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.

Solo’s Fun Summer Heist

Rather than waiting for the usual Christmastime crowd, the latest chapter of the Star Wars franchise decided to jump into the summer rush with their second spinoff film. Despite the fact that the film explores the backstory of one of the franchise’s favorite characters, Han Solo, it has not performed up to usual standards at the box office. Personally, I think that most people are having a hard time separating their actual feelings about Solo: A Star Wars Story from their feeling for the Star Wars franchise as a whole. There is so much Star Wars material coming out now that the fatigue is affecting movies that are definitely not bad – I mean, Solo is easily better than The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones – and people are voicing their anger for the entire franchise and aiming it directly at this one movie. There’s also something to be said for its ability to hone in on some of the little details, which are part of the magic of the original Star Wars mythology. That’s not to say that Solo is perfect by any means, because it isn’t, but it is fun – as a summer movie should be.

In a Marvel Universe Far, Far Away…

Now that both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises are housed under the umbrella with mouse ears, we can expect to see a bit more crossover in characters. Most of the castings are new, but there are a few that were decided long before the two franchises answered to Disney, so it’s interesting to go back and see which actors managed to find a foot in both worlds. With Solo: A Star Wars Story adding three characters to the overall total and several more movies (on both sides) on the way, we can only expect this list to keep on growing.