The Golden Globes are now officially the wackiest, unpredictable (at least by way of catering to expected Oscar fodder), and interesting precursor awards leading up to the Oscars. I knew that when they nominated Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) and Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) when the critics were not paying attention. I love the HFPA for their chutzpah, daring to honor unheralded performances simply because they liked them enough and not because they're expected to be cited for Oscar glory. Tom Cruise for Tropic Thunder! Totally unexpected but, considering how he stole the film from just about everyone, well-deserved (though translation into an Oscar nom is still highly unlikely). General snubs for Milk and The Dark Knight may not matter all that much when Oscar noms come out, but it makes for very interesting curveballs in major categories thought practically sewn up.
Anyway, here are the nominees with my scores and comments:
BEST MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Score: 4/5 (though I had mentioned 6). Australia is officially off the Oscar competition. If anyone were to honor it, it would be the internationally flavored, Kidman-loving Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Just like practically everybody, I'm rather surprised that Milk was left out given the love from the critics. I left out Frost/Nixon, thinking (quite silly of me) that the HFPA wouldn't go for it. Just as I predicted, no The Dark Knight.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Kristin Scott-Thomas (I've Loved You So Long)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Score: 4/5. Big boost for Scott-Thomas after being ignored by the critics. I thought Cate Blanchett, who had performed very well in past Globes, would get the nod. This is likely how the final slate for the Oscars will look, unless Blanchett makes a surge or Sally Hawkins gets enough love.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE-DRAMA
Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Score: 5/5. No brainer; the HFPA loves their celebrities, so Brad Pitt was an easy guess. It's him or Eastwood for the last slot for the Oscar. Richard Jenkins needed this one, though there's still the SAGs, which is more telling of favor with actors.
BEST MOTION PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Score: 4/5. I thought they'd go for Tropic Thunder instead of In Bruges. I have not seen the latter, but people say it's great so I suppose it's well deserved.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading)
Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!)
Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey)
Score: 4/5. It was easy to predict Sarah Jessica Parker being nom'd in this category by the HFPA, but Rebecca Hall, ultimately more deserving, got the nod.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE-MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Colin Farrell (In Bruges)
James Franco (Pineapple Express)
Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges)
Dustin Hoffman (Last Chance Harvey)
Score: 2/5. Got only Bardem and Hoffman right. They really love In Bruges, don't they? And I should have predicted the Franco nod; the reviews of his perf in this film were considerably good.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Score: 3/5. Lots of love for Doubt. Big boost for Tomei, not really so much for Adams. Most conspicuous absence: Rosemarie DeWitt (or Debra Winger, for that matter).
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder)
Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
Ralph Fiennes (The Duchess)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Score: 3/5. Tom Cruise! HFPA is wacky (in a good way). I ultimately expected the Franco shut-out to give room for Downey, but Fiennes was unexpected despite the glowing reviews of his performance here. A strong campaign for the Oscar nom wouldn't hurt. The absence of Josh Brolin and Michael Shannon are the most glaring omissions, especially considering the love for Revolutionary Road in the other categories.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung-Fu Panda
WALL-E
Score: 3/3. These will likely be the Oscar nominees.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden/Denmark)
Gomorrah (Italy)
I've Loved You So Long (France)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)
Score: 2/5. Got only Gomorrah and Waltz with Bashir. The snub for The Class is unexpected, more so than the one for Let the Right One In. With the exception of I've Loved You So Long (not eligible for the Oscar), this will likely be the line-up come Oscar time (The Class will fill the last slot).
BEST DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon)
Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road)
Score: 3/5. It was unwise of me to bet against Howard both here and in the Oscar nom predictions. But Gus Van Sant seemed a shoo-in. How this helps Mendes in his Oscar campaign is still iffy.
BEST SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Score: 2/5. Got only Button and Slumdog. These are all adapted screenplays and likely nominees in that Oscar category. Which one can possibly get displaced by the screenplay for Revolutionary Road?
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Frost/Nixon
Slumdog Millionaire
Score: 1/5. Ouch. Guessed only Button's right. I thought Eastwood would get a nod for Gran Torino, not Changeling. Anyway, big boost for the praised work for Defiance and Slumdog. And yet another Frost/Nixon nod.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
"Down to Earth" (WALL-E)
"Gran Torino" (Gran Torino)
"I Thought I Lost You" (Bolt)
"Once in a Lifetime" (Cadillac Records)
"The Wrestler" (The Wrestler)
Score: 2/5. A synaptic misfire had made me stupidly forget to write down the Bolt song even while thoughts of Miley Cyrus as an Oscar nominee were already haunting me the day before. Eastwood's getting more nods as a musician than as actor-director. Odd.
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