2012 Golden Globe Nominations: Almost like a real, classy awards show.

The 2012 Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, and, as always, there were a few surprises in the list of nominees. My five biggest surprises:

1. The quality of the nominees. No Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary, no Julia Roberts in Larry Crowne. Has the Hollywood Foreign Press finally dropped their star-worshipping tendencies? Maybe they couldn’t take all the flak they got last year with the now-infamous multiple nominations for The
   Tourist. Or maybe there were just better films to fill the Comedy categories this year. Either way, this is a really deserving group of nominees, overall.
2. The Ides of March for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Clooney’s pic has received no love this awards season, yet the Hollywood Foreign Press recognized the film, Clooney’s direction, and its leading actor. Perhaps this is where the HFPA’s penchant for superstars comes into play. I would’ve thought that Clooney in Best Supporting Actor would have been its best chances at the Globes, but clearly the HFPA isn’t messing around. Also, what does this mean for Ryan Gosling? I had predicted him for Drive and Crazy Stupid Love (which he also got a nomination for), and this just proves that Gosling is all over this awards season, yet probably won’t be nominated for an Oscar.
3. Viggo Mortensen for Best Supporting Actor. A Dangerous Method is another film that’s been ignored by the awards groups so far. If anything, I would’ve thought that the film’s leading lady, Keira Knightley, would have been recognized by the Globes, rather than the less-famous Mortensen in the already packed supporting category.
4. No Melissa McCarthy. I thought that this was the one awards group that would definitely recognize McCarthy, but she was completely snubbed in the Best Supporting Actress category (but somehow got a SAG and Critics Choice nomination!) I still think she’ll be nominated for an Oscar, but this definitely made the Best Supporting Actress race a little more complicated (which is fun).
5. Both Carnage ladies in Comedy Actress. Maybe I should have seen this coming, since Winslet and Foster and both big stars, but I wasn’t expected them both to get in. Along with Theron, Wiig, and Williams, this is a really strong category.

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2011 Golden Globes: Pros and Cons

I just wanted to share a few quick thoughts on last night’s Golden Globes ceremony.

PROS:
– Ricky Gervais. Apparently people are upset with some of his comments? I didn’t find any of his jokes offensive, and for the most part they were funny, and quite accurate. How can you expect him not to take jabs at celebrities when the whole show is one big excuse for celebs to promote themselves? This is just my opinion, but I doubt many of the people he made fun of were offended so much as pleased to get attention. People like Tim Allen haven’t generated this much discussion in about a decade (oh, the irony!)
– “It’s Ashton Kutcher’s dad…Bruce Willis!”
– Chris Colfer wins! (A very deserved win, in my opinion. And I loved his genuinely shocked reaction, and his simultaneously funny and touching speech – “I think I dropped my heart somewhere between Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore!”)
– Jim Parsons wins! (Plus Kaley Cuoco’s reaction)
– Colin Firth winning, and his lovely acceptance speech (plus his shout out to Guy Pearce!)
– Cuts to celebrities at random moments (Kyra Sedwick flaked out on Kevin Bacons’ shoulder, Mark Wahlberg and his red wine, etc.)
– Even though I haven’t seen their movies/shows, it was nice to see Steve Buscemi, Paul Giamati, Katey Segal, and Laura Linney get some recognition.
– Robert Downey Jr.’s presentation. It was risky, and worked for the most part. I’m assuming he wrote it/had some hand in it, and inventive bits like that make the show much more entertaining. (And anyone who thinks that he was seriously complaining about the show’s mean-spirited tone obviously doesn’t know much about RDJ)
– Andrew Garfield and Joseph Gordon-Levitt getting to present for their respective films (JGL was a pro, and Garfield’s insane nervousness was endearing)
– Best dressed ladies: Angelina Jolie, Mila Kunis, Claire Danes, Leighton Meester, Hailee Steinfeld
– Michael Douglas: “There has to be an easier way to get a standing ovation”
– Jesse Eisenberg’s unexpected success at wearing a suit (though he’s always been cute)
– Garrett Hedlund’s expected success at wearing a suit

CONS
– Why does Emma Stone look like that?
– J-Lo and Alec Baldwin’s awkward presentation
– Lea Michele becoming increasingly more obnoxious by the second.
– Justin Bieber’s presence
– The general predictability of the film categories. I’m a fan of a lot of the people that won, but it would’ve been nice to see a surprise winner somewhere along the line (the TV categories were much more inspired, to me)

Golden Globe 2011 Nominations – Quick Reactions

Well, my predictions for next year’s Golden Globes turned out to be kind of shit. But I don’t think that they were more shit than anyone else’s. Tough year to predict, but some interesting surprises.

YAY

• James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, and Ryan Gosling all got noms in the Best Drama Actor category! Is there room at the Oscars for all three? (I have a sneaking suspicion that Gosling may get left out. But if Blue Valentine is big enough for the Globes, surely Oscar will like it?)
• Golden Globe Nominee Andrew Garfield!
  
• And though I haven’t seen Easy A yet, it’s great to see another talented young actress, Emma Stone, get some recognition.
• Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine? Yes, please. (One of my most anticipated for the year)
• I like the curveballs nominations for Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Mark Wahlberg (I predicted him!), Halle Berry, and Paul Giamatti. Could they pose a threat in the Oscar race? I’d argue that Renner is having a resurgence of support at just the right time. And Mila Kunis is a name that has been floating around for a while as a possible darkhorse. As for the latter three names, I think the leading categories are a bit more locked up. But you never know.
• Hooray for the snubbing of superstars like Timberlake (although I did think that he was quite good in The Social Network) and Cher. Some people predicted them to get nominated, but that would be going overboard, even for the Globes.
• Can we finally agree that DiCaprio is not getting an Oscar nomination? Please?
• I really love a lot of the names floating around the TV categories!
  • Favourite nominated actors whose shows I watch: Chris Colfer, Jim Parsons, Elizabeth Moss, Jon Hamm, Tina Fey (always!), Jane Lynch
  • Interesting names that popped up, but whose shows/TV movies I haven’t seen: Steve Buscemi, Kelly McDonald, Dennis Quaid, Claire Danes, Ramola Garai, Laura Linney, Bryan Cranston, Michael C. Hall, Katy Sagal, Julia Stiles

NAY

• All of the comedy categories, basically. They can be a really good opportunity to recognize films that don’t get a lot of awards attention, but it seems like they dropped the ball this year. Granted, it was a weak year, but surely Cyrus, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Greenberg, Please Give, or Kick-Ass would’ve been more worthy?:
  
  • I didn’t care for Alice in Wonderland, and even though I haven’t seen them, Red, Burlesque, and The Tourist hardly seem like they are worthy of any “Best Picture” nominations.
    
  • If they had to nominate one big, prestigious actor, I would’ve rather have seen Tom Cruise for Knight and Day than Depp for Alice in Wonderland.
    
• The Globes never get sick of sucking up to stars, do they? Johnny Depp (times two!), Angelina Jolie, Michael Douglas and Kevin Spacey don’t have a hope for any legitimate awards. But maybe they’ll show up for the ceremony and look pretty!
  
• Would’ve loved to see Paul Rudd get some love. Alas, it was not meant to be.
  
• In terms of performances that I’ve actually seen, it would’ve been nice to see Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and John C. Reilly get nominated. Even Zach Galifianakis and Russell Brand would’ve been fun additions to the Comedy Actor category. (I don’t know why, but Comedy Actor is the category that I’m always most interested in. This year, though I’ve only seen one of the performances, it is so boring. I would’ve been cool with [based solely on me liking the actors, in some cases] some kind of Downey/Reilly/Gyllenhaal/Stiller/Rudd line up. That would’ve been a bit epic, right?)
  
• TV snubs for: January Jones and Parks and Recreation

2011 Golden Globe Predictions

Is it just me, or this year’s Golden Globes WAY harder to predict than last year’s? I did pretty well last year with my guessing, but I honestly have no idea who is going to fill up half the slots this time around. That unpredictability makes for a more exciting race, but it also deflates my ego. Sad times. But here we go.

Best Picture (Drama)

The Fighter

Inception

The King’s Speech

The Social Network

True Grit

Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)

Burlesque

Cyrus

How Do You Know

The Kids Are All Right

Love and Other Drugs

Best Director

Danny Boyle – 127 Hours

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen – True Grit

David Fincher – The Social Network

Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech

Christopher Nolan – Inception

Best Actor (Drama)

Jeff Bridges – True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

James Franco – 127 Hours

Mark Wahlberg – The Fighter

Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)

Jim Carrey – I Love You, Philip Morris

Michael Douglas – Solitary Man

Robert Downey Jr. – Due Date

Jake Gyllenhaal – Love and Other Drugs

John C. Reilly – Cyrus

(I miss last year’s Levitt/Downey/Damon/Stuhlbarg/Day-Lewis grouping. I didn’t even like The Informant or Nine, and I was mixed on Sherlock Holmes and A Serious Man, but that was one epic combination of performances and actors.)

Best Actress (Drama)

Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

Gwyneth Paltrow – Country Strong

Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Hilary Swank – Conviction

Best Actress (Comedy/Musical)

Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right

Anne Hathaway – Love and Other Drugs

Julianne Moore – The Kids Are All Right

Emma Stone – Easy A

Reece Witherspoon – How Do You Know

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale – The Fighter

Matt Damon – True Grit

Andrew Garfield – The Social Network

Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams – The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech

Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Winona Ryder – Black Swan

Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

2010 Golden Globe Nominations

 

Often considered the precursor to the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes announced their nominees at the crack of dawn this morning. I made some predictions for the major film categories beforehand, and I was surprised to see that my predictions were 100% correct for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy, and Best Supporting Actress. I haven’t seen many of the big Oscar contenders yet (like, basically, I’ve only seen Julie & Julia), but I’ve been following this awards season fairly closely. I might post some predictions for Globe winners, or Oscar nominees later on.

Here are some quick reactions to the nominations.

• I was thrilled to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt nominated for (500) Days of Summer, and for the film to be nominated in the Best Musical/Comedy category. It’s my favourite film of the year so far, and I’m glad that people haven’t forgotten about it in the deluge of big Oscar movies.
• The biggest surprise, for me, in the film categories was probably Tobey Maguire’s nomination for Brothers. I’m sure he’s good in it, but I’ve heard very little talk of awards for his performance. The iffy critical reviews didn’t seem to help his chances, either. I would have expected to see Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (who I had predicted), Viggo Mortensen for The Road, or Johnny Depp for Public Enemies in the fifth spot of the category (Clooney, Firth, Bridges, and Freeman were obvious nominees) long before Maguire. But I like when the awards shows keep things interesting with some surprise nominees.
• Sandra Bullock, Matt Damon, and Meryl Streep got double nominations (and in Streep’s case, it was two nominations in the same category!) And even though I’d been expecting it, I’m really confused as to why Bullock got nominated for The Proposal (I haven’t seen The Blind Side, so I can’t judge the validity of that nomination). She was fine in it, but I thought that category had so many other stronger contenders. I would have rather seen Amy Adams (for Sunshine Cleaning, or even Julie & Julia), Zooey Deschanel (though she was the weaker of the duo in 500 Days of Summer, she was still good in it), or Maya Rudolph (Away We Go) nominated instead.
• Though I haven’t seen their performances yet, I’m still glad to see these actors nominated, just because I like them J: Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Homes), Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria – wasn’t expecting that one!), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Julianne Moore (A Single Man)
• I don’t follow the Television awards too closely, but I was really happy to see Glee nominated for Best Comedy, and to see Lea Michelle, Matthew Morrison, and Jane Lynch all nominated! Pretty good for a show in its first season.
• When did it become a rule that Julia Roberts has to be nominated for a Globe for every film that she makes?
• I think that the Best Picture – Musical or Comedy category is a lot of fun. I like Julie and Julia, really liked The Hangover, and loved (500) Days of Summer. I have no idea who’s going to win this category, since early reviews of It’s Complicated and Nine seem a bit mixed.
• Could this be the year that a woman finally wins Best Director at the Oscars? I think Kathryn Bigelow has a good shot for The Hurt Locker. I’m sure she’ll get nominated, but she’ll have tough competition in Jason Reitman, James Cameron (who also happens to be her ex-husband), and even Clint Eastwood. It should be an interesting race.

To read the full list of Golden Globe nominees, click here.