Will Smith (King Richard). The frontrunner. Smith plays Richard Williams, father and trainer of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams. The film covers a 7-year stretch of the Williams patriarch kicking in doors to get his daughters access to tennis clubs and competitions. Smith gained weight (for the role and, incidentally due to the pandemic) and sat for 3 hours of makeup to physically transform into the imposing presence embodied by Mr. Williams.
Smith is likely to have another showdown against the GOAT, Denzel Washington. They competed for Oscars in 2001 when Smith was nominated for Ali and Denzel won for Training Day.
King Richard opens wide in theaters on November 19.
Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of MacBeth). Denzel has an affinity for and, over the years, has performed in eight Shakespeare plays.
This, though, is not necessarily an adaptation of MacBeth, but the logline is similar — after three witches convince a lord that he is predestined to rule Scotland, he and his wife let nothing stand in his way of seizing power.
Reviews are mixed. But this is a monologue-heavy film, which no one is better at delivering than Denzel.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is distributed by Apple TV+ and will be released in select theaters on Christmas Day.
Michael B. Jordan (A Journal for Jordan). This film was directed by Denzel Washington and is based on a true story about an active duty soldier who leaves a journal of life and duty to his unborn son before he’s deployed off to war.
A Journal for Jordan will be released in theaters on Christmas Day.
John Leguizamo stars in Dark Blood about a grief-stricken father imprisoned in Columbia for avenging his son’s murder. He becomes a product of his abusive environment, eventually spiraling into the pits of rage, unredeemed.
It’s a Spanish thriller with subtitles and is one of the best foreign films of the season.
Dark Blood is currently streaming On Demand and on YouTube’s subscription service.
Mahershala Ali (Swan Song). Mahershala delivers a gut-wrenching performance in this dystopian drama about a terminally-ill family man who undergoes a breakthrough cloning to shield his wife and son from grieving his death.
Swan Song will be released in theaters and begin streaming on Apple TV+ on December 17.
LONG SHOTS
- Riz Ahmed stars in Encounter about a single father who protects his sons from an alien invasion.
- Jonathan Majors headlines The Harder They Fall, an all-Black western about an orphan who becomes a relentless outlaw to avenge the murder of his parents.
- Javier Bardem stars in Being the Ricardos which centers around a weeklong crisis that could ruin the lives and careers of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. This film has been receiving a fair amount of criticism for its obvious Oscar-bait casting of Nicole Kidman. Bardem hasn’t received much criticism, even though he looks no more like Desi Arnez than Kidman looks like Lucille Ball.
- Anthony Ramos revives his role in the screen adaptation of the broadway hit In the Heights about a bodega owner who seeks an idealistic life in the Dominican Republic.
- Amir Jadidi stars in Iranian film, A Hero, about a bankrupt felon who uses his 2-day release from prison to clear his name and debt to become a free man.
