Christopher Columbus! Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird follow-up had its first big screenings this week, and early viewers agree that the Louisa May Alcott adaptation could make a capital addition to the race. “Each role perfectly cast. Rousing score. Timely as ever. Hard not to cheer,” THR’s Scott Feinberg tweeted . With Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Irishman dominating pundits’ predictions, and 1917 and Ford v Ferrari looming, 2019’s Best Picture crop was looking very masc. Gerwig’s sensitive, empathetic film could find favor from voters who prefer a different energy.

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The Current War

Two years ago, this historical epic about an electricity rivalry held the unfortunate distinction of being Harvey Weinstein’s final Oscar hopeful, debuting at TIFF weeks before the mogul’s misdeeds were exposed. The collapse of the Weinstein Company put The Current War in limbo, and director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon eventually reedited much of the film, even going so far as to reshoot a few scenes. The film arrives in theaters this week billed as the “Director’s Cut,” an attempt to get a bit of distance from the stench of Weinstein and those negative reviews from 2017. Unfortunately, the new version seems to be a bit of a dud, as well. And so, one of Hollywood’s weirdest side stories ends with a fizzle.