2018 Nominee Watch – October 12th

This weekend we see the arrival of one of the bigger movies in terms of Oscar buzz this season. First Man blasts into theaters, chronicling the life of the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong.

As you'll see by my description below, I am extremely excited to see this film. It is likely the highlight of the weekend, and will be sure to garner at least a few nominations come Oscar time next year.

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Bad Times at the El Royale
I haven't seen much about this film but it seems simple enough. A group of strangers and up in a remote motel on the California/Nevada border, each bringing his or her own secrets and baggage to the table.

The cast looks interesting if the premise seems a little lacking. Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson, John Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth headline the cast and the ladies will surely be pleased to see Hemsworth open-shirted through much of the film.

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I'm not sure where things go from there. It's clear from the trailer that things go from bad to worse and everyone at the motel is double and triple crossing everyone else, but is that enough to build a movie around?

A film like this thrives on the group so I don't see any chance of Oscar nominations for the individual actors. This is only director Drew Goddard's second feature film behind the camera so I don't see any nominations there either.

I have a feeling this is what I call a Netflix or Redbox movie, and worth the wait to see this on your streaming service of choice in a year or so.

First Man
If you don't know who the first man in this title is referring to, perhaps you're one of those folks who things the moon landings were staged in a Hollywood studio and to this day, no one has ever set foot on the moon.

I am not one of those people.

I have been in awe of space travel since I was a young boy, attending space camp in Florida at the age of 12, memorizing facts about the various space missions from the 60s and 70s, and visiting the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D. C. whenever I had the chance.

This film looks to me like the spiritual predecessor of Ron Howard's 1995 film Apollo 13.

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I started reading the biography on which Chazelle's film is based a few months back in preparation for this release, but unfortunately haven't been able to wade through the 600+ pages comprising Armstrong's life. I may make an exception to my "read the book first" rule for this film, as I have been looking forward to it ever since first hearing about it a year ago.

Now, like Apollo 13, there should be no secret about how this film ends. Spoiler alert, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. What I'm curious to see is the lead up to that event throughout the rest of the film.

Rest assured there will be several Oscar nominations coming out of this film. Chazelle and Gosling were both nominated when they teamed up for La La Land a few years ago, with Chazelle winning the award for Best Director. I anticipate a good chance that he will be in the running here again while both Gosling and Clair Foy (playing Armstrong's wife Janet) are both safe bets to be on the Best Actor and Best Actress short lists.

Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects, and Film Editing are also pretty safe bets for a film like that. I would anticipate a slew of nominations in January that span many of the major categories as well as several lesser categories.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
Believe it or not this is the second Halloween themed film in the last few weeks that has Jack Black in it.

I was not obsessed with the R. L. Stein Goosebumps books as a kid the way lots of my friends were, but I did enjoy the ones I read. In this film, a sequel to the 2015 release, we are introduced to the one R. L. Stein book that was apparently never supposed to see the light of day.

And you all know what happens next.

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This looks like a "scary" movie that is catering to the tween audience. I'm sure there are a few moments a little too intense for younger viewers, but nothing that's REALLY going to scare the older kids. There are also sure to be plenty of laughs and gags directed at the tween and teen crowd.

As far as awards go, look for this one at the Kid's Choice Awards, but not at the Oscars. I sincerely doubt there will be any Oscar nominations from this film.

Limited Releases

• After Everything – Romantic comedy with a young cancer patient falls in love with a girl he meets in the subway station, blossoming into romance.
• All Square – A man with too many debts to pay takes to betting on little league baseball games to make some extra money.
• Apostle – Horror thriller in which a man ventures to a remote island to save his kidnapped sister and finds himself face to face with a cult. (Netflix)
• Beautiful Boy – The story of a father (Steve Carrell) and son (Timothée Chalamet) struggling to find their place in each other's lives.
• Better Start Running – A young man runs off with his new girlfriend and veteran grandfather on a quest for adventure.
• Bigger – Period piece about body builders in the early 20th century.
• Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer – Crime drama based on a true story of a doctor convicted of murder and illegal late-term abortions.
• I Still See You – Psychological thriller about a woman who sees echos of people killed in an apocalyptic event, one of whom wants to kill her.
• In Echo Park – Youths struggle to survive in the streets.
• Jane and Emma – Two women fight to save their brother and husband when he is taken away for radical religious beliefs.
• The Kindergarten Teacher – Psychological drama about a kindergarten teacher struggling with her place in the world who kidnaps a young poetry prodigy from her class. (Netflix)​

• Kinky – A woman searching for the right man finds love and more from a billionaire business man.
• Look Away – A teen girl allows her darker self out to set things right against all the people who have wronged her in this horror thriller.
• The Oath – Family holidays go hilariously wrong when Thanksgiving dinner turns to talk of politics.
• Sadie – A teen girl struggles with her father who is deployed in the military and adults who don't understand her at home.
• Stella's Last Weekend – A romantic comedy taking place during the last weekend before they put down their dog Stella.
• Horn From the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story – Documentary film about blues harmonica player Paul Butterfield. (October 17th)
• Longing – Israeli film with hints of romantic drama. (October 17th)