Happy awards season! The time of year when I get all antsy about anything movie-related (really, any time). The time of year when I blast corporations for advertising Christmas movies before Thanksgiving has even come to pass. And, most importantly, it’s the time of year when another Film-Forward is cleared to come out.

I was absent for a good reason: nothing came out in the fall movie-wise. What, “The Black Phone 2?” That horror movie with the dog, “Good Boy?” The “Wicked: Part 2” trailer? Two out of the three of those things are good, and I’ll let you decide for yourself what they are. My point is that ‘tis the season for big-shot (and little-shot) studios to over-advertise their big-name Oscar contenders before the year ends and voting begins, meaning that we get a whole slew of good food plated in front of us this November/December. So let’s walk through this winter wonderland, folks! Welcome to Film-Forward: Secrets, Sequels and Shakespeare!

First off, here’s a movie that’s none of those three things— especially because Brendan Fraser’s lovely blue eyes are no secret at all:

(OUT NOW) “Rental Family” – NOVEMBER 21

Don’t you wish Brendan Fraser could be your dad? Or your date? Or your best friend? Me too, Film Forward reader. That’s why I’m so stoked to tell you that “Rental Family” makes our Fraser dream a reality. Bless you, Searchlight Pictures!

“Rental Family” follows American actor Philip (Fraser) as he meanders through Japan in search of purpose in his life and success in his career— that is, until he lands an unusual gig working for a “rental family” (hey, that’s the title!) agency, playing stand-in roles like best friends, fathers and funeral mourners at strangers’ requests. Throughout the film, Philip begins to form genuine bonds with his clients and finds his purpose through human connection and the moral complications behind his job as part of the rental family.

After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to rave reviews, “Rental Family” has been widely lauded as a heartfelt, bittersweet human-interest story with Brendan Fraser being the main interesting human. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fraser gives “superbly nuanced and expressive performance” in the same vein as both his Oscar-winning “The Whale” role and childhood-defining “George of the Jungle” role— the latter of which should have won him an Oscar as well. But, since he’s playing an actor in “Rental Family,” maybe he’ll win one for the bonds he forms along the way. You’ve gotta love Brendan Fraser— especially if you rent him out to do just that!

(OUT NOW) “Train Dreams” – NOVEMBER 21 (on Netflix)

“What is?”

“All of it. Every bit of it.”

If anyone asks, tell them I’m moving to Idaho, becoming a logger and working out on the railroad. If the Pacific Northwest is as beautiful as “Train Dreams” makes it look, then I’m getting the heck out of Illinois!

“Sing Sing” getting snubbed for Best Picture at the Oscars last year was, to say in ProspectorNow-appropriate terms, upsetting. Despite the movie’s incredible ratings (4.3/5 on Letterboxd!), its studio, A24, didn’t market it, and “Sing Sing” went unseen. Lucky for director/screenwriter Greg Kwedar, his newest Academy Award-contending arthouse flick is now in the hands of a distributor who’s actually distributing! Netflix is bringing “Train Dreams” to your television, and now you can’t ignore it!

“Train Dreams,” adapted from Denis Johnson’s book of the same name, follows simple logger and railroad worker Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) as he attempts to live a quiet life in Northern Idaho. Through the gorgeous landscapes, he bears witness to America’s technological advancements in the early 20th century and lets his common, tender life unfold against the backdrop of a changing world.

The film’s Letterboxd rating matches the book’s Goodreads rating at a 3.9/5, so this should attract all you “book is always better than the movie” believers. Plus, as an adaptation advocate who has seen the trailer for this movie over a dozen times, I simply cannot get enough of that striking, gorgeous cinematography that visualizes the book’s forested landscape. I’ll be seeing those frames in my dreams. In my… dreams? In my… TRAIN… dreams… Thank you! Thank you very much, Film Forward readers! Don’t forget to tip your waitresses!

“Zootopia 2” – NOVEMBER 26

If you thought Brendan Fraser was a fox, wait ‘til you see Nick Wilde.

After nearly a decade, we finally return to Zootopia to (hey, that’s the title!) see our best furry friends, Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). Disney’s taken their sweet time cooking up “Zootopia 2,” and they’ll be damned if they let that movie overcook. Lucky for them, “Zootopia” is the movie of theirs most worthy of a sequel because of just how many species they can add to the animal kingdom. I mean, there’s a snake, a beaver and a gecko in this one: how does that not scream sequel? Sure as shell means “billion-dollar box office profit,” which is good enough for me, I suppose.

In “Zootopia 2,” the Wilde fox and the Hoppin’ hare team up once again to solve an unsolvable case that could threaten Zootopia as they know it. In the first “Zootopia,” the story delved into an allegory of predators vs. prey; and now they’re diving into an even more species-spanning topic: mammals vs. reptiles, amphibians and every marine creature. With the cheerful help of snake Gary (Ke Huy Quan), Hopps and Wilde dodge law enforcement to save Zootopia together… for the second time.

Will this case change Zootopia furever? Will the trio have to scale enormous obstacles to save the city? Will we get to see Mr. Big again, because he was my favorite character in the original due to his being a giant (ha) “Godfather” reference? See Zootopia 2 and find out for yourself! Contribute to the billion-dollar box office share and brag, “That figure was all me.”

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” – DECEMBER 5

Speaking of “billion-dollar box office…”

As a kid, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (FNAF) scared the bejeesus out of me. I had a Guinness World Record book in which the game’s titular Freddy Fazbear took up a whole darn page. Every night before bed, I stared at his creepy animatronic face for five minutes to frighten myself to sleep. It still works… even nine years later!

So imagine my chagrin when I saw this iconic horror game series invading my happy place: AMC theaters. I was scared back in 2023 when the movie adaptation “Five Nights at Freddy’s” came out. Two years later, writing this Film-Forward portion on this film, I am ghost-white. Leave me alone, Freddy! Get out of my head!

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” picks up one year after its predecessor, with tales of the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza twisting into campy town legends: child murder? Angry spirits? Possessed animatronics? Hard to know for sure— unless you’ve seen the movie. When Abby, a former captive of the pizzeria, sneaks out to reconnect with her animatronic “friends” Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy, her brother Mike (Josh Hutcherson) follows her, setting off a chain of events that reveals the dark origins of the disgraced Fazbear’s Pizza.

For fans of the game, you’ll love this FNAF 2 adaptation no matter what, as Blumhouse is dedicated to making a “special” movie for you. For you Film-Forward readers who don’t even know what a “Freddy Fazbear” is, do not fret: director Emma Tammi believes that casual audiences can follow and enjoy the film even if they “don’t understand all the layers” and “easter eggs” that the fans oh-so eagerly crave. At its core, it is still a normal horror movie sequel, and they want to make it accessible to anyone wanting to be frightened.

If my thoughts tell you anything, I’m getting scared just thinking about Freddy– Ah!

“The Secret Agent” – DECEMBER 5

Brazil, 1977. In a collapsing military dictatorship, no one is safe from the political turmoil. Even teacher Armando (Wagner Moura), who is fleeing from a mysterious past and trying to reunite with his son. But he finds the city of Recife to be unsafe, and is under a constant aura of government surveillance and paranoia. Not to fear, though, because Armando is… a secret agent. Thank God, the title of the movie makes sense, now!

“The Secret Agent” will get several Oscar nominations, no doubt, and is definitely a contender akin to Brazil’s International Film shocker last year, “I’m Still Here.” This movie is also helmed by Brazil (hence my whole “Brazil, 1977” intro schtick), so it’s hard to deny its award chances. Plus, it’s a political thriller that boasts a 3.9/5 Letterboxd average, and its momentum has only been strengthened by a slew of Cannes Film Festival wins back in May. Riding the wave of the movie itself, its star, Wagner Moura (“Narcos”), has received enormous critical acclaim for his role as the titular agent. 

Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature and Best Picture? Gosh, that’s quite a package… I smell a contender!

Though, speaking of “contender…”

“Hamnet” – DECEMBER 12

Y’know… Prospect is actually in the midst of its Shakespearean theater season, and we’re doing a jazzy, 1920s-themed production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from November 20-22! Get your tickets now, go see it, and then reserve your seat for “Hamnet” when you’re done! Holy tonal shift, Batman! At least they’re both fantastic, hm?

I was predicting “Hamnet” to be exceptional way back in July when I updated my Academy Award predictions on the Award Expert app. The community ranked it #14 for Best Picture when I moved it into my top 10, and I couldn’t fathom why more weren’t doing the same. By then, we knew that “Hamnet” was a period piece directed by Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), adapted from a critically-acclaimed novel and produced by Hollywood faves (and fellow Best Director Oscar winners) Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes. Plus, it’s Shakespeare-related, so there’s almost definitely screenplay and acting potential, too. Yet, even “F1” had better odds than this movie.

But today, in the wake of its September premiere and fifty billion (half-hyperbolic) audience award wins since then, it is #2 for Best Picture. Who’s laughing now? Not Agnes Shakespeare, since her son, Hamnet, has just died.

Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s critically acclaimed novel, “Hamnet” follows Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal after the loss of their child, Hamnet, to the plague. It’s a story of love, death and a gorgeous Paul Mescal that leads to the writing of Will’s timeless masterpiece, “Hamlet” — which is spelled differently than “Hamnet.” I swear, Google needs to fix its autocorrect mistake when searching “Hamnet,” because people have to be able to buy tickets to this film. Fix it!

This is the most acclaimed movie in this entire Film-Forward, believe it or not. After winning the big audience prize at TIFF in early autumn, it has proceeded to pick up similar praise and statuettes at every festival it attends. Every time I check its ratings after each festival screening, I am consistently baffled by how it just keeps climbing up the scale: 3.8 … 4.1 … and now 4.2/5, only destined to rocket up once it premieres to the general audience.

Only destined to rocket up when premiering to you, that is. Will I see you at AMC this season? I hope so! Have a film-ful Thanksgiving, folks.