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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > December > 11 > Entry
Golden Globe movie nominations - reactions?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and Doubt each got five Golden Globe nominations a piece this morning, with the usual amount of surprises inclusions and glaring omissions.
I’ll add commentary as time permits, but my immediate reaction is disappointment that neither Wall-E nor The Dark Knight grabbed Best Picture nominations - and that’s especially egregious when you have separate drama and comedy categories.
For TV fans, those nominations can be found here, after you scroll down.
The movie nominations:
Best Picture (Drama)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Revolutionary Road”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
Snubbed: Milk. The Hollywood Foreign Press has a never-ending jones for Harvey Weinstein’s movies, so they had to nominate The Reader. Also a shame not to see Batman here. I’ll preliminarily call Slumdog the winner, it’s bound to appeal to the Foreign press.
Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
“Burn After Reading”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
If Mamma Mia is a better movie than WALL-E, then I’m Meryl Streep. BAH! I’ll guess Happy-Go-Lucky as the winner.
Best Actor (Drama)
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Micky Rourke, “The Wrestler”
No real surprises here, and I have no real clear line on the winner. Rourke, perhaps, for the comeback story?
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)
Javier Bardem, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Colin Farrell, “In Bruges”
James Franco, “Pineapple Express”
Brendan Gleeson, “In Bruges”
Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”
It’s fun to see Franco among the nominees for his gleefully goofy turn; he just might win.
Best Actress (Drama)
Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”
A strong group. I’ll guess Winslet, who’s double nominated and has never won. Unjust, no?
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical)
Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”
Frances McDormand, “Burn After Reading”
Meryl Streep, “Mamma Mia!”
Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”
Best Supporting Actor
Tom Cruise, “Tropic Thunder”
Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”
Ralph Fiennes, “The Duchess”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”
Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”
I’m glad to see Cruise and Downey both nominated, both were hysterical. But then, everybody knows who’s winning this award. Oh, and um … Ralph Fiennes? Really??
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis, “Doubt”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Thrilled to see Ms. Adams make the cut for her underrated work. I’ll say either the one-great-scene Davis or Winslet for the win here.
Best Director
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Sam Mendes, “Revolutionary Road”
SInce I called Slumdog for Picture, I’ll call Boyle for director.
Best Original Score
“Changeling”, Clint Eastwood
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, Alexandre Desplat
“Defiance”, James Newtown Howard
“Frost/Nixon”, Hans Zimmer
“Slumdog Millionaire”, AR Rhaman
Ummm … where the HECK is WALL-E in this group? And I would have preferred to see Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard nominated together for their work on The Dark Knight. I hear the Benjamin Button score is great, I bet it wins.
Best Screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon
”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
A little surprising to see Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona not make the cut, since it did well in other categories. I’ll say Ben Button here, since that was the canniest adaptation.
Best Foreign Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Everlasting Moments”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Waltz with Bashir”
A tough one to call - I’ll say I’ve Loved You So Long, but I would not rule out Waltz with Bashir.
Best Animated Feature
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”
The expected group. No prizes for guessing what I want to win.
Best Original Song
“I Thought I Lost You” from “Bolt”
“Once in a Lifetime” from “Cadillac Records”
“Gran Torino” from “Gran Torino”
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“The Wrestler” from “The Wrestler”
Well, at least WALL-E composer Thomas Newman picked up a nomination for the song he wrote with Peter Gabriel. And guess what, gang? Hannah Montana is a Golden Globe nominee for her song from Bolt. And guess what else - it’s actually not bad!
Your reactions?
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Movie awards
Comments
By Lainie
January 11, 2009 2:58 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe you didn’t call Sean Penn for best actor. I’d bet my right arm he wins.By Dawsey
December 12, 2008 8:14 AM | Link to this
How could they not nominate Boston Legal and if not the show how could they leave out James Spader?By Katmandu
December 11, 2008 7:52 PM | Link to this
What Award’s is Dexter up for ??????? Dextar is an AWESOME series!! GREAT drama and great actors!By Jason
December 11, 2008 7:35 PM | Link to this
Where the heck is Dark Knight??? Heath Ledger rocked!By Jessica
December 11, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this
Mamma Mia? You have to be kidding me! You can buy that crap for $5, they are practically giving it away it was so bad. Even Meryl Streep couldn’t float that garbage! Batman was robbed becaused it was a comic movie. Hands down the best movie I have seen all year. Well acted, edited and produced. Seriously, there must be a prejudice against Gotham’s Dark Knight for that omission.By Kim S.
December 11, 2008 3:46 PM | Link to this
“Mama Mia” was the worst film I’ve seen all year - hands down. Not even “Australia” comes close (and that was quite horrid as well). My personal pick, of what I’ve seen so far this year, is “Slumdog” for Best Pic, Hathaway for Actress and Danny Boyle for Director. I’ll reserve judgment for most of the other races until I see more of the films.By Rob
December 11, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this
10,000 B.C. was robbed!!! :)By Jennifer
December 11, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this
Some of these nominations are ridiculous. Like Mamma Mia. Seriously?By Allie D.
December 11, 2008 11:24 AM | Link to this
Well I am with you on the glaring omissions, but I am VERY pleased to see In Bruges getting some awards recognition! It was a fantastic movie and I would love to see Brendan Gleeson or Colin Farrell win. Farrell especially was brilliant.