2021 Nominee Watch – January 15th

We officially have one wide release opening this weekend as Liam Neeson looks to dethrone Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman 1984 from the top spot at the box office with the western/drug cartel action thriller The Marksman.

Wide Release

Liam Neeson brings his very particular set of skills to the US Mexico border in Arizona where he play Jim Hanson, owner of a ranch property that is about to be repossessed by the bank. While performing his own personal patrols along the border fence, he comes across a young boy, Miquel, and his mother attempting to cross into the United States and is about to contact Border Patrol when an SUV full of cartel gangsters pulls up on the Mexico side, attempting to get the two back.

​When Miguel's mother is killed in a firefight, Hanson takes it upon himself to get the boy to his family in Chicago even at the risk of repercussions from the cartel.

I use Neeson's line from Taken with a little humor here, but it does feel like he can't find his way out of those types of roles. Hanson himself is a former marine and it's clear that he has continued to hone his sharpshooting skills even after leaving the service.

What I hope for in this film is that the story and relationship between Hanson and Miguel is allowed to develop. Hanson is not someone who has any love for people crossing the border, so being able to connect with this boy would be a true character growth moment.

Limited Releases

January 15th

• American Skin – A black man whose son was killed by a police officer during a traffic stop takes justice into his own hands.
• MLK/FBI – Documentary look as the FBI investigation into Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s. (Oscar Contender)
• My Little Sister – A woman gives up her aspirations as a playwright in Berlin and moves to Switzerland, only to return to Germany when her brother falls ill.
• The Emperor's New Groove – Disney film from 2000 where the emperor is turned into a llama and must team up with a commoner to regain his throne.​ (Special Engagement)

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Virtual Releases

January 15th

• Acasa - My Home – Documentary look at a family displaced from their home and forced to survive in a city for the first time. (Oscar Contender)
• My Little Sister – See Limited Releases above.​
• The Wake of Light – A young woman who spends her days caring for her aging father meets and falls in love with a man who challenges her thinking.

January 19th

• 1982 – Children in a school in Lebanon face an uncertain future during the invasion of 1982.