Oscars® Nominations: 2019

It’s that time of year again – it’s award season, which means its time to start cheering that our favorite movies are being recognized and moaning because other really great movies, and the people who made them, are getting snubbed. With viewership falling every passing year, last year’s rather boring show, and no current host in sight (a little more than a month before the show), this year’s Oscars could be a very big deal in terms of how the show runs itself over the next few years. This year’s list of movies could end up being the most important – or it could be just another year to play it safe. How many have you seen?

The list of ReelTalk reviewed films is included at the end, and the list of Best Picture Nominees will hopefully be finished by Oscar’s airtime on February 24.

A Quiet Place: Your Stomach Will Not Unclench

As a former Hawkeye, I’m always up to see a film that is written by University of Iowa graduates. In this case, I’m happy to report that my fellow graduates have delivered a fine piece of work, as well as proved that horror films don’t need to be over the top and extravagant to terrify. All you need is a simple premise, a great cast, and the ability to capture an audience’s mind with the idea of horror they could easily face themselves. True, the way that the horror scares you is not one you’re unused to – it’s a lot of jump scares, and even the cheapest horror movie can harness those if they know when to add in a loud noise. But in a movie with very little, if any, noise at all, all scares can be jump scares, and triggering them will not relieve your tension in any way (rather than most jump scare-filled films where you almost feel ashamed of yourself for jumping, even when you know it’s coming).