*By Max Godnick* Roughly three months remain until the 91st Academy Awards, and if you're lucky, you might be able to squeeze in one Oscar contender per weekend before the big night. Award season is in full swing this month with a crowded slate of contenders jockeying for adoration from audiences and critics alike. The race begin in earnest last month with the release of Bradley Cooper's [memeable] (https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8477323/a-star-is-born-best-memes) epic, "A Star Is Born." With a box-office haul of $259 million and counting, the musical (a remake of a remake of a remake) is a true juggernaut and has firmly established itself as the front runner in the vaunted Best Picture (and Director, and Actor, and Actress, and Supporting Actor, and Original Song) category. With the race heating up by the week, Cooper and Lady Gaga will be fortunate to maintain their front-runner status by months' end ー [they're far from the shallow now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo_efYhYU2A). Julian Roman, a critic and contributing editor at MovieWeb, joined Cheddar on Friday to preview some of November's most anticipated new flicks. **"Bohemian Rhapsody" (20th Century Fox):** Another one bites the dust. The Freddie Mercury biopic's [long road](http://www.vulture.com/2018/11/bohemian-rhapsody-chaotic-eight-year-odyssey-to-the-screen.html) to the big screen landed with a critical thud, garnering mixed reviews for its depiction of Queen's rise to arena-rock fame. But, audiences looking for somebody to love need only look to leading man Rami Malek ("Mr. Robot") for a bright spot in this jukebox film. The actor is getting raves for his turn as the mustachioed music icon and is a good bet as a Best Actor nominees. He is the champion, the movie alas is not. (Nov. 2) *Roman's Take:* "I think the film will do very well. I thought it was great, very entertaining. A lot of the people who didn't like it want it to have more salacious details regarding Mercury's homosexuality. The film doesn't really dive that deep but it has a lot of music ... it moves quickly, I think it's going to be a big hit." **"Roma" (Netflix):** Netflix ($NFLX) is going where it's never gone before: the movie theater. The streaming platform [veered](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-give-3-award-contenders-runs-select-theaters-1153081) from its long-held position of streaming over everything when it agreed to theatrical releases for three of its movies. Chief among them is "Roma," Alfonso Cuarón's ("Gravity") black-and-white homage to Mexico City featuring a mostly-unknown cast. The film is Netflix's best shot at its first Best Picture nomination, an honor the company so desperately is coveting ー that it's willing to set aside its small-screen loyalty to court more traditionalist Academy members. If anything can dull Cooper's "Star" this month, "Roma" is the one to watch. (Nov. 21) *Roman's Take:* "I don't think Netflix really cares how much money this makes at the box office. They just want the movie released so it's going to qualify for Oscars. They want the awards, they want the big film-making season where everyone's wearing nice dresses and they're going to big premieres. This is what Netflix wants, they want the prestige of the big studios." **"Green Book" (Universal):** Before sequels and superheroes took over the box office, mid-budget, four-quadrant crowd-pleasing dramas used to be the defining genre for Oscar bait. Universal hopes to bring the format back to the forefront with "Green Book," a low-key story about a Jamaican-American pianist and his New York driver's tour of the Deep South in the 1960s. After making noise on the festival circuit, the studio is aiming to turn a word-of-mouth campaign into the season's sleeper contender. Viggo Mortensen stars alongside Mahershala Ali ("Moonlight") who's out to win his second Best Supporting Actor trophy in just three years. (Nov. 16) *Roman's Take:* "I think this is the sleeper hit of the season. I think this film is going to be a big box-office hit and very big at the awards as well... The movie is being called the reverse of 'Driving Miss Daisy' but that's way too simple to put this movie in that box." **"Widows" (20th Century Fox):** "Oceans 8" disappointed both critically and commercially when it failed to break the bank this summer. But gender-bending twists on the classic heist format get another chance this month with "Widows," director Steve McQueen's first movie since the 2012 awards darling "12 Years a Slave." The film stars Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, and Elizabeth Debicki as the quartet of titular widows who pick up where their deceased husband's left off in a heist gone wrong. It's based on a British series from the 1980s of the same name and penned by "Gone Girl" writer Gillian Flynn. If the Oscars want to pay tribute to the year-long referendum on women in Hollywood, this would be a good place to start. (Nov. 16) *Roman's Take:* "I'm expecting greatness... This is a big cast, a great director, and great writing, so I have really high hopes." **"Creed II" (MGM):** If any November blockbuster stands a puncher's chance of landing on Oscar ballots, it's "Creed II." Michael B. Jordan returns opposite Sylvester Stallone in the sequel to 2015's hit "Rocky" spin-off. The boxing franchise enters its fifth decade every bit the phenomenon it once was. Since his star-making turn three years ago, Jordan has grown into one of Hollywood's most bankable leading men. After helping "Black Panther" become the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time earlier this year, the star's earning power will be put to the test again over Thanksgiving weekend. In the sequel, Creed finds himself up against the son of former Rocky foe Ivan Drago. No matter who hits the mat first this time, the movie seems destined to be a winner. (Nov. 21) *Roman's Take:* "I'm afraid it might fall a little bit flat where it comes to 'sequelitis' as I call it, and lacking originality. Now , Michael B. Jordan is a tremendous actor, Sylvester Stallone a tremendous actor, so I hope it's more dramatic and not just fluff."
