Sunday, January 12, 2014

Nerd 5's Oscars Season Coverage Presents: A Golden Globes Preview and Predictions... AND NOW WINNERS!

Happy 2014 Dear Readers! This is my first article back since a little bit of a break (and a happy engagement to my beautiful fianc ), and we get to jump into my favorite time of year to write, Oscar Season! Man it's been a crazy-good year at the movies and I think a common theme this year will be that there is simply not enough room for all the great films, performances, and achievements to get awarded as they should this year. Defiantly a year where we are sad that there can be only onehighlanderI mean winner. As we head toward March 2nd and this year's Academy Awards ceremony we are going to dive deep into many of the categories, but for now we are taking a quick look at tonight's Golden Globes awards.



The Golden Globes are the first stop on the road to Oscar glory; it's a good predictor of what may happen (although it's far, far from perfect). The Globes are the first ones to give out there awards; although SAG, the DGA, WGA, BAFTA, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirit Awards will all be given out along the way. But The Globes are where we start, they are possibly the second most prestigious award given in Hollywood and commonly referred to as the "most entertaining night in Hollywood" as no one takes them too seriously. The Golden Globes are given out by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a collection of reporters from all-over the world covering Hollywood's entertainment industry, and awards separated into 4 categories Drama, Musical/Comedy, Film, and Television.




Today we are going to take a quick look at each of the awards being given out this evening and my prediction of who will win and who should win each category, keep in mind we are a month away from The Oscars and a lot can change between now and then.



Films highlighted in RED took home the award!

Best Motion Picture, Drama



12 Years a Slave



Captain Phillips



Gravity



Philomena



Rush



Who Will Win: 12 Years A Slave



Who Should Win: 12 Years A Slave



Comments: Although Gravity is an amazing film, a great technical achievement and emotionally engaging to boot, 12 Years a Slave is simply too good and too important of a film to lose. Don't sleep on Philomena this is one of the year's best small films and the fact that it's in this category is a huge achievement.



Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama



Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine



Sandra Bullock - Gravity



Judi Dench - Philomena



Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks



Kate Winslet - Labor Day



Who Will Win: Sandra Bullock - Gravity



Who Should Win: Judi Dench - Philomena OR Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks



Comments: Bullock winning is just the kind of thing the Globes would do, she's a big name in Hollywood who's given a great performance; The Globes, at times, are all about politics and popularity. It's not a stretch to say that Dench and Thompson are amazing Actresses and both give emotional and moving performances this year and are very deserving.



Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama



Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave



Idris Elba - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom



Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips



Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club



Robert Redford - All is Lost



Who Will Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor



Who Should Win: Matthew McConaughey



Comments: This awards season I'm tossing my support behind McConaughey, who has been slowing rebuilding his career and making a string of amazing chocies, Dallas Buyers Club is a landmark performance and is captivating as anything ever put on screen. Why him over Ejiofor? Although he gives an equally landmark performance, I find myself leaning toward McConaughey because of the total character built, I can easily imagine what McConaughey's character is doing when not on screen, that's how fleshed out that character is vs. Ejiofor who is nothing short of brilliant but seems to lack just a few of nuances given by McConaughey



Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy



American Hustle



Her



Inside Llewyn Davis



Nebraska



The Wolf of Wall Street



Who Will Win: American Hustle



Who Should Win: Inside Llewyn Davis



Comments: Three of my favorite films of this year are in this category; Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Nebraskaare all beyond amazing films. If I had to pick one of them it would be Davis. American Hustle has taken Hollywood by storm and is, honestly, the safe choice. It's a film that does plays in familiar ground very well. It's good, not great; it's an acting master class and Hollywood has fallen in love with it. American Hustle is my least favorite of these five very good films.



Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy



Amy Adams - American Hustle



Julie Delpy - Before Midnight



Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha



Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Enough Said



Meryl Streep - August: Osage County



Who Will Win: Amy Adams - American Hustle



Who Should Win: Amy Adams - American Hustle



Comments: For all the really strong categories this year, this is not one of them. These performances are all above average, but nothing seems to super stand out. I could see Streep winning just because she's Streep, but Adams should have this one in the bag.



Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy



Christian Bale - American Hustle



Bruce Dern - Nebraska



Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street



Oscar Isaac - Inside Llewyn Davis



Joaquin Phoenix - Her



Who Will Win: Bruce Dern -- Nebraska



Who Should Win: All of them.



Comments: Oh wow, these are five of my favorite performances of the year. This is a plethora of acting goodness. I would be happy with any of them, I think Dern will pull of the win for no other reason than he's 77 and may not be here again; but Isaac, Phoenix, DiCaprio, and Bale are all amazing.



Best Animated Feature Film



The Croods



Despicable Me 2



Frozen



Who Will Win: Frozen



Who Should Win: Frozen



Comments: A surprisingly small field for animated feature films, considering there have been a few good film left off this list, namely Monsters University and The Wind Rises. That being said, Frozen is easily the best animated film of this year, one of the best film of year in general and should win this category going away.



Best Foreign Language Film



Blue is the Warmest Color



The Great Beauty



The Hunt



The Past



The Wind Rises



Who Will Win: The Wind Rises



Who Should Win: Blue is the Warmest Color



Comments: The front runner for the Oscar is not nominated, Belgium's The Broken Circle Breakdown; Denmark's The Hunt could sweep in and take this with its solid late buzz, France's Blue is the Warmest Color is the Palm d'Or winner for this year's Cannes film festival and one of the 10 best films I've seen this year (and sadly due to some dumb rules not eligible for this year's Academy Awards) and should pull of the win here. But I think The Globes will go sentimental pick and honor film legend Hayao Miyazaki and his last film The Wind Rises.



Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture



Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine



Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle



Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave



Julia Roberts - August: Osage County



June Squibb - Nebraska



Who Will Win: Lupita Nyong'o



Who Should Win: Lupita Nyong'o



Comments: This is almost a lock, Nyong'o is stellar and heart-breaking and memorable all at the same time. She's great and should easily take this home. However, if there is a spoiler to be played Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustlecould come in and take this away because, as usual, she is incredible in every scene steeling moment she appears in that film.



Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture



Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips



Daniel Bruhl - Rush



Bradley Cooper - American Hustle



Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave



Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club



Who Will Win: Michael Fassbender



Who Should Win: Jared Leto



Comments: This is a wide open race between 5 very good actors, giving 5 very good performances. Fassbender is my guess at who will win, but that is a true guess. Leto stands out as someone who is a total chameleon in his part, but is fairly disliked in Hollywood (ahh politics), and Abdi, Bruhl and Cooper are all great in their parts. I'm looking forward to actually seeing who takes this award home.



Best Director, Motion Picture



Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity



Paul Greengrass - Captain Phillips



Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave



Alexander Payne - Nebraska



David O. Russell - American Hustle



Who Will Win: Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity



Who Should Win: Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity



Comments: It would be very hard to vote for Cuaron this year, Gravity is a great film and great step forward for filmmaking. The amazing thing is that Cuaron wrote and a script that needed more technology then what he had, and instead of shying away from making the film, he invented new technology to create the film .



Best Screenplay, Motion Picture



Spike Jonze - Her



Bob Nelson - Nebraska



Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan - Philomena



John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave



Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell - American Hustle



Who Will Win: Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan - Philomena



Who Should Win:Spike Jonze - Her OR Bob Nelson - Nebraska



Comments: Jonze and Nelson both created amazing scripts about personal stories involving there honest and compelling characters and a fascinating story. This should be all you need to win, however it might not be enough to push them over the top. This is a category where little films get there due, which is why I think this is where Philomena gets his due.



Best TV Series, Drama



Breaking Bad



Downton Abbey



The Good Wife



House of Cards



Masters of Sex



Who Will Win: Breaking Bad



Who Should Win: Breaking Bad



Comments: A bunch of good shows here, but this is the year of Breaking Bad and I would be shocked if The Globes don't take advantage of their last chance to toss awards at the show.



Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama



Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife



Tatiana Maslany - Orphan Black



Taylor Schiling - Orange is the New Black



Kerry Washington - Scandal



Robin Wright - House of Cards



Who Will Win: ?



Who Should Win: ?



Comments: When it comes to this category I've seen very little of each of these shows, not nearly enough to say who should or would win. If I was guessing I would Julianna Margulies is going to win, but am rooting for Tatiana Maslany of Orphan Black as I very much enjoyed the pilot episode of this show.



Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama



Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad



Liev Schreiber - Ray Donovan



Michael Sheen - Masters of Sex



Kevin Spacey - House of Cards



James Spader - The Blacklist



Who Will Win: Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad



Who Should Win: Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad



Comments: The year of Breaking Bad will end with a Cranston win.



Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy



The Big Bang Theory



Brooklyn Nine-Nine



Girls



Modern Family



Parks and Recreation



Who Will Win: Girls



Who Should Win: Parks and Recreation



Comments: It's hard to beat an HBO show and I'm not sure anyone will beat the culturally penetrating Girls. I would easily say Parks and Recreation has been the funniest and most underrated show on TV for years and I would love it if it finally got its due. Both The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family are holding strong for traditional sitcoms and Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a holding strong for a freshman series on FOX but let's give it some time to grow.



Best Actress in TV Series, Musical or Comedy



Zooey Deschanel - The New Girls



Lena Dunham - Grils



Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie



Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep



Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation



Who Will Win: Julia Louis-Dreyfus - Veep



Who Should Win: Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation



Comments: Veep's leading lady has been getting a lot of accolades for this part, and awards shows love award "comedy" shows that are not actually funny, and Veep fits that bill. But Poehler has been snubbed for years as Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation, and she should take this home.



Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy



Jason Bateman - Arrested Development



Don Cheadle - House of Lies



Michael J. Fox - The Michael J. Fox Show



Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory



Andy Samberg - Brooklyn Nine-Nine



Who Will Win: Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory



Who Should Win: Take your pick!



Commentary: In a category where all things are equal it's to really say who's above the rest, these gentlemen all give good performances but I can't say one defines himself above the rest. So I say Parsons, because he's my favorite of these guys.



ENJOY THE GOLDEN GLOBES!
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