It’s that special time of the year. The year foreign press send out their nominations for the best of all things filmic in the hopes of rubbing shoulders with the stars they write about. Best actress for Julia Roberts in Duplicity*? Best actor for Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes. Really?
Crackpot nominations for the sake of ass-kissing aside, The Golden Globes have more legitimacy than not and have become a marquee ceremony– a christening of Awards Season and a telltale hint at Oscar nominees to come. It’s the buzz builder: The Oscar Happy Hour.
Still, if we’re being honest (and we are), their picks this year are for the most part spot on:
Best Motion Picture: Avatar, The Hurt locker (nice!), Inglourious Basterds (kudos!), Precious (given!) and Up in the Air (given!).
AATM says: All deserved. We haven’t seen Avatar yet, but we’ll take all the Foreign Press’ word for it. The Hurt Locker has been lurking and deserves some love since no one actually saw it, but… Winner? Up in the Air.
Best Motion Picture– Musical or Comedy: (500) Days of Summer (nice!), The Hangover (ugh), It’s Complicated (ugh), Julie and Julia and Nine.
AATM says: Slightly less deserved, but how do you “artfully” promote a comedy or musical in a year light on “artful” comedy and musicals. Winner? Hands down, (500 Days of Summer).
Best Actor in a Motion Picture– Drama: Jeff “the stalwart” Bridges (Crazy Heart), George “you can’t deny me” Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin “suck it, Mr. Darcy” Firth (A Single Man), Morgan “take that, Luke” Freeman (Invictus), Tobey “don’t call me Spidey” Maguire, (Brothers).
AATM says: A solid list of nominees. While Tobey’s performance is striking, Brothers doesn’t have enough steam to push him to the forefront. It’s a toss-up. Jeff Bridges deserves it, but every member of the foreign press wants Clooney in their bed. Winner? It’s the foreign press. Who knows.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture– Drama: Emily “I deserve this” Blunt, (The Young Victoria), Sandra “It’s nice just to be here” Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen “you can’t deny me” Mirren (The Last Station), Carey “in the bag” Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey “Oh snap, Monique!” Sidibe, (Precious).
AATM says: Sidibe is strong, but Cary Mulligan was pleasant and Mirren is dependable. Winner? It’s the foreign press. Who knows.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture– Comedy:Daniel “I had no doubt” Day-Lewis, (Nine), Matt “I’m the one who can act” Damon, (The Informant), Robert “seriously, for this?” Downey Jr., (Sherlock Holmes), Joseph “It’s my CRAFT” Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer), Michael “I nailed it” Stuhlbarg, (A Serious Man).
AATM says: Downey’s nom is a given to get his much-loved butt to the ceremony. Gordon-Levitt is charming, Damon is fun, Stuhlbarg is possibly too subtle, but Daniel Day-Lewis is the stalwart. Winner? Day-Lewis.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture– Musical or Comedy: Sandra “This is a joke, right?” Bullock (The Proposal), Marion “I’ll take it now, please” Cotillard (Nine), Julia “We love you Julia!!!” Roberts (Duplicity), Meryl “They really love me” Streep, (It’s Complicated) AND Meryl Streep, (Julie and Julia).
AATM says: Streep is a fixture at these events, but right now the buzz is around Cotilliard. Winner? The French gal.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Penelope “Shoo lawv me” Cruz (Nine), Vera “I like lovemaking and nakedness” Farmiga, (Up in the Air), Anna “Thanks, Twilight!” Kendrick, (Up in the Air), Mo’ “is this worth money?” Nique, (Precious), Julianne “I’m lovely. Deal.” Moore, (A Single Man).
AATM says: Mo’Nique’s shameless quest for cash-in over art may turn off some voters, but her powerhouse performance in Precious places her as a front-runner. Kendrick is young and charming, Moore is old hat, Farmiga isn’t as strong. Winner? Mo’Nique.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Matt “I TOLD you…” Damon, “Invictus“, Woody “I’m back” Harrelson, “The Messenger“, Christopher “Adelweise” Plummer, “The Last Station“, Stanley “creeeeepy” Tucci, “The Lovely Bones“, Christoph “I’ll take it” Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”.
AATM says: Damon pulls a mean accent and Harrelson puts out a striking performance, but Walz is the oozy favorite despite Tucci’s monster underneath performance in Bones. Winner? Waltz.
Best Animated Feature Film: “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs“, “Coraline“, “Fantastic Mr. Fox“, “The Princess and the Frog“, “Up“.
AATM says: Tough call. Cloudy‘s out. Princess and the Frog is out. Up, Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox are contenders. Despite Up‘s strength, Pixar’s winning legacy hurts it in this race, so it’s between Coraline and Fantastic. Winner? Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Best Screenplay– Motion Picture: Neill “Bite me, Campea!” Blomkamp, “District 9“, Terri “Aw” Tatchell and Mark “YEAH!” Boal, “The Hurt Locker“, Nancy “Old Lady Romance” Meyers, “It’s Complicated“, Jason “Thanks for the leg up, Dad” Reitman, “Up in the Air“, Sheldon “That’s right..”Turner and Quentin “…Motherf*****s!” Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds“.
AATM says: Based on originality of screenplay District 9 seems the shoe-in. But it’s sci-fi and The Hurt Locker is real and may receive the winning votes based on consolation. Still, foreign press loves Tarantino and he delivered a seven course meal… Winner? Inglorious Basterds.
Best director– Motion picture: Kathryn “If I don’t win, it’s travesty” Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker“, James “HMFIC” Cameron, “Avatar“, Clint “What now, Luke!?” Eastwood, “Invictus“, Jason “Me again” Reitman, “Up in the Air“, Quentin “I’vegotyoueatingoutofthepalmofmyass” Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds“.
AATM says: Strong group here. Eastwood’s seen his accolades and Reitman will see many more. Tarantino’s the wild card. Cameron’s on the list for his achievement alone and is going up against his ex-wife Bigelow. In the battle of the divorcees… Winner? Bigelow.
Best Foreign Language Film: Baaria (Italy), Broken Embraces (Spain), The Maid (Chile), A Prophet (France), The White Ribbon (Germany).
AATM says: Er…. nothing. These are foreign films, which means they screen in New York and LA and we’re too far away to screen them. Winner? Stay tuned.
Best Original Score– Motion Picture: Up (Michael Giacchino), The Informant! (Marvin Hamlisch), Avatar (James Horner), A Single Man (Abel Korzeniowski), Where The Wild Things Are (Karen O and Carter Burwell).
AATM says: Wild Things has received a lot of love, Avatar‘s score is James Horner, which means it cues off all his other early 80’s works and Up is old-timey charming. Winner? Karen O and Carter Burwell.
We didn’t include the nominations for best original song (they’re weak) or the TV categories because they don’t matter. But if you care about that kind of stuff, you can see it all here.
*Duplicity is a great film by the way, but not necessarily because of Roberts.
Golden Globe Nominees Announced- We Respond
Crackpot nominations for the sake of ass-kissing aside, The Golden Globes have more legitimacy than not and have become a marquee ceremony– a christening of Awards Season and a telltale hint at Oscar nominees to come. It’s the buzz builder: The Oscar Happy Hour.
Still, if we’re being honest (and we are), their picks this year are for the most part spot on:
Best Motion Picture: Avatar, The Hurt locker (nice!), Inglourious Basterds (kudos!), Precious (given!) and Up in the Air (given!).
AATM says: All deserved. We haven’t seen Avatar yet, but we’ll take all the Foreign Press’ word for it. The Hurt Locker has been lurking and deserves some love since no one actually saw it, but… Winner? Up in the Air.
Best Motion Picture– Musical or Comedy: (500) Days of Summer (nice!), The Hangover (ugh), It’s Complicated (ugh), Julie and Julia and Nine.
AATM says: Slightly less deserved, but how do you “artfully” promote a comedy or musical in a year light on “artful” comedy and musicals. Winner? Hands down, (500 Days of Summer).
Best Actor in a Motion Picture– Drama: Jeff “the stalwart” Bridges (Crazy Heart), George “you can’t deny me” Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin “suck it, Mr. Darcy” Firth (A Single Man), Morgan “take that, Luke” Freeman (Invictus), Tobey “don’t call me Spidey” Maguire, (Brothers).
AATM says: A solid list of nominees. While Tobey’s performance is striking, Brothers doesn’t have enough steam to push him to the forefront. It’s a toss-up. Jeff Bridges deserves it, but every member of the foreign press wants Clooney in their bed. Winner? It’s the foreign press. Who knows.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture– Drama: Emily “I deserve this” Blunt, (The Young Victoria), Sandra “It’s nice just to be here” Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen “you can’t deny me” Mirren (The Last Station), Carey “in the bag” Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey “Oh snap, Monique!” Sidibe, (Precious).
AATM says: Sidibe is strong, but Cary Mulligan was pleasant and Mirren is dependable. Winner? It’s the foreign press. Who knows.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture– Comedy:Daniel “I had no doubt” Day-Lewis, (Nine), Matt “I’m the one who can act” Damon, (The Informant), Robert “seriously, for this?” Downey Jr., (Sherlock Holmes), Joseph “It’s my CRAFT” Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer), Michael “I nailed it” Stuhlbarg, (A Serious Man).
AATM says: Downey’s nom is a given to get his much-loved butt to the ceremony. Gordon-Levitt is charming, Damon is fun, Stuhlbarg is possibly too subtle, but Daniel Day-Lewis is the stalwart. Winner? Day-Lewis.
Best Actress in a Motion Picture– Musical or Comedy: Sandra “This is a joke, right?” Bullock (The Proposal), Marion “I’ll take it now, please” Cotillard (Nine), Julia “We love you Julia!!!” Roberts (Duplicity), Meryl “They really love me” Streep, (It’s Complicated) AND Meryl Streep, (Julie and Julia).
AATM says: Streep is a fixture at these events, but right now the buzz is around Cotilliard. Winner? The French gal.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Penelope “Shoo lawv me” Cruz (Nine), Vera “I like lovemaking and nakedness” Farmiga, (Up in the Air), Anna “Thanks, Twilight!” Kendrick, (Up in the Air), Mo’ “is this worth money?” Nique, (Precious), Julianne “I’m lovely. Deal.” Moore, (A Single Man).
AATM says: Mo’Nique’s shameless quest for cash-in over art may turn off some voters, but her powerhouse performance in Precious places her as a front-runner. Kendrick is young and charming, Moore is old hat, Farmiga isn’t as strong. Winner? Mo’Nique.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Matt “I TOLD you…” Damon, “Invictus“, Woody “I’m back” Harrelson, “The Messenger“, Christopher “Adelweise” Plummer, “The Last Station“, Stanley “creeeeepy” Tucci, “The Lovely Bones“, Christoph “I’ll take it” Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”.
AATM says: Damon pulls a mean accent and Harrelson puts out a striking performance, but Walz is the oozy favorite despite Tucci’s monster underneath performance in Bones. Winner? Waltz.
Best Animated Feature Film: “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs“, “Coraline“, “Fantastic Mr. Fox“, “The Princess and the Frog“, “Up“.
AATM says: Tough call. Cloudy‘s out. Princess and the Frog is out. Up, Coraline and Fantastic Mr. Fox are contenders. Despite Up‘s strength, Pixar’s winning legacy hurts it in this race, so it’s between Coraline and Fantastic. Winner? Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Best Screenplay– Motion Picture: Neill “Bite me, Campea!” Blomkamp, “District 9“, Terri “Aw” Tatchell and Mark “YEAH!” Boal, “The Hurt Locker“, Nancy “Old Lady Romance” Meyers, “It’s Complicated“, Jason “Thanks for the leg up, Dad” Reitman, “Up in the Air“, Sheldon “That’s right..”Turner and Quentin “…Motherf*****s!” Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds“.
AATM says: Based on originality of screenplay District 9 seems the shoe-in. But it’s sci-fi and The Hurt Locker is real and may receive the winning votes based on consolation. Still, foreign press loves Tarantino and he delivered a seven course meal… Winner? Inglorious Basterds.
Best director– Motion picture: Kathryn “If I don’t win, it’s travesty” Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker“, James “HMFIC” Cameron, “Avatar“, Clint “What now, Luke!?” Eastwood, “Invictus“, Jason “Me again” Reitman, “Up in the Air“, Quentin “I’vegotyoueatingoutofthepalmofmyass” Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds“.
AATM says: Strong group here. Eastwood’s seen his accolades and Reitman will see many more. Tarantino’s the wild card. Cameron’s on the list for his achievement alone and is going up against his ex-wife Bigelow. In the battle of the divorcees… Winner? Bigelow.
Best Foreign Language Film: Baaria (Italy), Broken Embraces (Spain), The Maid (Chile), A Prophet (France), The White Ribbon (Germany).
AATM says: Er…. nothing. These are foreign films, which means they screen in New York and LA and we’re too far away to screen them. Winner? Stay tuned.
Best Original Score– Motion Picture: Up (Michael Giacchino), The Informant! (Marvin Hamlisch), Avatar (James Horner), A Single Man (Abel Korzeniowski), Where The Wild Things Are (Karen O and Carter Burwell).
AATM says: Wild Things has received a lot of love, Avatar‘s score is James Horner, which means it cues off all his other early 80’s works and Up is old-timey charming. Winner? Karen O and Carter Burwell.
We didn’t include the nominations for best original song (they’re weak) or the TV categories because they don’t matter. But if you care about that kind of stuff, you can see it all here.
*Duplicity is a great film by the way, but not necessarily because of Roberts.