Watchlist
Notable DVD releases for April 2nd and 9th
By Max Braden
April 10, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Is this Hell or a Breakfast Club remake?
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 2nd and 9th (click the movie title to see the trailer)

The Baytown Outlaws
Who: Clayne Crawford, Travis Fimmel, Daniel Cudmore, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Andre Braugher, Billy Bob Thornton, Eva Longoria, Michael Rapaport
What: Set in the deep South, a woman (Longoria) hires three outlaw brothers to snatch a wheelchair-bound boy (Brodie-Sangster) from her crime-lord ex-husband (Thornton). A plenty violent road adventure.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: This caught my attention because Billy Bob Thornton appears on screen less frequently in recent years, but it turns out that the real draw is Crawford, Fimmel, and Cudmore. Despite their willingness to kill just about anyone, the outlaws demonstrate hearts of gold, and it's fun to see how indestructible they are.

Foodfight!
Who: Charlie Shee, Eva Longoria, Wayne Brady, Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, Chris Kattan, Christopher Lloyd
What: An animated adventure where a lot of supermarket brand icons exist as characters in their own community. Sheen voices a dog detective searching for his missing love, voiced by Longoria.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: Rated PG, it's suitable for kids. The animation looks lousy to me, but it's potentially an opportunity to see what they do with characters like Mr. Clean, and hear actor voices you may like.

Hemingway & Gellhorn
Who: Nicole Kidman, Clive Owen, David Stathairn, Parker Posey, Molly Parker, Tony Shalhoub
What: Clive Owen plays Ernest Hemingway, and Kidman plays his wife Martha Gellhorn, in this romantic drama made for HBO.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: The movie earned 18 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, with wins for Music and Sound. I'm a fan of Clive Owen and would like to see how he plays Hemingway.

John Dies at the End
Who: Rob Mayes, Chase Williamson, Paul Giamatti
What: A surreal indie comedy thriller about two guys who have to save the world from the use and very strange effects of a mind-altering drug. From the director of Phantasm and Bubba-Ho-Tep.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I haven't seen Bubba-Ho-Tep but I gather it has fans. This looks weird and funny.

LUV
Who: Common, Michael Rainey Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Meagan Good
What: An indie drama about a man (Common) trying to teach a kid (Rainey) how to grow up, while at the same time trying to get out of the drug trade.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I like Common as well as the other actors, and this looks like a decent drama.

The Marine 3: Homefront
Who: Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin, Ashley Bell, Neal McDonough
What: The second sequel in this action franchise that originally starred John Cena. WWE wrestler The Miz plays a different Marine who must save his sister and stop a terrorist militia.
When: April 2nd - DVD
Why: As can be expected from a direct to video action flick like this, it's popcorn entertainment. Fans of WWE might want to tune in to see The Miz act; I'm a fan of McDonough especially after his bad guy role in last season's Justified.

Red Dawn
Who: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
What: A remake of the 1984 action thriller about an invasion and occupation of the United States - this time the enemy is North Korea. A group of kids form a guerrilla group and fight back to reclaim their town.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: The original movie is an ‘80s classic so I'm interested and wary about a remake. The kids at least look enthusiastic in the trailer. I'm a fan of Palicki's since Friday Night Lights, and I think Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a good choice to fill Powers Boothe's shoes.

The Sweeney
Who: Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell, Steven Mackintosh, Damian Lewis
What: Based on the 1970s British cop tv series. Winstone and crew play hardened detectives who deal with crime the old fashioned way. Damian Lewis plays an internal affairs officer married to Hayley Atwell's detective, who sides with Winstone's character.
When: April 2nd - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I'm always up for British cop action dramas. I'm a big fan of Winstone, and Damian Lewis after he starred in the U.S. cop drama Life (as well as currently starring in Homeland).

Bad Kids Go to Hell
Who: Judd Nelson, Ben Browder, Amanda Alch
What: This looks like a horror version of The Breakfast Club, where students serving a Saturday afternoon detention at a private school are attacked by an evil force. Judd Nelson plays the school headmaster.
When: April 9th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I'm such a fan of The Breakfast Club I'll watch just about any version of it, including high school horror. I'm amused that Judd Nelson is in it as well.


Hitchcock
Who: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Kurtwood Smith
What: Hopkins plays legendary director Alfred Hitchcock in a telling of his quest to make Psycho. Mirren plays his wife Alma, and Johansson plays Janet Leigh.
When: April 9th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: The behind-the-scenes tales of classic movies are bound to be of interest, and as far as I'm aware this is the first time Hitchcock has been portrayed in a movie. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award in Makeup and Hairstyling, and Mirren was nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for her performance.

Interview With a Hitman
Who: Luke Goss, Caroline Tillette
What: An action flick starring Luke Goss as a hitman from Romania who is betrayed by his boss and heads to London.
When: April 9th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: I'm a fan of Goss as an action star, and in this role he looks like the character in the Hitman video games.

Life of Pi
Who: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, director Ang Lee
What: A flashback tale of a young man who survives a shipwreck only to be stuck on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger with no rescue in sight.
When: April 9th - DVD and Ultraviolet
Why: In theaters, this movie had some of the sharpest 3D cinematography I've seen yet. The movie's both a box office hit and winner of Oscars for Directing, Cinematography, Music, and Visual Effects.

Womb
Who: Eva Green, Matt Smith
What: A tragic romance starring Eva Green as a widow who decides to bring back her husband through cloning - by carrying the baby and raising him to adulthood.
When: April 9th - DVD
Why: Eva Green may be most famous for playing Bond's love in Casino Royale, but I'm really intrigued by the premise of the movie.

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 Life of Pi. The movie was a box office hit, Best Picture contender, and earned Ang Lee an Oscar for directing. It's certainly worth watching for the cinematography.

Next, I'm pretty eager to see the remake of Red Dawn even if I'll still hold the original up as superior. Two more dramas that have received critical approval and look interesting are Hitchcock and Hemingway & Gellhorn, and although I'd probably recommend them to others and I feel like I should watch them to check them off my list, to be honest, I really have to see Bad Kids Go To Hell first. I've also seen The Baytown Outlaws and recommend it for its road warrior action. Add to that more action with Interview With a Hitman and the tough cop drama The Sweeney. The last slot is a tough choice, but I think I'll check out the weirdness of John Dies At the End.

Coming next week:
Django Unchained, Empire of Silver, The Haunting in Connecticut 2, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Save the Date