2019 Nominee Watch – January 18th

After multiple big releases hitting theaters last weekend, we only have one major release this week and it's a double sequel.

​Check out my thoughts on Glass as well as other limited releases coming out this weekend.

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Glass
This film is a sequel to previous M. Night Shyamalan films Unbreakable and Split. The three main actors all return playing their original characters: Bruce Willis as David Dunn from Unbreakable, Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, and James McAvoy as the multiple personalities inhabiting Kevin Crumb.

It's been a while since I saw Unbreakable but I do recall enjoying the film. Shyamalan was obviously riding the success he had with Willis in The Sixth Sense the previous year and while Unbreakable didn't quite live up to the previous film, it was a good film that did reasonably well at the box office.

I have not seen Split, but have been intrigued by it and will definitely check it out ahead of watching the new film. From everything I've seen, McAvoy is decidedly creepy in the role and I think must have had tons of fun creating the various personalities that he gets to play in that film and in this one.

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On the awards front, Shyamalan hasn't received much attention from the Academy with the exception of his breakout hit The Sixth Sense. That film garnered him nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director but he lost out to director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball for their work on American Beauty. This film falls into the unfortunate camp that it's a horror film (of sorts) mixed with superheroes (or people who think they're super), neither of which usually get much attention from the Academy.

While Glass will likely be the big release of the weekend and take over the top spot at the box office, don't expect to see it on the awards circuit at this time next year.

Limited Releases

• An Acceptable Loss – A young woman must face the consequences of her actions when a decision she made based on faulty information resulted in millions of deaths in the name of protecting against terrorism.
• Adult Life Skills – A young boy befriends a woman who lives in her mom's shed only to have to care for him when his own mother gets sick.
• The Brawler - A washed up boxer faces the legendary Muhammed Ali for the world heavyweight boxing title.
• Canal Street – Chicago becomes the battleground in race relations when a black teen is found at the site of the murder of a white classmate.
• Don't Come Back From the Moon – The father of a young girl leaves town without a trace.
• I Hate Kids – A man on the verge of marriage finds out he has a son he didn't know about and together they embark on a journey to find out who the mother is.
• The Last Man – Hayden Christensen (Star Wars) stars in an apocalyptic thriller about a man convinced the end of the world is coming.
• The St. Bernard Syndicate - Two men embark on a quest to establish a program to breed St. Bernards for the Chinese market.
• The Standoff at Sparrow Creek – A group of vigilantes prepare for a standoff after a mass shooting at the funeral of a police officer.
• Unbridled - A girl and her mother who are both abused by her mother's boyfriend seeks solace with her horses.​

• The Untold Story – A single mom explores her relationship with her new neighbor, a washed up actor trying to jump start his career.
• Bricked – A young man with bipolar disorder struggles to find his place in the world and his family. (January 24th)
• The Final Wish – Horror film where a young man must deal with the death of his father and creepy happenings that take place when he finds what he things is his father's urn. (January 24th)