This is a busy and full week for DVD releases with a common theme… many of them are movies you’ve probably heard of over the past year, but judging by their minuscule box-office you most likely didn’t see any of them. The other common theme? Pretty much none of them are as good as the internet told you they were. I know. It’s shocking. But sometimes the internet does in fact tell lies. Titles out this week include The Tillman Story, Conviction, Let Me In, Hatchet II, Welcome To the Riley’s, Never Let Me Go, Monsters, and more.

Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows and cowboys and Samurai and ballet dancers and princesses with bad perm jobs and Vincent Cassel. If you thought Thanksgiving brought the buffet of eclectic tastes, wait until you get a load of these leftovers. Even with only one film opening wide this weekend, there’s a lot to talk about with the familiar and a few highly anticipated limited releases, so let’s get this microwaved plate of deliciousness on the table, shall we?

Night Catches Us, the drama featuring Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) and Kerry Washington (For Colored Girls), aims its sights on racial tension in 1970s Philadelphia to show another side of brotherly love. Director/Writer Tanya Hamilton got to speak with Black Panther artist and Minister of Culture Emory Douglas who gives some fascinating insights into the goals of the divisive group and the personal elements of the racial struggle. The film hits theaters this Friday.

The top nominations for this year’s Indie Spirit Awards are no surprise. Winter’s Bone continues its march through the woods to find its father and an Oscar with 7 nominations (which is almost all it was even eligible for). In a close second, The Kids Are All Right finds itself with 5 nominations. If you’re a fan of female directors, this year is celebrating a number of them in the top spots, but it’s also incredibly important to point out that Samuel L. Jackson and Bill Murray are finally up for the same award. The Indepdenent Spirit Awards make a good primer for the films that might make their way into the Academy Award nominee pool. In recent tradition, the winner of the Best Feature prize goes on to be an Oscar contender (and occasional winner). Examples of that include Precious, The Wrestler, Juno, and Brokeback Mountain. The full list of nominees continues below:

The Sundance drama just got picked up, and it’s going to be put down this Fall. Just in time for Awards season.

By the time you reach the end of 12 days at the Sundance Film Festival, nothing seems right anymore. After seeing so many movies, it is hard to keep on writing. So I’m going to do my best…

Last year, I was mildly successful in writing a list of 13 Films You Should Be Excited to See at Sundance 2009. This year I’m getting bold and adding two more films to the list. Take that!