SO many things to say about James Gray’s “Ad Astra,” which opens next Friday, September 20th.

The main thing is, this role of Roy, an astronaut in the near future, gives Brad Pitt a chance to shine dramatically and in a lead role. It could be one of two Oscar nominations for him, with Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” his other one, in supporting. Wouldn’t that be a kick?

But “Ad Astra” is a little lost in space, sort of a Terrence Malick meditation in the pitch black skies. It’s a gorgeous movie to look at, not just because Brad Pitt is, well, Brad Pitt. Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography feels as if he went into space and shot there, on the moon, Mars, and Neptune. Even the Earth looks good under Hoytema’s gaze.

This is not a movie of a lot of action, though. It’s a lot of interior monologues, and feelings. There’s no supporting roles big enough to mean much. It’s all Brad. Even Tommy Lee Jones, playing Brad’s long lost thought-dead astronaut father doesn’t get much of a star turn. Some supporting players are literally left twisting in the wind. I have no idea what happened to Donald Sutherland’s character, Ruth Negga’s, or Liv Tyler’s although at least she, Liv, has some character development. I’m giving a shout out to Sean Blakemore, who is not getting his due in movies.

No, it’s all about Roy McBride, a classic loner, no kids, a disgruntled wife (Tyler), who’s never gotten over his dad disappearing into space decades earlier. Turns out he’s alive, and causing trouble on Neptune. NASA is sending him to find Clifford McBride and stop him. So the movie is basically Roy ruminating on their relationship. SO it’s up to Brad to big his big game, not just the fun stuff that we know he’s capable of.

And he does it. Not since “Moneyball” has Pitt seemed so engaged and confident. He’s not just a movie star, a tabloid subject, etc. He’s an actor. And “Ad Astra” gives him a chance to show us what he can do. It helps to that lines and crevices have arrived on his perfect face, giving him more character than ever. It’s possible that Pitt, like Clint Eastwood, will find the “mature”part of his career the most fulfilling. I’m down for it.

Since the Oscar prognosticators are going mad with projections, I’d put him squarely on the bill with Michael B. Jordan, Adam Driver, Taron Egerton, Edward Norton, Christian Bale, and Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s early yet, there’s a lot more to come. but at least we’re in the same galaxy, er, on the same page.

Yes, it’s almost December! And the first awards show is on its way.

The IFP Gotham Awards sound the clarion call for the awards season, and they’re coming on December 2nd. That was a fast year! Former Gothams chief Joana Vicente is just finishing her first season running the Toronto Film Festival, and it’s been a huge success. Brava!

Now, our old pal Jeffrey Sharp has succeeded Joana as Executive Director of the IFP and the Gotham Awards. Today they’re announcing their first two honorees for this year– Oscar winning actor Sam Rockwell, and trail blazing director Ava Duvernay.

Rockwell won the Oscar last year for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” His long resume is filled with outstanding work. In December he’ll appear in Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” movie, which will undoubtedly earn him awards attention.

Duvernay was totally overlooked for her spell binding movie, “Selma.” But since then she’s gone on to many accolades. This year she’s going to win Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her mini series, “When They See Us.” She has really become a force for good in the culture! I remember when Ava was Jennifer Hudson’s publicist. She always knew she was going to change the world.

The Gothams are going to be pretty swell this year down at Cipriani 55 Wall Street. But slow the year down, please!

Two of the movies at the Toronto Film Festival really aren’t about what they’re touted to be. Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is about Matthew Rhys’s character’s relationship with his father, played brilliantly by Chris Cooper (who must be nominated for an Oscar, my friends). Tom Hanks’s Mister Rogers, also headed to awards citations, is really bystander to the main action no matter how nice or important he is.

Similarly, in James Mangold’s racing adventure, “Ford v. Ferrari,” neither Henry Ford II nor Enzo Ferrari are the main characters. In fact, Ferrari barely speaks, while Ford– played by Tracey Letts– is sort of there for bombastic explosions. The movie is about the friendship between car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale). Miles’s life is very fleshed out, but we learn little about Shelby except that he knows cars.

It’s a funny juxtaposition for two films that are clearly headed for the Oscar season. Of the two I prefer Heller’s film, which is very idiosyncratic, just like her “Can You Ever Forgive Me” from last season. Mister Rogers was already given a biopic with the documentary “Would You Be My Neighbor?” so it wasn’t necessary to do that again. Instead, Heller bases her story on journalist Tom Junod’s Esquire piece about Mister Rogers. At the time he was writing it, Junod’s estranged father was dying. Mister Rogers helped bring them together. “Beautiful Day” is a nice take, then, on something that could be have been redundant. And Hanks embodies Rogers in the way Renee Zellweger does Judy Garland– it’s not an imitation. It’s a little bit of genius.

“Ford v. Ferrari” really makes it on the racing. The recreations of Le Mans and Daytona are so exciting they should bring out all the fans everywhere. Plus, Christian Bale- as usual– makes the little known Ken Miles (known to racing fans only)– one of his great character portraits. Bale is a master at these people. You can’t stop watching him. Matt Damon is also great, but his character is underwritten. While he keeps the cars moving, and Miles employed, we don;t know anything about him. I was disappointed. My whole life people have talked about the Shelby Mustang. Did he not want his story told? Maybe his kids want their own movie. It’s a head scratcher.

It’s not easy out there if you’re a filmmaker. Audiences may love your work, and then the critics come after you with long knives.

In the case of Rian Johnson’s very clever “Knives Out,” this wasn’t the cast. Its Toronto screenings have produced raves. The hilarious Agatha Christie type murder mystery has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Everyone who’s seen it, loves it. Craig sporting a Southern accent is a hoot, and the whole cast, most especially Ana de Armas, shines.

But elsewhere, movies shown at the Toronto Film Festival have had schizophrenic responses. They’re cheered and given standing ovations, then shredded by the reviewers.

Right now, Todd Phillips’s excellent “Joker” is getting a lot of pushback. The RT score is 77. I expected at least a 90. But as press files in, they are not happy with the violence expressed by Arthur Fleck, aka The Joker. He’s coming as off as one of the crazy, lone gunmen from real life who’ve killed huge groups of people in real life. The reviewers are not responding to it as fiction. It’s very wrong to compare Joker, a comic book character, to the Dylan Root’s and so on of this world. But then again, there is no hero counterbalance in the film. And that may be an issue.

“Jojo Rabbit” is also scoring around 73. Taika Waititi’s Hitler satire is extremely divisive. Some people seem to love it. I am among those who didn’t. Fox Searchlight is much better served by their Armando Iannucci movie, “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” which is so entertaining and hilarious it’s like a balm after “Jojo,” which also had a stamding ovation– unaccountably– at its premiere.

Not fairing well either are two “literary” movies– the adaptation of “The Goldfinch,” which is set to bomb this weekend with a 26 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and terrible reviews from Toronto; and Steven Soderbergh’s Netflix film, “The Laundromat,” starring Meryl Streep. The latter is a rare disaster for both director and star. Charitably, it has a 54 on RT. But truly, this is one better served by the Netflix platform and not viewed in a theater, where there are exits.