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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:

July 16th (click the movie title to see the trailer)

The End of Love
Who: Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon, Michael Cera, Jason Ritter, Amanda Seyfried, Aubrey Plaza, Jocelin Donahue
What: Mark Webber plays a young single father trying to take care of his toddler while also trying to make a living. His developing relationship with a single mother (Sossamon) makes him take a hard look at his life. Webber also directed the movie.
When: July 16th - DVD and online on demand
Why: This is a great indie cast. Webber is probably best known for playing the singer of Sex Bob-omb in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which also included Cera and Plaza in the cast. I fell for Sossamon when she first appeared in A Knight's Tale and wish she were in more roles. She and Webber look like a good pair in this movie, though it appears to be more focused on him and his kid. It looks well done and has the potential to be one of those dramas that really scores with the few people who end up seeing it.

Erased
Who: Aaron Eckhart, Liana Liberato, Olga Kurlenko
What: An espionage thriller starring Eckhart as a regular CIA guy with a daughter whose world is suddenly turned upside down and he has to try to figure out why the CIA is now trying to kill him. Kurlenko plays the agent conducting the manhunt.
When: July 16th - DVD and online on demand
Why: From the trailer this movie looks like a cheap knockoff of The Bourne Identity, and with any other actor in the lead, it may have been just a cheap knockoff. But Eckhart brings something different to the table with his age and experience, both grounding it and elevating it at the same time. In that way it shares something with Taken. There might be a nifty chase or fight sequence - I'd be watching it for those elements anyway - but for me the primary reason to watch this is for Eckhart's performance.

Evil Dead
Who: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Bruce Campbell
What: A cabin-in-the-woods horror reboot of the original The Evil Dead from 1981. In this version, four friends go to the cabin to help a friend detox, but discovering a demonic book brings a demonic possession that starts killing them off.
When: July 16th - DVD and online on demand
Why: I remember watching the original movie on the sly when I was younger. It was typical '80s - a combination of underground and commercial horror, and the series became more about comedy than horror as it developed. That's pretty much how you get The Cabin in the Woods. This reboot looks like its going back to the terrifying side of horror. That's not normally my genre, but I'd watch this to see how it compares to what I remember.

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