2018 Nominee Watch – May 4th

One would think this would be a perfect weekend to release a new Star Wars movie...being May the Fourth after all. But we have to wait a few more weeks for that.

Three movies are making their debut in wide release this weekend, Bad Samaritan with David Tennent, a remake of the Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell classic Overboard, and Tully starring Charlize Theron.

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Bad Samaritan
This looks like an edge of your seat thriller that will likely take a twist near the end that no one will see coming. Tennent shows up in the trailers as a rich restaurant goer who's expensive car is stolen by one of the valets who returns to his house to rob it, only to find a young girl held there against her will. When he tells the police about this finding, they search the house and find nothing.

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The remainder of the film look like a twisted cat and mouse game between Tennent's character, the valets, and their families to see who can outsmart who first. While it may be an exciting film, it does not appear to have the makings of an Oscar nominee.

Overboard
I know my wife will be interested in this one because she loves the original. I've always been personally lukewarm on the original, but it is a cute film.

This time around, the script it flipped with Anna Faris playing the Kurt Russell role, hired to work on a luxury yacht and Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez (Geostorm and How to Be a Latin Lover) as the pompous rich playboy owner of the boat.

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While I'm sure hilarity will ensue throughout this film, it's tough to compete with originals, especially when they claimed the likes of Hawn and Russell being directed by the late Garry Marshall. This should be a fun early summer comedy, but don't look for it on any nomination lists come Oscar time next year.

Tully
I laughed out loud at a few moments from the trailer for Tully when watching it recently. I know, I'm not a mom, but I am a dad, and know that it can sometimes be exhausting following kids around.

Tully looks like it has the potential to be a longshot nomination for Theron's character. She is an exhausted mother who just needs some help and hires a the title character to do just that.

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The trailers hint at the potential for disaster of inviting someone into their home, but all appearances are that the nanny comes in and helps not just Theron's character, but the entire family. Again, Oscar loves the actors who go to great lengths for a film and according to Entertainment Tonight, she gained 50 pounds for the role. I would love to get paid millions to gain weight like that, but I can certainly see a potential Best Actress nomination next winter for this role.