2015 Golden Globe Nominations and Reactions

This morning the nominations for the Golden Globe awards were announced in California at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and as usual I see a lot of the films I was expecting but also plenty of surprises. Here are the nominees, and in bold are the ones I correctly predicted.


BEST PICTURE - DRAMA

Boyhood
Selma
The Imitation Game
Foxcatcher
The Theory of Everything

Reaction: The lack of the film Unbroken combined with the rather lukewarm initial critical reception to the film tells me that I extremely overvalued the prospects of it in advance. It just seemed like total awards bait, but clearly my decision to pick it to WIN Best Picture at the Oscars with my first round of guesses was misguided. Still might get a nomination, but a win seems extremely unlikely..especially as we continue on here and you notice it is not recognized with even a single nomination by the Hollywood Foreign Press.

I have only seen two of the films listed above, Boyhood and The Theory of Everything, and the first not only deserves the nomination, it deserves the win. Richard Linklater crafted a stunning achievement unlikely anything I have ever seen. The other film, The Theory of Everything, is a baffling nomination in my world. I will only remember that work thanks to the lead performances, because literally everything else about it was totally safe and familiar and unexceptional. A nice, solid biopic, but it being nominated over something far more ambitious like Interstellar or a film that is far better in every conceivable way beyond male lead performance like Gone Girl is a shame.

BEST PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Birdman
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Pride
St. Vincent

Reaction: Love seeing a Wes Anderson film get recognition, as The Grand Budapest Hotel seems to be this award season. The only real surprise here for me was St. Vincent and even that isn't all that shocking, seeing as how I listed it as my top "Most likely if I'm wrong" option when I did my predictions.

It seems like yet another work by Paul Thomas Anderson will be ignored by the award voters, as I included Inherent Vice into the picture but, alas, it wasn't meant to be. I haven't seen the film so perhaps it simply isn't worthy, but I have read the source material it was adapted from by author Thomas Pynchon and I have a gut feeling I am going to absolutely love the film.


BEST ACTOR - DRAMA

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
David Oyelowo, Selma
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler 

Reaction: Rejoice! The only one I got wrong was the one I listed as my "Personal wish that won't come true" and it came true! Jake Gyllenhaal gets the nomination for what is probably my favorite single performance of the year thus far, a close call with the inspired work by Redmayne as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. 

I doubt JG gets the win here, but I love the recognition. Perhaps more people will check out Nightcrawler, a film that just oozes cool.


BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA

Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Jennifer Aniston, Cake

Reaction: While I didn't include Aniston in my nominations, she was one of two I included in the "Most likely if I'm wrong" choices, so not too shocked here. I really did think Marion Cotillard would get some recognition after the incredible year she has had with her work in both The Immigrant and Two Days, One Night, the latter of which I have not seen but I have heard nothing but praise.

While it was expected, still excited to see Rosamund Pike listed. God what a captivating, nuanced performance in Gone Girl.

BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Michael Keaton, Birdman
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Bill Murray, St. Vincent
Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
Christoph Waltz, Big Eyes

Reaction: Wow. Waltz wasn't even on my radar for Big Eyes to be honest. I guess I associated his only recognition to be when he is involved in a Tarantino film.


BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Emily Blunt, Into the Woods
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Helen Mirren, The Hundred-Foot Journey
Julianne Moore, Maps to the Stars
Quvenzhane Wallis, Annie

Reaction: Despite getting two wrong, none of these are really totally shocking. I picked Moore as a "Most likely if I'm wrong" option, and Wallis was my "Surprise wildcard", which while it involves the word surprise it at least means she was in my mind as a possibility, unlike Waltz in the actor category.

Was hoping to be really surprised by the personal wish pick, Jenny Slate for Obvious Child, but I never really expected it to happen. Oh well.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Edward Norton, Birdman
Robert Duvall, The Judge

Reaction: Duvall was not one I realistically considered, but I also always know its possible that a legendary screen presence like him would get recognition so I'm not all that surprised. I can't believe I am saying this, and I didn't have high hopes for it, but I am bummed to not see the name Tyler Perry on a list of awards nominations, a shockingly great performance in Gone Girl that really added some necessary comic relief from a typically dark and ominous Fincher film.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Jessica Chastain,  A Most Violent Year
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

Reaction: While I picked her to be just barely on the outside looking in by including her in my "Most likely if I'm wrong", I still can't seem to learn the valuable lesson of never going against the power of Streep. She just finds her way into the top five at award shows no matter what, so to say I am not surprised is an understatement. In fact, a part of me would have been surprised if I was correct and she was left out, as strange as that sounds.

Thrilled to see Arquette and Hawke get noms in the supporting categories for Boyhood. While the world of the film revolves around the character of Mason as he ages in front of our eyes from the age of 6 to 18, the roles of the parents are just as vital to the power of the film. As a parent myself, the reason I formed such a deep connection with the picture was the idea of watching years fly by and the beauty and pain of such things in life. Time is relentless, and nothing we can do can slow it down.


BEST DIRECTOR

Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

Reaction: Totally surprised by the inclusion of Wes Anderson, but I'm not complaining. I was hoping for some Nolan recognition for Interstellar but I am aware that my love for that film is not the universal feeling as it managed to be quite polarizing. Also, while I was hoping for some Gone Girl recognition in the Best Picture category, glad to see the name Fincher here. He certainly deserves it.

One more thing: at first glance you may not realize it, but the list above actually made some pretty important history. Ava Duvernay, director of Selma, is the first black female director to ever be nominated in the category. I haven't seen the film so I can't say for sure if I agree with the selection (although I clearly anticipated it since it was a prediction), but congratulations to her regardless.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Boyhood
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game

Reaction: The four I got correct just felt like locks to me. I haven't seen Birdman but I know the screenplay has gotten raves, and I have seen the other three and they are a testament to how vital brilliant writing is to make a great film. What Linklater did with Boyhood was remarkable, making the entire experience feel so authentic and real. Gillian Flynn did something that I would imagine is terribly difficult, to take your own novel and be willing to cut it up and figure out which aspects of your own work were not worthy of making it to the big screen, as she penned the adapted screenplay of Gone Girl. Wes Anderson is simply a genius when it comes to dialogue, which along with the art direction and performances carried The Grand Budapest Hotel for me, still among my top ten films of the year. Excited to see I am on the same page as the Hollywood Foreign Press here.


BEST ANIMATED FILM

The LEGO Movie
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
The Book of Life

Reaction: This is going to sound silly, but I am really bummed that a film I haven't even seen yet isn't listed above. Everything I have heard about The Tale of Princess Kaguya is that it is a masterful effort from Studio Ghibli, quite possibly the finest studio for animation in cinema history (no, I am not forgetting Disney), and it feels like a shame that it isn't among the nominees. Perhaps the Academy will give it the recognition I safely can assume it deserves.

The LEGO Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2 are not only the two best animated films I have seen thus far in 2014, they are among the best films period.


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Ida
Leviathan
Fource Majeure
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
Tangerines

Reaction: Honestly, until this morning I had never even heard of the bottom two listed. I am astonished that Two Days, One Night and Mommy did not make the cut, and I haven't even seen either of them. Mommy is the work of the wunderkind Xavier Dolan and I know people personally who were floored by the film, and Two Days, One Night was a shoe in but, well, obviously not. Welcome to my radar, two films that are totally unknown to me. I will have to find a way to check them out at some point.

BEST MUSICAL SCORE

Interstellar
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything

Reaction: This is where a little bit more research on my part would have paid off. I had no idea until now that the score of The Imitation Game was done by Alexandre Desplat, one of the more brilliant and accomplished composers working today. Would have absolutely considering including it had I known.

Hans Zimmer crafted a rather breathtaking score for Interstellar, it was honestly one of my favorite aspects of the film because it brought an eerie, old school vibe to the massive budget and modern picture, and much like their previous collaborations with David Fincher doing the scores of The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross yet again put together a total winner. I'm torn whether to root for them or Zimmer.


BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Lana Del Ray, Big Eyes
John Legend and Common, Selma
Patty Smith and Lenny Kaye, Noah
Sia, Annie
Lorde, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Reaction: When I did my predictions, I had no idea what songs were even being considered so I randomly named the fact that Coldplay is doing a song for the film Unbroken. That was the only one I named, and it wasn't even nominated. Go figure.

Now that I see the list though, Lorde did do some fantastic stuff for Mockingjay. Should have thought of that.



There we have it, the film nominations for the 2015 Golden Globes. I will be making my predictions on who I think will win and lose much closer to the date of the ceremony, and yet again I am sure to be wrong!

Oscars 2015: First Predictions

One step outside on this blustery morning and I immediately wanted to head back in, throw a blanket over me and watch a film. It's that time of the year again, time for layers of clothing, hot cocoa and warming my car up ten minutes before I actually have to leave the house. This also means that award season is in full swing, with the major players either already released and firmly established as contenders or on their way soon as the holidays approach.

The difficult thing about doing Oscars predictions is having to remind myself that I must think like the Academy rather than base them on my own opinions of those films I have already seen. So while I am (unfortunately) yet to see various highly anticipated works like Birdman, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash, Foxcatcher, Unbroken, and American Sniper, I will likely include some of these titles in my predictions because, frankly, it is rather easy to know what the typical Academy voter will embrace.

This isn't to say that those films aren't worthy. I often times have issues with who eventually takes home the trophy at the end of the night, but typically I only have a few minor complaints about who was nominated in the first place. Thanks to the politics of the whole event and the power of the studios to campaign for their highest regarded films, not to mention the instant access to general reactions thanks to Facebook and Twitter and film criticism thanks to sites like Rottentomatoes and Metacritic, the nominations are far more predictable than they used to be.

On that note, here is how I feel the race will shake out as of November 11th. The films are in order of their likelihood to take home the prize, and any with an asterisk next to the title indicates that I have seen the film.

BEST PICTURE

Unbroken
Boyhood*
The Imitation Game
American Sniper
The Theory of Everything
Into the Woods
Gone Girl*
Birdman
Whiplash
Foxcatcher

Despite nothing to currently base the prediction on, I have a gut feeling Unbroken is going to end up being the 12 Years a Slave of last years awards. A film that will not take home the most trophies on Oscar night, but will walk away with the biggest one of them all. Why do I feel this way? Well, Unbroken tells the very true story of Louis Zamperini, a hero of World War II who, after surviving a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean during the war, was forced to endure 47 days drifting on a raft followed by various Japanese prisoner of war camps.

Toss in the fact that the film is directed by Hollywood favorite Angelina Jolie and that the real life subject of the work, Louis Zamperini, passed away earlier this year at the age of 97 before he had a chance to see the film, and the end result is a motion picture that was practically crafted just for Academy voters. They will eat that shit up.

I would love to see Boyhood take home the award and it certainly has a chance, but my concern is based around two factors: the timing of the release, meaning it has already been out for months and may not be burning in the minds of voters any longer by the time the ballots are sent out, and also the fact that it is a low budget independent film that doesn't have the studio power to finance a strong campaign for it. Sadly, that second factor is important, because unfortunately sometimes being the best picture isn't enough to win you Best Picture.

I felt compelled to leave Interstellar out of the mix here, and I really hope I am wrong. I would love to see Nolan and company recognized for their outstanding achievement with a nomination, but the film has proved to be polarizing and I can easily see it being the odd man out in the end.

BEST DIRECTOR

Richard Linklater, Boyhood*
Angelina Jolie, Unbroken
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman
Clint Eastwood, American Sniper
David Fincher, Gone Girl*

Best Director and Best Picture used to go hand in hand, but I am predicting that for the third straight year these awards will go out to two different films. While Unbroken will be the powerful film that will resonate with voters enough to Best Picture, they simply won't be able to ignore the truly stunning, one of a kind achievement that is Boyhood. What Linklater did, crafting the film over the course of 12 years using the same cast throughout, watching not only young Mason but every single character change and adapt over that span of time is nothing short of brilliant and inspiring. Give the damn trophy to Linklater.

BEST ACTOR

Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Jack O'Connell, Unbroken
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher

Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking at a young age after receiving his ALS diagnosis. Enough said.

BEST ACTRESS

Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl*
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Amy Adams, Big Eyes

I have heard nothing but incredible things about Moore in the film Still Alice, and my wife read the novel it is based on and said she believes the hype, that the material lends itself to an award winning performance. Regardless, I hope Rosamund Pike gets recognition for her stunning turn in Gone Girl.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

JK Simmons, Whiplash
Edward Norton, Birdman
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood*
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
Tyler Perry, Gone Girl*

I can't believe I just typed the name Tyler Perry in a post regarding Oscar nominations, but the dude killed it in Gone Girl. A perfect choice to play scumbag lawyer Tanner Bolt, his comedic timing was a thing of beauty throughout, popping up at exactly the right time to put a smile on my face after a jarring moment of depravity.

JK Simmons takes it though. Big fan of his and I can't wait to see this supposedly brilliant performance in Whiplash.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood*
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Laura Dern, Wild

Patricia Arquette, much like the director Linklater, needs and deserves recognition for Boyhood. Despite the film centering on the life of Mason, Arquette was just as vital to the heartbeat of the entire thing, a heartbreaking and truly authentic performance as his mother as she deals with something that is both beautiful and incredibly difficult and exhausting at the same time: life.

Meryl Steep will find a way to get nominated, because she is Meryl Streep.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Richard Linklater, Boyhood*
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
JC Chandor, A Most Violent Year
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel*

Perhaps I am dreaming here, but I would love to see Wes Anderson get recognized for his brilliant work on The Grand Budapest Hotel, his greatest film from an overall great filmography. Keep giving Linklater the awards though, he deserves them all.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Joel and Ethan Coen, Unbroken
Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl*
Anthony McCarten, The Theory of Everything
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game
Jason Dean Hall, American Sniper

I forgot to mention above that the Coen brothers wrote Unbroken. The damn Coen brothers wrote the thing. Yet another reason to believe it can win the biggest trophy of them all, and I think they specifically are recognized here as well.

BEST EDITING

Birdman
American Sniper
Gone Girl*
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

I have heard all about how brilliant Birdman is on a technical level. I am willing to bet it gets recognition in the Editing department.


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Interstellar*
Birdman
Gone Girl*
Unbroken
Mr. Turner

Interstellar may get froze out of multiple categories listed above, but its sublime cinematography will be impossible to ignore. Tempting to give the trophy to Emmanuel Lubezki for Birdman, as he is the defending champion for the truly inspired work on Gravity last year, but I believe it will be impossible for anything to rise above Interstellar in a category such as this.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Interstellar*

Into the Woods

The Grand Budapest Hotel*

Unbroken

Birdman

BEST SOUND MIXING

Interstellar*

Whiplash

Unbroken

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Transformers 4

Ironically, the only place I felt Interstellar suffered was in the sound mixing, as the booming score by Hans Zimmer occasionally overwhelmed the dialogue. Regardless, I think the Interstellar winning technical awards train keeps on rolling here.

BEST SOUND EDITING

Interstellar*

Whiplash

Birdman

American Sniper

Transformers 4

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel*
Unbroken
The Imitation Game
Mr. Turner

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Gone Girl*
Birdman
Interstellar
A Most Violent Year
Unbroken

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with another masterpiece of a film score for a David Fincher film. Their work on Gone Girl is flawless.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Mommy (Canada)
Ida* (Poland)
Winter Sleep (Turkey)
Leviathan (Russia)
Wild Tales (Argentina)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

CitizenFour
Last Days of Vietnam
The Overnighters
Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart
Life Itself*

Fell in love with the film Life Itself, about the life and death of film critic legend Roger Ebert, but from what I have heard CitizenFour might be unstoppable in this category.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Princess Kaguya
How to Train Your Dragon 2*
The LEGO Movie*
Big Hero 6*
The Book of Life

Loved all three of the animated films listed here that I have seen, two of which (HTTYD2 and LEGO Movie) are currently in my top ten of the year, but I have heard Princess Kaguya is yet another magical effort by the iconic Studio Ghibli. Cannot wait to see it.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Interstellar*
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy*
Godzilla*
Transformers 4

Doing this has reminded me that I still need to see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Better get on that soon.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

Birdman
Into the Woods
The Grand Budapest Hotel*
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy*


Of the four remaining categories, Best Song, Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short, and Best Documentary Short, I have no real opinion of knowledge of anything potentially nominated. Except for Best Animated Short actually, the Disney entry that premiered before Big Hero 6 titled Feast is a little, wonderful treasure. Once I get a better grasp of those awards, I am sure Feast will shoot to the top of that list.

As various top ten lists and other nominations are revealed prior to the Academy having their say, I will revisit with an updated list. Until then, go check out some of the brilliant films being released this Oscar season.