GoldbergBlog

I can look at all the critics and critic-society lists that are popping up on a daily basis, but the true barometer is when people who actually give physical awards make their opinions known. And wielding an unfair amount of influence is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, or as their better known to the public: the folks that hand out Golden Globes. These nominations were announced today and they tell a story of future woe, misery, and a group of people that has no fucking idea what’s going to be picked for Oscar nominations.

MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“American Gangster”

“Atonement”
“Eastern Promises”
“The Great Debaters”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country For Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

 

The only one of these I haven’t seen is The Great Debaters. As for the others, no major surprises. Michael Clayton and Eastern Promises are good but they’re not the greatest of the year. Where’s Into the Wild? Where’s Gone Baby Gone? Where’s The Assassination of Jesse James? It’s also clear that Atonement is going to be my bête noire of this awards season. There’s always one film that I thought was passable-at-best and as it garners more praise, my disdain for it only grows. It may not be fair to the film, but it’s not fair to me that so many people can’t recognize what’s wrong with it. The only good about this category is that No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are essentially locking in their Academy Award Best Picture nominations.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Cate Blanchett - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie - “Away From Her”
Jodie Foster - “The Brave One”
Angelina Jolie - “A Mighty Heart”
Keira Knightley - “Atonement”

Holy shit; The Brave One was nominated for an award. That’s fucking hilarious. Less hilarious is the ignoring of Wei Tang (Lust, Caution), and Carice van Houten (Black Book).

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
George Clooney - “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis - “There Will Be Blood”
James McAvoy - “Atonement”
Viggo Mortensen - “Eastern Promises”
Denzel Washington - “American Gangster”

Less argument here. I think James McAvoy is a great actor in search of a worthy role. He was very good in The Last King of Scotland but he was obviously overshadowed by Forest Whitaker’s behemoth of a performance. Atonement doesn’t do him any favors because, like Knightley in that film, it’s a shallow character. They function as pieces of the main character’s (Briony) story and lack the necessary depth to lead to the great performances Knightley and McAvoy are capable of. And ignoring Emile Hirsch is just mean. Clearly, the HFPA have no love for Into the Wild, so fuck them.

MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“Across The Universe”
“Charlie Wilson’s War”
“Hairspray”
“Juno”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

This is where I threw up in my own mouth. Across the Universe is one of the worst films of the year. Couldn’t put Enchanted in this category? What, too good? I know you guys are bought and paid for by the studios, but seriously, I hate you so much right now.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams - “Enchanted”
Nikki Blonsky - “Hairspray”
Helena Bonham Carter - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Marion Cotillard - “La Vie en rose”
Ellen Page - “Juno”

Can’t really argue here. Dammit.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE - COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Johnny Depp - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Ryan Gosling - “Lars And The Real Girl”
Tom Hanks - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Philip Seymour Hoffman - “The Savages”
John C. Reilly - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Again, not a lot of argument. It’d be nice to see Michael Cera get some love, but he’s young and he’ll get it in time. The kid’s (being only two years younger than me) got a very successful career in front of him.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Bee Movie” - DreamWorks Animation; DreamWorks Animation
“Ratatouille” - Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Distribution
“The Simpsons Movie” - Gracie Films; Twentieth Century Fox

Hey, fuck you, Persepolis! You’re foreign! At least no Shrek the Third, thank Odin.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days” (Romania)
“The Diving Bell And The Butterfly” (France And USA)
“The Kite Runner” (USA)
“Lust, Caution” (Taiwan)
“Persepolis” (France)

So we can nominate Persepolis as a foreign film but not as an animated film. Oooookay. The rest of these choices are acceptable, but I’ll be rooting for Diving Bell.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Cate Blanchett - “I’m Not There”
Julia Roberts - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Saoirse Ronan - “Atonement”
Amy Ryan - “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton - “Michael Clayton”

Again, not a lot of argument. But I would definitely switch out Roberts and Ronan with Marcia Gay Harden (The Mist) and Leslie Mann (Knocked Up).

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Casey Affleck - “The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem - “No Country For Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
John Travolta - “Hairspray”
Tom Wilkinson - “Michael Clayton”

It looks like Affleck is gonna get the recognition he deserves for Jesse James and that just makes my heart soar. It also looks like Bardem is locked down for the supporting category even though I would classify him as a leading role (and I will when I release my Films of 2007 list on December 31st). Travolta is a joke but it’s a sign that New Line is pushing Hairspray hard as I knew they would. Switch him out with Ben Foster (3:10 to Yuma).

DIRECTOR - MOTION PICTURE
Tim Burton - “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - “No Country For Old Men”
Julian Schnabel - “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly”
Ridley Scott - “American Gangster”
Joe Wright - “Atonement”

It’s all correct except for Wright. Granted, it’s not his fault he has a shitty script to work from, but there are so many better choices. Sean Penn (Into the Wild), Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James), David Fincher (Zodiac), or Frank Darabont (The Mist).

SCREENPLAY - MOTION PICTURE
Diablo Cody - “Juno”
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - “No Country For Old Men”
Christopher Hampton - “Atonement”
Ronald Harwood - “The Diving Bell And The Butterfly”
Aaron Sorkin - “Charlie Wilson’s War”

Christopher Hampton–no, no, no, no, no, fucking no. You done fucked up and your the reason that Atonement fails. Go away. How about Todd Haynes for I’m Not There? You know, it’s that film you’ve almost completely ignored. Or how about Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl? I just think good scripts deserve accolades. Bizarre, I know.

ORIGINAL SCORE - MOTION PICTURE
Michael Brook, Kaki King, Eddie Vedder - “Into The Wild”
Clint Eastwood - “Grace Is Gone”
Alberto Iglesias - “The Kite Runner”
Dario Marianelli - “Atonement”
Howard Shore - “Eastern Promises”

You know, I haven’t seen Grace is Gone, but I bet it’s a minimalist score with high piano notes. But hey, it’s Clint Eastwood and if we don’t blow him at least once, he may never come to awards show again! The ignoring of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis for The Assassination of Jesse James and Jonny Greenwood for There Will Be Blood is worthy of seppuku.

ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE
“Despedida” from “Love In The Time Of Cholera” - Music By: Shakira, Antonio Pinto, Lyrics By: Shakira
“Grace Is Gone” from “Grace Is Gone” - Music By: Clint Eastwood, Lyrics By: Carole Bayer Sager
“Guaranteed” from “Into The Wild” - Music & Lyrics By: Eddie Vedder
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”- Music & Lyrics By: Alan Menken
“Walk Hard” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” - Music & Lyrics by: Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow, Kasdan

I don’t remember “Guaranteed”, but I know that when I decided which songs to keep in my iTunes library from the soundtrack, it didn’t make the cut. “Hard Sun” is the best song from that album. But at this point, I’m not going to split hairs over nominations for Into the Wild.

You have to love movies to do this. Not get paid in gift baskets and swag to help films along to Oscar glory, but to write about the selections of ethically bankrupt critics. I’m clearly the big winner here.

Tags: brilliant, movies, stupid //