Watchlist
Notable DVD releases for July 9th, 2013
By Max Braden
July 14, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com

There's a possibility James Franco just showed up on set and they wrote him in.
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:

July 9th (click the movie title to see the trailer)

Dead Man Down
Who: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard, Armand Assante
What: A crime thriller starring Colin Farrell as a criminal whose wife was killed by the mob boss played by Terrence Howard. Farrell is planning revenge but is sidetracked by his neighbor, played by Rapace, who blackmails him into killing the man who disfigured her.
When: July 9th - DVD and online on demand
Why: A crime thriller starring Colin Farrell is usually a pretty good start. Adding Dominic Cooper is also a plus, and Howard is good at being suave and sinister. It almost looks like something that could have been directed by Ben Affleck (in this case the director happens to be the man behind the original version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and he reteams in this movie with that movie's star, Rapace). I'm just hoping the pacing holds up and doesn't drag.

The Gatekeepers
Who: Six former heads of the Shin Bet
What: A documentary which interviews former heads of Israel's secret service agency, the Shin Bet, discussing how they've shaped Israel's security since the 1967 Six Day War.
When: July 9th - DVD and online on demand
Why: The conflict in the Middle East has been going on so long it seems like a documentary about it would be repetitive and not disperse any new knowledge, but the fact that this documentary interviews the heads of Israel's counterterrorism agency offers potential for some interesting behind-the-scenes insight from players who aren't just political talking heads (bias aside, of course). This movie was a nominee for Best Documentary Feature at the most recent Oscar Awards.

The Power of Few
Who: Christopher Walken, Christian Slater, Anthony Anderson, Moon Bloodgood
What: A crime thriller involving the theft of the Shroud of Turin, told in the course of 20 minutes in an afternoon in New Orleans from five different story viewpoints.
When: July 9th - DVD and online on demand
Why: My initial interest in this movie was the presence of Christopher Walken, but I'm actually more interested in Anthony Anderson, who I think is underrated in both comedic and dramatic roles. The unusual nature of this movie is that the filmmakers used an online editing system open to the public, which helped shape the movie. I'm wary of the too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen potential, but it might be worth checking out.

Ring of Fire
Who: Michael Vartan, Lauren Lee Smith, Terry O'Quinn
What: A disaster thriller about a volcanic eruption in a small town that triggers more and more eruptions around the world.
When: July 12th - DVD, online on demand, and Netflix streaming
Why: This was originally a two-night miniseries on the Reelz channel. This week there was plenty of buzz about the ridiculously awful guilty pleasure of watching SyFy's original movie Sharknado, so a made-for-tv disaster movie like this might get some additional viewers. Alias fans will remember Vartan, and Terry O'Quinn was my favorite actor in the TV show Lost. This would be one of those fast-food choices, where you know it's not going to be great, but at least it's familiar and you won't have to put much thought into enjoying it.

Spring Breakers
Who: Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, James Franco
What: Four girls desperate to go on spring break rob a store to get the money. They get into more trouble when a drug dealer (Franco) takes them under his wing.
When: July 9th - DVD and online on demand
Why: The first point that should be made about this movie is that despite the presence of Disney princesses Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, this isn't a harmless vacation adventure you might expect to see on Waverly Place or High School Musical. This R-rated crime movie is basically the nightmare of any parent with a kid going off to spring break. (On the other hand, I don't think the perverts out there should be expecting anything scandalous from the starlets). I'm curious if Franco can actually pull off his role as a serious bad boy.

Tyler Perry's Temptation
Who: Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Lance Gross, Robbie Jones, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Williams, Ella Joyce, Brandy Norwood
What: A married woman (and marriage counsellor to boot) is seduced by a wealthy social networking businessman, leading to betrayal, adultery, general PG-13 hedonism.
When: July 9th - DVD and online on demand
Why: First important point about this Tyler Perry movie is that there's no Madea; this is a straight up drama. That's not a selling point, though, as Perry's movies are basically pretty bad all around. This one has a reputation for being overly preachy without the heat of a sexual thriller. I'm almost curious enough to gawk at Kardashian's acting, but I'm not sure it will be worth it.

White Frog
Who: Booboo Stewart, BD Wong, Harry Shum Jr., Joan Chen, Gregg Sulkin, Kelly Hu, Talulah Riley
What: A drama about a family that loses one son in death while the other has Aspberger's syndrome and struggles to fit in both with his family and with his brother's friends.
When: July 9th - DVD and online on demand
Why: This movie first came up in my search because of Joan Chen, who at this point is pretty much famous for being a formerly famous actress. But look, there's BD Wong from Oz and L&O SVU, and Kelly Hu, who I always find watchable. Shum is the fantastic dancer from Glee, and Stewart might be recognizable from the Twilight movies (playing Seth Clearwater).

The big movie this week is Spring Breakers which attempts to give Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens a little edge to their squeaky clean images. It makes me think of Anne Hathaway doing Havoc after Ella Enchanted and two Princess Diary movies. Despite the stardom of the stars, though, Spring Breakers didn't earn a lot at the box office and I could imagine this being a curiosity rental, leaving it forgotten in the broader filmography, kind of like how a lot of people want to pretend their most recent spring break didn't happen. Critics actually treated the movie fairly well, so I guess I have decent hopes for it. The movie I most want to see though is Dead Man Down, because Colin Farrell does a good street criminal with more brains than his adversaries. I like Rapace but I'm betting I'll be wishing Dominic Cooper had been in more scenes by the end of the movie. I don't usually seek out documentaries since I listen to enough news radio at work during the day, but The Gatekeepers looks like it offers more than the typical Mid East coverage, and its Oscar-nominated pedigree gives me more reason to want to see it. After that, the other movies would be ones I might watch if they were on basic cable, but I'm not excited enough about them to rent: The Power of Few has stars I like but it looks cheaply made; White Frog is probably well-acted but is not the kind of straight up drama that draws me; Temptation looks seductive on the surface but is likely to disappoint in that regard; and Ring of Fire is the kind of ridiculous genre material that has to catch me late at night to draw me in. During the daylight it just doesn't seem like an objectively wise choice.

Coming next week:
The End of Love, Erased, Evil Dead, Flying Lessons, Hunky Dory, Jack the Giant Slayer, Just 45 Minutes From Broadway, Movie 43, Solomon Kane, Stoker