Golden Globe Nomination Reactions (2011)

brent johnson breaks down his thoughts on the golden globe nominations, while bill bodkin throws his two cents in as well …

Granted, I’ve seen only the trailers. But I thought for sure The Tourist was a sleek, action-drenched thriller.

Apparently, it’s either loaded with laughs or packed with dance numbers.

In one of the most confounding award-show nominations I’ve ever seen, the Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie flick is among the films nominated for Best Picture — Comedy or Musical at this year’s Golden Globes.

Some see the Globes as a precursor to the Oscars, predicting what might be honored by the Academy. But the Globes are also a star-shellacked shindig, complete with booze and free-wheeling banter. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association — who organize the event — want to see celebrities packing those seats. Hence, Depp and Jolie’s clunker had to fit in somewhere to entice both mega-stars to come.

In other words, it’s not uncommon for the Globes to go loopy. Nor does it mean every nominee will get the same love from the Academy Awards.

Even so, the Globe noms are the official kick-off to my favorite time of year: Oscar season. It’s a time when I watch every major nominated film and scour blogs for predictions — simply because the public can see the movies, choose what they think should be honored and then compare it to who actually wins. It’s democratic — in a romantic sort of way.

Below are my other thoughts on the nominees, which were announced Tuesday. Note: I don’t watch enough TV to comment on the television categories, so I’ll stick with the films:

Best Picture — Drama

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Social Network

THOUGHTS: The big surprise here is The Fighter, David O. Russell’s boxing pic, which tied with The Social Network for the second-most nominations. (The King’s Speech was tops with seven). Some critics feel it’s an Oscar underdog. This gives it momentum. Otherwise, the category’s not much of a shocker. Except …

SNUBS: The Coen Brothers’ True Grit and Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours are missing — two films many predict will be Academy favorites. Then again, there are 10 Best Picture slots at the Oscars. It’s possible all seven of these films could be honored. So could Ben Affleck’s The Town.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: A real surprise True Grit or 127 Hours are not in here, especially since the Coens and Boyle brought the best picture Oscar home two of the past three years.

Best Picture — Musical or Comedy

Alice In Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

THOUGHTS: I’m not sure what to say. Aside from the charming indie Kids, what the hell? This category is usually thin on value, but do any of the other films deserve a top trophy?

SNUBS: I haven’t seen it, but James L. Brooks’ How Do You Know has to better than some of these, right? And Love And Other Drugs lands two acting nods, but isn’t good enough for this category?

NOTE: Some might squawk over how Toy Story 3 — one of the best films of the year and a possible Best Picture nom at the Oscars – is missing from this category. After all, the second installment of the animated trilogy won the award a few years back. But since then, the Globes have made films nominated in the Best Animated Picture category ineligible for Best Picture.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: Seriously one of the worst categories of the year. It’s stunning that something with Jack Nicholson (How Do You Know) wasn’t showered with a million awards. The Tourist was universally panned, so why not throw a bone to hit comedies like Due Date, The Other Guys or hell, even Jackass 3-D. Sound silly? So are these noms.

Best Actor — Drama

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter

THOUGHTS: The only surprise is Wahlberg. The Fighter is being hailed as a supporting-actor showcase.

SNUBS: It’s possible Jeff Bridges for True Grit could snag an Oscar nod. So could Robert Duvall for Get Low. And yes, Leonardo DiCaprio could sneak in for Inception — although his performance was mostly just a lot of dull brooding.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: The exclusion of Bridges makes me feel like The Dude will get passed over at the Oscars. And seriously, no nod for Leo in Inception? Could this be the third straight year where the heavy Oscar favorites have ZERO acting noms (see: Slumdog Millionaire and Avatar).

Best Actress — Drama

Halle Berry, Frankie and Alice
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

THOUGHTS: No shockers here. No major snubs either.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: Come Oscar time, it’ll be interesting to see if Williams, Lawrence or Berry will be cut to make room for Kids’ Benning and Moore.

Best Actor — Musical or Comedy

Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland
Johnny Depp, The Tourist
Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Jake Gylenhaal, Love and Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey, Casino Jack

THOUGHTS: This category is slender. I honestly don’t care who wins.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: Wow, what a tremendously weak category. I think the “double Depp, double dip” means he’ll lose and Gylenhaal takes the award. I’m also surprised that neither Jim Carrey or Ewan MacGregor from the critically acclaimed I Love You Phillip Morris wasn’t given a nod.

Best Actress — Musical or Comedy

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie, The Tourist
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone, Easy A

THOUGHTS: Good for Emma Stone, an underrated up-and-coming actress. Other than that, I’m glad to see both Kids actresses slipped in. It’s likely Moore will get bumped out of Oscar race.

SNUBS: None that I know of.

Best Supporting Actor

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

THOUGHTS: Douglas is the wild-card here. His performance in Solitary Man is more likely to score him an Oscar nomination. But this nod is probably the Foreign Press’ way to honor a talented actor who is battling cancer.

SNUBS: Matt Damon, continuing the snub streak for True Grit. I’m also thinking Mark Ruffalo’s performance in The Kids Are All Right could land him something he’s never received: an Oscar nom. Same goes for the under-appreciated Sam Rockwell for Conviction.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: Great to see Renner here — he was electric in The Town. Garfield should take the win, but the Douglas nod reminds me of last year’s win for the post-cancer Michael C. Hall.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

THOUGHTS: Kunis is the only surprise.

SNUBS: Hailee Steinfeld, who is drawing raves for her role in True Grit. She’s likely to replace Kunis in the Oscar race.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: Melissa Leo was amazing in Frozen River, so I hope she takes this and the Oscar. And who knew the voice of Meg Griffin could be such a good actress?

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

THOUGHTS: I’m glad Russell snuck in. He deserved awards recognition years ago for Three Kings. And I’m a sucker for talented directors finally getting their due. Ditto for Aronofsky, who has yet to earn love from the Academy, either.

SUBS: Something tells me the Coens or Danny Boyle could replace Aronofsky or Russell at the Oscars. Or maybe Affleck will score a surprise nom.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: An amazing array of directors — I hope we get to see a Fincher, Coen Brothers, Russell, Aronofsky, Nolan line-up come Oscar time.

Best Screenplay

127 Hours, Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle
Inception, Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech, David Seidler
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin

THOUGHTS: Honestly, was any screenplay this year even close to being as gripping and smart as Sorkin’s?

SNUBS: The Coens for True Grit.

BODKIN’S THOUGHTS: In response to Brent, if anyone could battle Sorkin, it’s definitely Nolan.