Only death and taxes are certain things in this world. Two other things are, as well: Glenn Close and Lady Gaga are locked up for Best Actress nominations for “The Wife” and “A Star is Born,” respectively.

In Toronto I saw three more potential nominees to fill out the five spots. Will all of them land with Glenn and Stephanie Germanotta? It’s too soon to say, especially with more women coming like Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie in “Mary, Queen of Scots.”

But top of the list is Nicole Kidman, who is devastating in Karyn Kusama’s cop drama, “Destroyer.” We have never seen Nicole like this– a mess, really, down and dirty, a good cop who’s also a bad cop. She’s gray inside and out. Erin Bell is a police detective who’s seen too much, it’s all bad, and she doesn’t care anymore. Her partner (Sebastian Stan, excellent, in flashbacks) whom she loved is dead. She has a juvenile delinquent daughter and an ex husband (Scoot McNairy, also top notch) to deal with, and she’s haunted by her past. “Destroyer” is sort of Nicole’s “Klute.” She takes every chance. Kidman is a formidable actress, and this one of her very best performances.

At the same time, Nicole had a second film at TIFF, “Boy Erased,” written and directed by fellow Aussie Joel Edgerton. This is a based on a true story of a couple (Nicole, Russell Kidman) who sent their 19 year old son to gay conversion therapy. Mike Pence better watch out: if this is what he was really advocating, he’s in big trouble. Edgerton himself plays the leader of the firm. (In real life, this guy turned out to be gay himself, of course.) Crowe, who’s squandered so much time, is very good. Hedges, of “Manchester by the Sea” fame, can’t go wrong. (He’s also in “Ben is Back” — see below– and “Mid 90s.”)

But it’s Kidman who brings “Boy Erased” home as the mom, Nancy Eamons. In real life, Kidman is about a foot taller than Eamons, who I met. But she’s got her blonde hair, her accent, and she’s a pistol. For a while, Eamons went along with her husband on this (they’re still married) but once she saw the horrors of gay conversion, she become the cavalry. Kidman could get a Supporting nomination for this one. Watch her make Nancy’s story arc support the main story. And when she finally rescues her son (Hedges), the audience claps as Nancy finds her voice.

Two more moms lurk out there for Best Actress consideration. Sienna Miller has the role of her life in
“American Woman.” Jake Scott’s drama about a young mother whose teen daughter (also a young mother) has echoes of the recent real news story of Mollie Tibbetts. But there’s more, lots more, thanks to Miller’s mesmerizing lead, and really fine supporting work from Christina Hendricks, Amy Madigan, Aaron Paul, and Will Sasso. Miller has been so good in “American Sniper” and other films, but here she’s the lead she’s supposed to be. Casting directors: Sienna Miller is a movie star. In “American Woman,” she’s a revelation. I hope someone releases this in 2018, if not as soon as possible.

And then there’s Julia Roberts. She has an Oscar, and nominations, and can do anything. She’s a Big Movie Star. Sometimes in a drama she can get a bit caustic. But in “Ben is Back,” written and directed by Peter Hedges, she’s spot on as the mother of a drug addicted kid whom she doesn’t trust. Peter Hedges (The Station Agent, Gilbert Grape) in real life is the dad of Lucas, and he’s written him a wonderful role. But it’s Julia’s Holly– like Steve Carell in “Beautiful Boy” (to be discussed later)– who’s there for her kid no matter what. Roberts does some of her best work here, just terrific.

Say goodbye to the most recent cast of the “Superman” movies.

The trade papers report this morning that Warner Bros. is moving on to make “Supergirl” movies and releasing Henry Cavill from the title role as Superman.

If Cavill is gone, so too are Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg and Diane Lane, too. They join Ben Affleck as Batman and Jeremy Irons as Alfred as DC Comics alumni now. Their time is done.

Presumably, Gal Gadot stays in the DC Universe as Wonder Woman. And at least two people are playing the Joker soon– Jared Leto, and Joaqin Phoenix.

DC Comics has just never gotten itself together as Marvel has danced on its grave. DC movies are slammed by critics and fans alike. Nothing works, no one is ever happy. Someone will write a book one day about why this has all happened. Maybe it will be Brandon Routh.

Cavill has nothing to cavil about it. He just appeared with Tom Cruise in the biggest movie of the summer. He can write his own ticket as a star– maybe James Bond, plenty of other things. He’s presumably financially independent from being Superman. So it’s a win win.

The next Superman? I guess if DC is into Supergirl they’ll be into Superboy now, too. Chalamet?

Director Damien Chazelle was screwed out of the Academy Award for Best Picture two years ago for “La La Land.” So was his star, Ryan Gosling. So the big news is they are back with “First Man,” the gorgeously lyrical nail biting story of how astronaut Neil Armstrong became the First Man on the Moon. It will be hard to beat them this time.

“First Man” comes with a screenplay by Josh Singer, Oscar winner for “Spotlight.” The musical score is from Justin Hurwitz, also of “La La Land.” Cinematographer Linus Sandgren is also back from “La La Land.” They are all working at their respective heights.

Add to this group, Claire Foy, aka Queen Elizabeth from “The Crown” as Janet Armstrong. I’ll tell you now I expect she will win Best Supporting Actress without much trouble. She’s that good, the part is that well written for her. I’ve long admired Foy, but this is a stunning start to her movie career.

Chazelle already earned raves in Venice but tonight was the North American premiere. In Venice, a tempest in a teapot broke out over the exclusion of a scene depicting the planting of the American flag on the moon. This turns out now not to be true. The planted flag is shown, and there are plenty of American flags throughout. The movie is very patriotic.

So what happened? In order to avoid cliches, and depicted scenes shown previously in other movies like “Apollo 13,” Chazelle told me he chose not to dramatize those moments. ” We were looking for new moments not seen before,” he told me. So we don’t see Apollo 11’s re-entry either, or landing, or the astronauts getting a ticker tape parade.

Instead, “First Man” focuses on Neil Armstrong, his wife and children. The moon landing is seen through their eyes. This gives “First Man” a freshness, and a new perspective. The movie is a cinematic gift. This is no surprise. Chazelle’s first two movies, “Whiplash” and “La La Land” were the same. At 32, his career is soaring.

Great supporting performances from Jason Clarke, Ciaran Hinds, Brian D’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, and Lukas Haas among others. But “First Man” is almost a two hander, with Gosling and Foy doing superior work. I can’t wait to see this again– and to get the soundtrack.

This is what you shouldn’t do: watch a stunning three hour masterpiece foreign film so exhilarating you’re surprised anyone can still make cinema so good, then go to a contrived, hackneyed American studio creation that makes you want to throw things at the screen.

Perhaps Dan Fogelman’s “Life Itself” wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t just come from Florian Henckel von Dommersmarck’s “Never Look Away.” The two films shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence. Fogelman’s movie is just as manipulative and hoary as his TV show, “This is Us” except it doesn’t have Sterling K. Brown. As much as we love Oscar Isaac, he can’t save “Life Itself” from itself. I wish I had that memory fix stick from “Men in Black” to wipe it all out.

But I digress. Saturday afternoon was spent in cinematic nirvana with “Never Look Away.” Florian ten years  ago gave us “The Lives Of Others,” which so so superior it won Best Foreign Language film and was good enough that it should have won the Oscar for Best Film. If you watch it now, “Lives” remains a stunner.

I knew he’d back back despite making a studio catastrophe called “The Tourist” with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Just pretend that didn’t happen.

Four years ago Florian heard about the life of German artist Gerhard Richter, still alive today at 86. He sensed inspiration for a large film that would talk about art, creativity, modern German history and still have plenty of sex and laughs. The result is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my life, “Never Look Away.” At the Saturday screening, the standing ovation was thunderous with applause and screams of “Bravo!” If you really like cinema, movies, film, this is the one we’ve been waiting for.

Three hours go by so quickly in “Never Look Away” — well, you never look away as Florian fictionalizes Gerhart as a Dresden born artist named Kurt who survives the 1945 bombing as a six or seven year old, and then watches as Russians decimate Germany post- Nazi. Eventually Kurt and his girlfriend then young bride, escape East Berlin in 1961 before the Wall goes up, and they embark on a post-war life with the long shadow of Nazi Germany hanging over them.

Sounds grim but it’s not. Florian in the zone to speak where the pace and rhythms are magnificently perfect. It’s almost like he made the movie in a trance where nothing can go wrong. There’s lot of humor, and I said, lots of sex, there’s plenty to distract from the very serious ramifications of history. It’s hey– life itself– it’s the way we live even now– enduring the terrible by skimming in and out of it.

It doesn’t hurt that famed American cinematographer Caleb Deschanel does things here that should earn him his own Oscar after 5 nominations. His work here is simply sublime. The creation of Kurt’s/ Richter’s art will be studied by film students.

The actors are sensational. Sebastian Koch is back as the Nazi father in law of Kurt, whom he doesn’t know is Jewish and with whom he has a tie that only the audience knows. (This is the difference between this subtly realized plot and the hideous mallet hammering over the head of Life Itself, which keeps screaming its secret at you like a mental patient on Broadway.)

Koch was a hero in “Lives,” here he’s the villain, but he just hits the right sympathetic notes. German child star Tom Schilling is Kurt. He looks like Aaron Paul and makes quite honestly the most important debut to the West from a foreign actor since Jean duJardin. The very fine Paula Beer is Kurt’s love. Saskia Rosendahl lights up the screen in what is the central and most compelling character, that of Kurt’s aunt. I don’t want to spoil her role, but this was they key casting and it worked.

There”s more on “Never Look Away,” which will open in December. But every Academy and Guild member must see this ASAP. This is it– this is why we do it. Something happens just before the end of the film that recalls a scene from early on. When it started to happen, you have a sense of how this will end– and it was so brilliant I wanted to stand up and start applauding then, not wait. We can talk about it in December. You’ll see, and you’ll need tissues.