Watchlist
Notable DVD releases for August 13th
By Max Braden
August 16, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Does anyone else think this pitcher is really slow?
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:

August 13th (click the movie title to see the trailer)

42
Who: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Lucas Black, Andre Holland, Alan Tudyk, John C. McGinley, Linc Hand, director Brian Helgeland.
What: A biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, the first African American player in Major League Baseball. The movie covers 1946 and 1947, with Harrison Ford playing Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey, Lucas Black as teammate Pee Wee Reese.
When: August 13th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Robinson actually played himself in the 1950 movie The Jackie Robinson Story, but apart from made-for-TV versions, this is the first movie about this great baseball legend to reach theaters in over 60 years. Critical response was very good, though maybe too early in the year to be a strong award candidate six months from now. 42 also earned the highest box office opening weekend of a baseball-themed movie to date. I'm looking forward to the performances and the history lesson.

Bullet to the Head
Who: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang, Sarah Shahi, Jason Momoa, Christian Slater, Brian Van Holt, Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje
What: Stallone plays a career hitman who reluctantly teams up with an out-of-town police detective (Kang) in order to take down a corrupt real estate deal in New Orleans and get revenge for the murder of Stallone's partner. Momoa plays a mercenary for Akinnouye-Agbaje's kingpin, and Shahi plays Stallone's daughter.
When: August 13th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Speaking before I saw this, I thought the trailers looked pretty good. Stallone at 67 looks like he could still beat the crap out of a lot of younger generation action heroes. The Expendables has done okay, and this movie looked like it was in his wheelhouse, but it bombed when it opened in February, putting up his worst opening weekend in three decades. Having seen it now, I will say it starts off weak, with cheap genre dialogue, but it's fun to watch how unrelenting a killer Stallone's character is. Momoa, who has delivered even more mindless muscle performances than Stallone, actually gives his best performance to date. It's no Rush Hour, but I'd call this slightly better than average action.

The Company You Keep
Who: Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, Terrence Howard, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliott, Stephen Root, Brit Marling
What: A fictional account drawing on the real life Vietnam era group The Weather Underground starring Redford as former member who has been living a peaceful, secret life ever since a bank robbery resulted in a death decades earlier. When Sarandon's character decides to turn herself in, Redford's character is exposed and forced to run from the FBI (Howard and Kendrick play agents). LaBeouf plays a small time reporter who catches wind of the story and faces a dilemma of reporting the truth or protecting the innocent.
When: August 13th - DVD and online on demand
Why: One of my favorite movies of all, Sneakers, also features Redford as a former Vietnam-era anti-government protester hiding in plain sight, so this movie seems like kin to me. Some elements of "terrorism or freedom fighting?" are explored, but this is mostly a mystery and chase movie, kind of like The Fugitive. Worth a look.

Emperor
Who: Tommy Lee Jones, Matthew Fox
What: An historical drama set just after WWII, with Tommmy Lee Jones starring as General MacArthur, de facto ruler of post-war Japan, who instructed Brigadier General Bonner Fellers (Fox) to investigate Japan's revered emperor Hirohito for potential war crimes charges.
When: August 13th - DVD and online on demand
Why: I'd be more interested in seeing a treatment of MacArthur in Korea, but Tommy Lee Jones in the role is good enough to get me to watch.

The Hot Flashes
Who: Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Virginia Madsen, Camryn Manheim, Wanda Sykes, Eric Roberts
What: A sports comedy about a group of former high school basketball champions, now middle aged women, who challenge the current high school state champions in a series of games in order to raise national awareness for breast cancer.
When: August 13th - DVD
Why: If I were casting this movie before production, I'd have in mind actresses from the movie Bridesmaids, but this group is fine. Fans of Brooke Shields don't get to see her in many lead roles anymore, so they might be interested in checking this out. And hey, supporting breast cancer awareness is always good. (Families be aware though, the movie is rated R for sexual content and drug use).

Olympus Has Fallen
Who: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Finley Jacobsen, Dylan McDermott, Ruck Yune, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Robert Forster, Ashley Judd
What: An action thriller featuring Gerard Butler as former star in the Secret Service trying to get back in the game when terrorists take over the White House and kidnap the President (Eckhart). It's up to Butler's character to redeem his past and prove himself again by kicking some terrorist ass.
When: August 13th - DVD and online on demand
Why: Like Volcano and Dante's Peak, Armageddon and Deep Impact, Olympus Has Fallen has a twin in the same year - White House Down duplicates many of the same elements: Secret Service agent, terrorists in the White House, helicopter assault, President in danger, kid in the mix. Olympus Has Fallen is the darker of the two, with White House Down being more fun and lively. Olympus starts with a dramatic takeover, but when the plot is revealed it's just so absurd it ruins the movie. Still, Butler gets some good shots in, Eckhart is always good (maybe not up to Harrison Ford's Air Force One level, but close) and Melissa Leo, always unrecognizable in her roles, delivers a strong performance as Secretary of Defense. Maybe worth it if you want to compare the two movies, but of them I'd suggest White House Down instead.

What Maisie Knew
Who: Onata Aprile, Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Alexander Skarsgård, Joanna Vanderham
What: A modern adaptation of the 1897 Henry James novel, this is an emotional drama from a child's point of view about the destructive divorce of her parents (Moore and Coogan).
When: August 13th - DVD and online on demand
Why: The movie has received strong reviews, but of course whether you want to see it depends on whether you enjoy watching dysfunctional drama.

I've seen a few of this week's releases already. The one I was most interested in beforehand, Bullet to the Head at first seemed like a disappointment, but I came to enjoy it for one of Stallone's darker characters. I just wish he'd had better treatment. Similarly, Olympus Has Fallen seemed to promise much better Die Hard action than A Good Day To Die Hard actually did, but the plot just ruins it. Also, the movie is just dark and dour while its companion White House Down seems brighter and more upbeat. Robert Redford has a strong award pedigree, as do other actors in The Company You Keep. I wouldn't call the movie one of his strongest in that regard, but it is very watchable. If you're looking for award candidates, 42 seems like the best bet. I'm looking forward to that one to see Boseman's performance as Jackie Robinson, Harrison Ford's performance as a cranky old man who actually has a point, and for the history lesson. Emperor also looks to serve as a history lesson. I wouldn't expect to see any award consideration for this, but Tommy Lee Jones as General MacArthur seems like a good casting idea to me. If you're willing to go for darker drama, the emotional swings of What Maisie Knew look to be impressive. If that proves to be too much of a damper on the evening, maybe the lighter comedy of The Hot Flashes will serve as an antidote.

Coming next week:
Amour, Rapture-palooza, Scary Movie 5, Shadow Dancer, Trance, Twixt, Vampire