2018 Nominee Watch – June 1st

After a disappointing opening weekend for Solo, the beginning of June does not offer much in the way of big releases. This weekend we have some action, some slapstick comedy and a relationship drama set on the high seas.

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Action Point
It has been five years since the last Jackass style film from Johnny Knoxville (Bad Grandpa) and that's probably a good thing. Knoxville is back to his old high jinks, this time in what appears to be a film long flashback to his days running an amusement park with little concern for the safety and well being of the patrons, staff, or just about anything.

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I have fond memories of the original Jackass: The Movie (16 years ago!) but unfortunately this brand of humor has gotten a bit stale. Some of the same crazy friends appear in this film as well, but I'm not sure I can sit through an hour and a half of this anymore.

As far as Oscar nominations, the only one that is a remote possibility is a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Bad Grandpa was nominated for the same category, but also focused much more screen time on Knoxville in the old man makeup.

Adrift
​Having seen the trailer for this film several times in the theaters over the last two months, I am curious to check it out. Shailene Woodley (Divergent) and Sam Claflin (Hunger Games; Catching Fire) star as a pair of lovers (Tami and Richard) who set out to sail a boat from Tahiti to California and run directly into a hurricane. With the boat badly damaged and Richard clinging to life, Tami must use all her resourcefulness to keep them alive.

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The trailers had me on the edge of my seat each time I saw them and I have no doubt this film will be the best of the big openings this weekend. The Academy often loves strong acting performances from stars who are able to carry a film set in isolation (see Tom Hanks in Cast Away and Matt Damon in The Martian​) so I don't think it's out of the question for Woodley to be nominated for Best Actress here if her acting is strong enough.

Though this is being billed as a romance film (in some areas) it also smells of a disaster movie, which brings a few other Oscar categories up as options. Film Editing, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing are all strong candidates here. Lastly, one surprise category might be Best Director for Baltasar Kormákur who has a long list of award nominations and wins (including one Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film) in his career.

Upgrade
The premise for this film is interesting enough, man's wife is murdered and he ends up as a quadriplegic with a desire for revenge on the murderers. He is given the chance to avenge his wife's death when the creepy scientist offers to implant a chip in his neck that will give him full use of his limbs once again.

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The voice of the chip is eerily reminiscent of Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the ability to take of the protagonist's entire body shows potential to have the same result that Hal did. The one thing the titular "upgrade" likely won't provide is any Oscar nominations. This one is intended for action entertainment only.