Check out the full list of nominations here: http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/
Best Picture - Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Up in the Air
Best Picture - Comedy or Musical
(500) Days of summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine
AJ: Well, if I were picking for Best Comedy I would go with (500) Days of Summer.
Lani: A film which you liked a lot more than I did!
AJ: For me it hits every note needed to be an exciting, original, entertaining movie. The time-jumping structure has been used before, specifically in Two For the Road, but it's used effectively and properly to tell the story, not just for show. It's a very romantic comedy that can be enjoyed and by couples and singles, heartbroken or not.
Lani: Honestly, none of the nominees in the comedy category seem especially worthy, though I did enjoy The Hangover and the Julia part of Julie & Julia, so I have no horse in this race.
AJ: For the Drama category, I don’t know. It’s between Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air. I guess I’d go with Inglourious Basterds, because I just really liked it. It was not the movie I was expecting to to see, but I was very satisfied with the film I did see. Up in the Air was really good, but not as original in execution and its story, though it does manage to stay away from a typical ending. However, I think Precious or Avatar has a better chance of winning. Everyone’s so jazzed about Avatar, they’ve convinced themselves it’s a good movie.
Lani: I think it’s probably a race between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker, but it is almost surely a better film than Avatar. My opinion of Avatar, beyond the special effects, which aren’t that important to me anyway, is pretty low.
AJ: I think the Comedy/Musical category is always more interesting than Drama. Movies like The Hangover, which is a really funny comedy, can get recognized when they probably wouldn’t otherwise. Although it seems like whatever musical is released that year gets nominated, no matter how bad a film it is.
Best Animated Film
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Lani: For Best Animated Film it has to be Up.
AJ: Yeah, it has to be. I would really like Fantastic Mr. Fox to win because it was a really good movie, which just happened to be animated, but Up was the best movie of the year.
Lani: There were a lot of quality animated films this year, but Up was so excellent it seems the other films have no chance of winning.
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Clint Eastwood - Invictus
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
AJ: I guess I would also give “Best Director” to Quentin Tarantino because I really liked what he did with Inglourious Basterds, the approach he took. He was able to let long scenes play out without losing the tension and suspense, and he kept a balance between those scenes and the action sequences. I like Jason Reitman’s movies, but I don’t think his directing style is all that original or noteworthy.
Lani: And I think Up in the Air really succeeds on the basis of performances and timely material rather than Reitman’s direction. I feel like the instances when his directing seemed evident were the weaker moments, for example I thought there was a creepy vibe between Anna Kendrick’s character and her boss played by Jason Bateman, which I’m sure was unintentional. If I was directing that scene I would never have let her rub his shoulders!
AJ: If there was an award for “Best Hard-worker” then I would give it the James Cameron. Avatar was a technical achievement, but it just wasn’t a great movie.
Lani: Unfortunately, I don’t think Kathryn Bigelow has a chance. Her film is recognized by many critics as the best of the year, but I’m skeptical if it will win any awards this year since it was not widely seen.
Best Actor - Drama
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Tobey Maguire - Brothers
Best Actor - Comedy/Musical
Matt Damon - The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis - Nine
Robert Downey, Jr. - Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg - A Serious Man
AJ: Here's a good example of what I mean by the Comedy category being more interesting than the Drama category: Robert Downey, Jr., one of the best actors around, is nominated for playing Sherlock Holmes. He was good in the role and very likable, but at what other awards event would that performance get a nomination? For “Best Actor” in a drama, I'd pick Jeff Bridges. I think he’s a really good actor and in this film, as in most of his other films, you don’t see him acting, it all feels very natural.
Lani: I agree, his performance seemed very effortless. Bridges is definitely the frontrunner. Clooney could be recognized, but, ironically, I think the perception is that his performance was less difficult to pull off, as if he was relying on his natural charm, rather than transforming into a different person like Bridges did. What's funny to me is that in a hypothetical situation, Morgan Freeman portraying Nelson Mandela would seem like a lock for best actor awards. In reality, though, he’s playing Mandela in a movie which doesn’t really address the meatier aspects of Mandela’s life, so it’s not a very memorable role. I liked Invictus, but it was more of a sports movie than a movie about Mandela.
Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
Best Actress - Comedy/Musical
Sandra Bullock - The Proposal
Marion Cotillard - Nine
Julia Roberts - Duplicity
Meryl Streep - It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
AJ: I really don’t have anything to say about the “Best Actress” categories. I think picking the winner from this list of names is like a crapshoot. I don't even have an idea for who "should" win.
Lani: Well, I think Meryl Streep’s performance in Julie & Julia deserves recognition. Though her character was based on a real person, it could easily have become a caricature, with the funny accent, odd physicality, and large personality. But the performance was so natural; she did seem like a real person with real motivations and relationships.
Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress
Pen̩lope Cruz РNine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Mo’Nique - Precious
Julianne Moore - A Single Man
Lani: In the supporting actor and actress categories, I’d say Christoph Waltz and Mo’Nique are the frontrunners. I think Waltz is definitely deserving, his performance really carries the film for me, more so than the sequences with the Basterds. As far as supporting actress, if Mo’Nique does not win then I hope that Vera Farmiga gets the award. She took a character which doesn’t seem like a lot on paper and made her a real person. She and Clooney achieved such a natural rapport in their scenes together, it made Anna Kendrick’s performance seem forced.
AJ: Christoph Waltz should get the recognition here. He's given one of the best performances of the year. My only problem is that he's nominated in the supporting category though he carries the weight of the film. Anyone who has seen Inglourious Basterds knows that he's the star of the movie, not Brad Pitt, not just in a show-stealing way (which it is) but also in terms of who the movie concerns itself with.
Well, we will see if our predictions are correct Sunday night!
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