2019 Nominee Watch – November 8th

​With a spread of big opening films, I doubt that any one will take over the box office this weekend. There is a little something for everyone from horror, to historical drama, to rom-coms, and even a family comedy.

The limited release list has a few gems in it as well, including Christmas stories from Netflix and Disney+ that you will be able to stream on those services later this month.

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Doctor Sleep
Ewan McGregor stars as Dan Torrance, better known as Danny from Stanley Kubrick's classic horror film The Shining. All grown up now, Dan returns to the Overlook Hotel and befriends a young girl in town who can hear the voices in her head, much as he could as a boy.

While nothing will top Kubrick's original from 1980 along with Jack Nicholson's iconic performance, this looks like it is a decent call back to the previous film and will undoubtedly contain many references for fans of The Shining.

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Don't expect anything groundbreaking here. It took King over 35 years to write the sequel, and only a few short years to bring an adaptation to the big screen. There will not be any Oscar attention here.

Last Christmas
Now that she's done with her stint as Daenerys Targaryen in HBO's hit series Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke can turn her sights to other screen ventures. Here she stars as Kate, a young woman working in a Christmas shop who runs into Tom (Henry Golding) and learns to fall in love again after undergoing a near-death experience a few years earlier.

This feels like a classic holiday romantic comedy, with a slightly new twist of the almost dying thrown into the mix. The fact that it made it to the big screen and didn't end up as a Netflix or Hulu release probably speaks more to Clarke and Golding's name recognition after Thrones and Crazy Rich Asians than it does to the level of the film itself.

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Unless they are tremendously well done, I don't ever see films like this landing with the Academy. That said, this will be a decent date movie, but don't look for it at the awards over the winter.

Midway
If you know the story of the Battle of Midway, you'll know how the film goes. Much like Pearl Harbor, Midway was a small outpost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Despite its small size, Midway was seen as a strategic location by the Japanese from which they would be able to expand their influence in the Pacific and perhaps make their way to the United States mainland  at some point.

The Americans were able to decipher Japanese communications about the planned attack and created their own ambush in response leading to the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers as well as other support ships and hundreds of aircraft being destroyed.

The film looks like it is a stylistic successor to the 2001 Ben Affleck film Pearl Harbor, despite having no connections in terms of cast, director, or writers. The images of the actual battle itself seem to draw heavily from the images many are familiar with from that film.

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If anything, this film might get nominations in some of the technical categories. Pearl Harbor was nominated for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects, and I could see this film landing in any if not all three of those categories as well.

Playing with Fire
Probably the most fun film releasing this weekend features John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, and John Leguizamo as a group of fire fighters/smoke jumpers who have to rescue and deal with a bunch of kids who appear to cause nothing but mayhem.

The problem with films like this is that they are usually either great, or they're terrible, and I fear that despite a few laughs, this one will fall into the latter category. Kids will flock to it because of the wrestling superstar (Cena) and adults may find some humor in Key and Leguizamo's performances, but that is usually as far as things go.

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If the other films listed this weekend have little Oscar potential, this one has the least. If you're looking for great films, find something else this weekend, or revisit something you may have missed from a few weeks back.

Limited Releases

• The All Americans – Documentary look at two rival Los Angeles football teams as they face off on the field while dealing with the struggles of immigration, race, and hatred off the field.
• Bala – Indian film about a prematurely balding man attempts to deal with his loss.
• Ballet Blanc – A young boy arrives in a town and leads to death.
• Better Days – A young girl in China finds an older man who helps her deal with bullies while getting through her school exams.
• Cold Brook – Two men working maintenance in a small town museum help return a historical man to the land of his heritage.
• Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan – A small group of Australian and New Zealand soldiers fight off a huge group of Viet Kong.
• Gabriel – A young boxer enters a dangerous match in an attempt to save his father.
• Good Girls Get High – Comedy about two overachievers who attempt to change their image with one night of partying.
• Honey Boy – Writer/director Shia La Beouf brings a story of a childhood star who grows up and must deal with his fame.
• The Kingmaker – Documentary look at the political career of Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines.
• Klaus – A struggling postman meets an old toy maker in the woods and strikes a deal to deliver the toys to children around the world. (Netflix)
• Love is Blind – A woman with selective perception is prescribed to spend time with a suicidal man she cannot see.
• Mr. Toilet: The World's #2 Man – Documentary look at the story of a man from Singapore who is attempting to bring good sanitation to the entire world
• Noelle – Anna Kendrick stars as the daughter of Kris Kringle who must save Christmas by helping her brother fill the shoes of their father. (Disney+)
• Racetime – Animated film about a boy who tries to figure out how to win a downhill sled race against a bully.
• Sunday Girl – A woman must break up with her boyfriends in order to commit to a new man.
• The Godfather: Part II – The 1974 follow-up to 1972's The Godfather continues the story of the Corleone crime family. (November 10th Special Engagement)
• MBF: Man's Best Friend – A touching look at the world of canine handlers in the Marines and the trials they face with the dogs that serve on the front lines. (November 11th)
• KonoSuba - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World: The Movie: Legend of Crimson – Japanese anime film about a group of friends that must face off against an enemy general. (November 12th Special Engagement)
• Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour – Concert film that chronicles the return of the pop superstar to the stage. (November 13th Special Engagement)
• Night Sweats – A man investigates the mysterious death of his roommate. (November 14th)
• The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration – A special presentation of 6 classic episodes of the 1960s television series. (November 14th Special Engagement)