It’s been too long, my dear friends. Firstly, let me briefly apologise for my lack of content over the last year. As important as my writing is to me, I just haven’t been able to find the time to keep my blog going with the consistency that it had this time last year. Saying that, it’s awards season.
Following the first few critics’ associations pitching in with their end-of-year awards, today brings the first real signs of spring. The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning and let me tell you, there were some truly shocking inclusions as well as some pleasantly surprising (but half-expected) ones. Sitting comfortably? The Road To The Oscars begins now…
BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KING’S SPEECH
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Four out of these five were no-brainers. ‘The Social Network’ has been cleaning up at the critics’ awards so far so will be regarded as the front runner by a whisker, but only because ‘The King’s Speech’ is yet to receive it’s general release. Early reviewers have been nothing short of astounded with Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s performances being hailed as ‘magnificent’, so expect a heavily contested race come January.
At the same time, both ‘Inception’ and ‘Black Swan’ would be worthy winners, thus proving just how strong a year it has been for dramas on both major and independent fronts. My only concern is with the inclusion of David O. Russell’s highly anticipated ‘The Fighter’. No doubt, it will feature career performances from both Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, but whether or not it should be there over ‘True Grit’ is surely debatable. From the look of things, The Coens have really pulled one out of the bag with their reimagining of the adventures of Rooster Cogburn. With a surplus of talent, an undoubtedly masterful screenplay and cinematography of epic proportions, how it was overlooked in favour of a Boston-based family drama is at this point questionable. I have every confidence in this film, don’t get me wrong, but Wahlberg (though I like him) is an extremely one dimensional actor who only really shines when he’s portraying a hometown hardass. Additionally, ‘The Fighter’ was penned by a combination of writers whose credits include ’8 Mile’, ‘The Mod Squad’ and (wait for it) ‘Air Bud’. Oh you know, that basketball playing golden retriever? How that beats out a Coen Brothers masterclass is beyond me but hey, I haven’t personally seen either of these films yet so who am I to judge?
WINNER: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ALT: THE KING’S SPEECH
MY PICK: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
BURLESQUE
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
RED
THE TOURIST
Where to start? The fact that ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘The Tourist’ have been nominated for anything is truly astounding. The only explanation I can find is that journalists just cannot get enough of Johnny Depp, but we’ll get to that later. Let’s be straight though, neither of these travesties have got even the most remote shot at picking up this particular prize. Neither does ‘Red’, charming as it was. Unfortunately, these nominations highlight just how scarce quality comedy is these days. Like the Drama category before it, this is a two horse race. ‘The Kids Are Alright’ and ‘Burlesque’ will be locking horns in January for sure.
WINNER: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
ALT: BURLESQUE
MY PICK: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE – DRAMA
JESSE EISENBERG – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
JAMES FRANCO – 127 HOURS
RYAN GOSLING – BLUE VALENTINE
MARK WAHLBERG – THE FIGHTER
Showtime! Could this race possibly be tighter than last years? In the end, Jeff Bridges had the whole academy behind him, but at this point in the year it was anyone’s statuette. I could literally see any one of these five astonishing performances walking away a winner. While I’d love for Ryan Gosling to be in with a shot, I think there has been a bit too much controversy and not enough buzz surrounding ‘Blue Valentine’ for him to be a serious contender. I think you can probably also count out Jesse Eisenberg who was predictably superb as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’. Why disregard the leading man in the year’s best film spitting lines from the year’s best screenplay you ask? Well, it’s simple. Colin Firth (by some divine miracle) has somehow managed to top his performance in ‘A Single Man’ with the turn of his career in ‘The King’s Speech’. Despite the strength of all five nominated performances, if there is a front runner it’s Firth. By the time the Oscars roll around, we may see a late surge from James Franco who is always a threat or even (god forbid) Mark Wahlberg if the Academy deems him this year’s ‘Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side’. I’m fairly certain though that our Colin’s time has finally come.
WINNER: COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
ALT: JAMES FRANCO – 127 HOURS
MY PICK: COLIN FIRTH – THE KING’S SPEECH
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS – DRAMA
HALLE BERRY – FRANKIE AND ALICE
NICOLE KIDMAN – RABBIT HOLE
JENNIFER LAWRENCE – WINTER’S BONE
NATALIE PORTMAN – BLACK SWAN
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – BLUE VALENTINE
Lovely to see Michelle Williams getting some recognition. She is a beautiful, elegant actress who deserves acclaim from all angles. I’m even going to go as far as suggesting that she may be a strong outsider in this category. The competition here isn’t quite as fierce as in the men’s, but there sure are some incredible performances.
Firstly, I think we can safely remove Halle Berry from the picture. She’s already an award winner for one, and from the early reviews of ‘Frankie and Alice’, it is a poor film that serves simply as a statue-vehicle for Berry. A great performance is no good if the film is guff, and you can take that to the bank. Similarly, I won’t discount Nicole Kidman just yet, but ‘Rabbit Hole’ may end up being just a little too depressing to win over voters.
Now that it’s narrowed to three, things start to get interesting. If we’re talking numbers then Natalie Portman is your odds on favourite, but she could easily be upset by Williams or (especially) Jennifer Lawrence. Sure, she is young and a total newcomer, but the buzz around ‘Winter’s Bone’ and more specifically Lawrence’s performance hasn’t subsided since it’s release in September. Don’t be surprised if this 19 year-old unknown ends up snatching away Portman’s proverbial golden carrot.
WINNER: NATALIE PORTMAN – BLACK SWAN
ALT: JENNIFER LAWRENCE – WINTER’S BONE
MY PICK: MICHELLE WILLIAMS – BLUE VALENTINE
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
JOHNNY DEPP – ALICE IN WONDERLAND
JOHNNY DEPP – THE TOURIST
PAUL GIAMATTI – BARNEY’S VERSION
JAKE GYLLENHAAL – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
KEVIN SPACEY – CASINO JACK
This category is entirely absurd. Johnny Depp shouldn’t even be nominated once, let alone twice. The only person who should ever be nominated twice is Aunt Meryl because she’s special. So, for Johnny ‘Officially the Greatest Actor on the Planet’ Depp to swoop in, do a deuce and leave empty handed seems a little pointless and a waste of two prestigious slots. But then, that begs the question, who else would you nominate? Jim Broadbent in ‘Another Year’? Mark Ruffalo in ‘The Kids Are Alright’? ‘Fraid not. They would probably fall into supporting role territory. Maybe at a push the HFPA could have thrown Robert Downey Jr a bone for ‘Due Date’. Even that ridiculous scenario would mean ONE nomination for Depp.
Alas, we are stuck with three serious contenders. And do you want to know why? It’s because over the last 12 months or so there has been an unexplainable lack of decent comedies. What did this year offer? Due Date? Cop Out? Gulliver’s Travels? Little Fockers? Without a strong couple of Apatow offerings every year, the genre is bound to suffer (saying that, even the mighty Judd has fallen off the pace). It’s almost as if mainstream comedy peaked with ‘The Hangover’ and all of a sudden the funniest movies are entirely animated. Then before you know it, you’re filling leading actor categories with two substandard performances by the same person just to make the numbers up!
Back to the race, and it’s anyone’s game. At first I thought Giamatti would be a lock, but I think Gyllenhaal may just pip him to the post this time. Or maybe Kevin Spacey will make a surprise return to the podium? What do I know? All anyone cares about are the nominees for Drama anyway, as they will be the five nominated for the big O.
WINNER: PAUL GIAMATTI – BARNEY’S VERSION
ALT: JAKE GYLLENHAAL – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
MY PICK: JAKE GYLLENHAAL – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
ANNETTE BENNING – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHTANNE HATHAWAY – LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
ANGELINA JOLIE – THE TOURIST
JULIANNE MOORE – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
EMMA STONE – EASY A
This race is a tad more open (and interesting). Instantly, we can disregard Angelina Jolie. Not a hope in hell considering how atrocious a film ‘The Tourist’ turned out to be. Any of the other four could be taking home this prize though. I doubt it will be Anne Hathaway based purely on what I’ve seen of her in ‘Love and Other Drugs’ clips, but she is a media darling so don’t be shocked if her name gets called. A more likely scenario is a friendly battle between the stars of ‘The Kids Are Alright’ (who even shared a naughty scene) that is thwarted at the last minute by Emma Stone in a shock upset that earns her her first Oscar nomination. I like the sound of that.
WINNER: ANNETTE BENNING – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
ALT: EMMA STONE – EASY A
MY PICK: ANNETTE BENNING – THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
CHRISTIAN BALE – THE FIGHTER
MICHAEL DOUGLAS – WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
ANDREW GARFIELD – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
JEREMY RENNER – THE TOWN
GEOFFREY RUSH – THE KING’S SPEECH
This is more like it! Yet another scorching race in the supporting actor category that poses many, many questions. There is certainly no Christoph Waltz or Heath Ledger type shenanigans this year. Some may say it’s between Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush, but I’m not so sure. Bale has been due some sort of critical recognition since ‘American Psycho’, and Geoffey Rush, well, it’s Geoffrey Rush. Personally though, I think both Andrew Garfield and Jeremy Renner will end up attracting a lot of votes which will make this category one to watch. Both were exceptional in their respective films, and Hollywood loves to acknowledge the men of the moment. The HFPA could end up holding Bale’s infamous rant against him, and likewise feel that Geoffrey Rush has already had his moment of glory. The chances of that happening are slim, but I wouldn’t put it past them. My money is on Bale, but my heart is with Garfield.
WINNER: CHRISTIAN BALE – THE FIGHTER
ALT: GEOFFREY RUSH – THE KING’S SPEECH
MY PICK: ANDREW GARFIELD – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER
HELENA BONHAM CARTER – THE KING’S SPEECH
MILA KUNIS – BLACK SWAN
MELISSA LEO – THE FIGHTER
JACKI WEAVER – ANIMAL KINGDOM
Another interesting battle here with some first time nominees and overdue heavyweights thrown into the mix. ‘The Fighter’ has been a relative latecomer to awards season, so we will probably be seeing either Amy Adams or Melissa Leo wearing this particular crown. Adams has been entirely consistent for years now, and Leo could have won Oscars for ‘Frozen River’ and/or ’21 Grams’, so this prediction couples those facts with the insane amount of buzz their film has drummed up over the last month or so. Bonham Carter’s performance will end up being trumped by those of Firth and Rush, while Mila Kunis was always going to be playing second best to the majestic Natalie Portman. That just leaves Jacki Weaver who will pose the only real threat as an ‘out of nowhere’ dark horse whose film ‘Animal Kingdom’ was a Sundance favourite earlier this year.
WINNER: MELISSA LEO – THE FIGHTER
ALT: AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER
MY PICK: AMY ADAMS – THE FIGHTER
BEST DIRECTOR
DARREN ARONOFSKY – BLACK SWAN
DAVID FINCHER – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
TOM HOOPER – THE KING’S SPEECH
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION
DAVID O. RUSSELL – THE FIGHTER
The award for direction has always been my favourite alongside the screenplay gongs. It always tends to be the most competitive, year after year. This year is no exception. The likelihood is that David Fincher will finally scoop some gold this year as his efforts with ‘The Social Network’ were nothing short of flawless. Either that or he’ll be overlooked again but for good reason. The good reason that Christopher Nolan deserves to win this award. Not necessarily because ‘Inception’ was a better film than ‘The Social Network’, but because the direction simply had more scope. Overall, it was even more impressive that Fincher’s dialogue laden masterclass. Having had the chance to see how Nolan created the ‘world of the dream’, I can only side with Nolan throughout awards season. The man is a total visionary. After missing out on even being nominated for ‘The Dark Knight’, he took a few years off from his glorious Batman franchise and created an entirely original film the likes of which may never be seen again, and that needs to be recognised.
That’s not to say though that the leading pair won’t face a hefty challenge from their competitors. Tom Hooper gets better with every film he makes, and with the reviews ‘The King’s Speech’ has been getting he could end up surprising us all. The same could be said for Darren Aronofsky who is the original arthouse heavyweight. However, his trademark bleakness may just about write him off. As for Russell, what can I say? I like the guy’s films through and through, but even with the buzz of the moment on his side I don’t think he or his film will be strong enough to overthrow Fincher or Nolan. In fact, I will go as far as saying I don’t feel like he should have been nominated. Really, the fifth slot probably should have gone to Danny Boyle for ’127 Hours’.
WINNER: DAVID FINCHER – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ALT: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION
MY PICK: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION
BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
127 HOURS – DANNY BOYLE, SIMON BEAUFOY
INCEPTION – CHRISTOPHER NOLAN
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT – STUART BLUMBERG, LISA CHOLODENKO
THE KING’S SPEECH – DAVID SEIDLER
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – AARON SORKIN
What makes the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay so intriguing is the fact that there are only five nominees to cover the dramatic, the comedic or musical, the adapted and the original. What that definitely means is that whoever wins this category will win an Oscar in the spring. Aaron Sorkin is a complete lock in my opinion, for the adapted screenplay Oscar anyway. In retrospect, we all thought the same about Jason Reitman and ‘Up In The Air’ last year and look what happened. Whether or not he will beat Christopher Nolan on this occasion though is hard to call simply because the two screenplays don’t really belong in the same category. Elsewhere, Sorkin is sweeping the adapted awards while Nolan is picking them up left, right and centre in the original bracket. It’s only the Globes that slams them all together making this category the most tightly contested race of the whole ceremony.
WINNER: AARON SORKIN – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ALT: CHRISTOPHER NOLAN – INCEPTION
MY PICK: AARON SORKIN – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
Nothing to report.
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
127 HOURS – A.R. RAHMAN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND – DANNY ELFMAN
INCEPTION – HANS ZIMMER
THE KING’S SPEECH – ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
THE SOCIAL NETWORK – TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS
Another hotly contested showdown between ‘Inception’ and ‘The Social Network’ here. I am in love with both of these scores and honestly cannot choose between the two. Hans Zimmer created a true character in the form of music when he wrote the ‘Inception’ score. It defines intensity, hope and imagination for all 148 minutes of the film and leaves you feeling breathless afterwards. His use of volume is what’s most striking, varying it throughout whilst maintaining intensity levels even in the smallest of moments. It was also refreshing to hear Zimmer coupling his traditional style with electronic sampling as well as the guitar tones of The Smiths’ Johnny Marr. It gave the score individuality the likes of which have never been experienced by Zimmer making this particular piece of work his best and most likely to scoop awards for the legendary veteran.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, you have Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ new age score for ‘The Social Network’. Like with ‘Inception’, I bought the score as soon as I had heard it in full for the first time simply because it is so listenable. If you haven’t heard it, it is like no score you have ever heard before. Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails influence is more than evident, and he sounds more darkly cinematic than ever. In places, the sound is deeply raw and organic. In the blink of an eye though, you can be thrust into the heaviest end of electronic madness and industrial psychosis. Forget that it’s intellectually brilliant, it works! Like a rug and a room, it really ties the movie together. Using powerful crescendos and diminuendos (in almost the exact same way that Zimmer did), the score surges the film forward from the opening scene creating an edge of your seat vibe that you wouldn’t normally think possible for what is essentially a courtroom thriller. Breathtaking, really.
I wish I was able to pick one, but I honestly can’t. Two (well, three) men enter, one man leaves. Either one is fine by me.
WINNER: HANS ZIMMER – INCEPTION
ALT: TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS – THE SOCIAL NETWORK
MY PICK: either or
BEST ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
THE ILLUSIONIST
TANGLED
TOY STORY 3
If there was ever a solid bet, this is it. And that goes for Oscar night too. ‘Toy Story 3′ was the best reviewed film of 2010. It really is that simple. The competition is classy, but no one will come close. Pixar rule once again. It’s almost a shame considering that any other year, you would be looking at a tight fight between ‘Despicable Me’, ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ and ‘The Illusionist’. All three are absolutely fantastic films, they just chose the wrong year to release.
WINNER: TOY STORY 3
ALT: n/a
MY PICK: TOY STORY 3
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
BIUTIFUL – MEXICO/SPAIN
THE CONCERT – FRANCE
THE EDGE – RUSSIA
I AM LOVE – ITALY
IN A BETTER WORLD – DENMARK
Finally, a lovely little category that I have been becoming more and more intrigued by over the last few years. It’s great to see foreign language films at the forefront of film making and not cast aside because of the language barrier. It’s true that subtitles put a lot of people off, but if they don’t bother you then you will find the world’s finest storytelling in foreign cinema. This year may not be as strong as 2009, but there are certainly a couple of gems here. ‘Biutiful’ has to be the favourite though. It was received well at Cannes with Javier Bardem collecting the award for best actor, and with the director of ‘Amores Perros’, ’21 Grams’ and ‘Babel’ at the helm, it’s going to be hard to beat. ‘I Am Love’ is attracting a lot of late attention if only for an astounding lead performance from Tilda Swinton, so we may end up with a sort of ‘Une Prophete’/'The White Ribbon’ situation on our hands. Realistically though, ‘Biutiful’ has been top trumps since it’s Cannes premiere so I would fully expect it to walk away a winner both at the Globes and at the Academy Awards.
WINNER: BIUTIFUL
ALT: I AM LOVE
MY PICK: BIUTIFUL
In closing, 2009 was always going to be a hard year to top, but a few powerhouse directors and even more legendary performances have just about managed it. With no ‘Avatar’ to moan about, it’s a far more positive and open race all around. We can expect to see some shocks and surprises as well as some dues being paid. Names will be made for themselves and unjustices will be had. But hey, that’s awards season for you.
