallel lives...
When: February 26th
Why: The movie's gotten good response from film critics. If you've seen weird and wonderful films from the Cannes film festival before, you might enjoy this.

The Awakening
Who: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton
What: Set in London after WWI, Hall plays an author who's made a career out of debunking supernatural hoaxes. Dominic plays a boarding school teacher who invites her to investigate a case of a ghostly boy.
When: February 26th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I like Hall and prefer supernatural horror movies that are more spooky than gory. If you saw and liked The Orphanage, you might like this.

The Liability
Who: Jack O'Connell, Tim Roth, Peter Mullan
What: O'Connell plays an ordinary young guy who starts working as a driver for a hit man, played by Roth. Riding along on jobs is cool until O'Connell protects a witness and becomes a target himself. Mullan plays his father. This movie comes from the executive producers of Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, so it has a similar sense of morbid humor.
When: February 26th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I like these darkly funny British crime movies, movies about hit men, and both Roth and Mullan.

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