Taken aback

What is it about Paris? According to the movies, Americans tend to lose their loved ones there. Much like Harrison Ford’s quest through the Parisian underworld to rescue his missing wife in Frantic, Taken finds Liam Neeson hunting for his kidnapped daughter in an equally unwelcoming City of Lights. But as written by the great Luc Besson, Neeson’s character is not simply a doting dad. He is a former spy ready to kick some serious can to save his 17-year-old—played by Maggie Grace of Lost—before she is sold into the slave trade or worse. Taken is director Pierre Morel’s second feature, but his cinematography has been impressive with credits on Before Sunset and The Transporter, and his eye should lend added depth to this thriller. Famke Janssen, Xander Berkeley and Katie Cassidy co-star. Taken opens Jan. 23. Rated PG-13. takenmovie.com

ALSO IN JANUARY: (1/9) Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson in Bride Wars. Odette Yustman and Gary Oldman in The Unborn. (1/16) Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones in I Love You, Man. Derek Luke and Jamal Woolard in Notorious. Daniel Craig and Jamie Bell in Defiance. (1/23) Brendan Fraser and Andy Serkis in Inkheart. Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke in Killshot. (1/30) Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn in The Uninvited.