The Globes are always a fun precursor to the Academy Awards, and give me just as much to cheer and complain about. So how about this year? Here are my thoughts on the winners. This is of course for movies only. I really don't watch enough TV to speak intelligently about the TV awards, though I do love me some Modern Family and Game of Thrones!
BEST PICTURE - DRAMA
The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
War Horse
Winner: The Descendants. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this yet, but I have heard it is pretty good, though not as good as Payne's other films, Sideways and About Schmidt. That said, out of this batch, I have heard that The Descendants was the frontrunner.
BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Winner: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady. Wow, this might be the most difficult category I have seen. Possibly ever. Any other year, any of these roles would have won, and it is their misfortune to be running up against each other like this! I guessed Meryl Streep, but have to admit that I am rooting for Glenn Close to win the Oscar, since she has been nominated several times and has never won.
BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
George Clooney, The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Winner: Clooney! Playing against type, I heard he was excellent in The Descendants. He is the frontrunner to win the Oscar, as well, though this makes me a liar since I have been saying this was Michael Fassbender or Ryan Gosling's year since between them, they seemed to be in every other movie this year...
BEST PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
My Week with Marilyn
Winner: The Artist. As it should be. This was a good category, though. Midnight in Paris is easily Woody Allen's best in a decade. Bridesmaids was a lot of fun (though I thought a tad overrated - sorry!). And I have heard nothing but good things about 50/50 and My Week with Marilyn, though is the latter really a comedy? But The Artist brought something new to the table, and by that I mean, something old. It showed that the oldest storytelling techniques can still pull our heartstrings. It is a remarkably clever film and I am glad it won.
BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jodie Foster, Carnage
Charlize Theron, Young Adult
Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet, Carnage
Winner: Michelle Williams. While I still question My Week with Marilyn being a comedy, her performance as the iconic Monroe does look spot on. Oh, well...
BEST ACTOR - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50/50
Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid, Love
Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris
Winner: Jean Dujardin is brilliant. That he can tell a whole story with just his body language is superb. I think Clooney is still the frontrunner for the Oscar, but I am rooting for Dujardin all the way.
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Adventures of TinTin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Winner: Adventures of TinTin. Thank heavens the overrated Rango didn't win. I don't get what everyone sees in this film. It's not bad, but why is it getting so much love? And how did Cars 2, the only Pixar movie to ever get slammed by critics and audiences, even get nominated??
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Flowers of War (China)
In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA)
The Kid with a Bike (Belgium)
A Separation (Iran)
The Skin I Live In (Spain)
Winner: A Separation. I knew this would win. With Iran being in the news so much, I just had a feeling it would be on voters' radars. Which is not a knock against the movie at all, since I have heard nothing but good things.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Winner: Octavia Spencer was fine in The Help, so I don't hold this against her. But I was kind of hoping Berenice Bejo would win. She totally enchanted me with her enthusiasm and sheer peppy-ness in The Artist.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
Albert Brooks, Drive
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Viggo Mortenson, A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Winner: Christopher Plummer. I will always have a soft spot for Branagh, who I have been a big fan of ever since he launched onto the scene as "the next Olivier" back in 1989's Henry V. And what more appropriate role to win for than by actually playing Oliver? That said, Plummer is due. A great performer with a long career of fine work, I'm glad Plummer took this home. I will be hoping he wins the Oscar, too.
BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Winner: Martin Scorsese. Wow, this was a surprise. I did not expect Hazanavicius to lose. That said, Scorsese is the mastermind of why Hugo works so well. I probably would have still voted for Hazanavicius, but Hugo is a wonderful film and I am okay with Scorsese winning.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, The Ides of March
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
Stan Chervin, Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball
Winner: Woody Allen. Well, here is the award that I am glad The Artist did not win for. I'm not even sure why it was nominated, to be honest. I expected Payne to win, but am fine with Woody Allen getting it. The script was whimsical and creative and his take on Hemingway is downright brilliant.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Abel Korzenoiwski, W.E.
Trent Rezner, Atticus Ross, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore, Hugo
John Williams, War Horse
Winner: Ludovic Bource. Despite relying on Bernard Hermann's brilliant Vertigo love theme for the climax of the film, Bource still produced an immense amount of music and was responsible for carrying the film forward. He did a good job, so I think he deserved it. For the record, as much as I love Williams, War Horse is way too sappy and I am tired of the atonal droning like that of Dragon Tattoo winning awards. I don't care if it is effective in the movie...maybe that's just me being bitter.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
"Hello, Hello," Gnomeo and Juliet, Elton John and Bernie Taupin
"The Keeper," Machine Gun Preacher, Chris Cornell
"Lay Your Head Down," Albert Nobbs, Brian Byrne, Glenn Close
"The Living Proof," The Help, Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman, Harvey Mason, Damon Thomas,
"Masterpiece," W.E. Madonna, Julie Frost, Jimmy Harry
Winner: Madonna's "Masterpiece." It is better than her "Die Another Day," but that said, I don't think any of these songs are that memorable. Where is "Muppet or Man" or "Life's a Happy Song," both terrific songs from The Muppets. Those should have been nominated. Where else would we get awesomely fun lyrics like, "If I am a muppet/then I'm a very manly muppet."
Okay, so that's what we got so far. Stay tuned for when the Oscar nominations come out. I'm ready to start complaining!
