Golden Globe Predictions!

Hi everyone!

The Golden Globes are the first real award show of the year (sorry People’s Choice!), and (often but not always) a good predictor for the Oscars.  I’m going to take a look at the list (take a look at if for yourself: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/12/golden-globe-nominees-2014-the-complete-list/), and offer the following: my prediction about what I think will win, what I would like to win, and (if applicable), what was snubbed and deserves some recognition.  While this blog has mainly been used for movies, I have been keeping up with TV too and will offer predictions for that as well!  I’m excited to have Amy Poehler and Tina Fey co-host again, they did a great job last time and always have such great chemistry together!

First, let’s start with movies!

BEST DRAMA

Think will win: 12 Years a Slave is an awards show favorite, and rightly so.  It’s incredibly dramatic and emotionally powerful, and certainly deserves the recognition.

Want to win: Gravity is a film unlike any other, and it’s that originality that makes it so exciting.  The power of special effects and having only two actors made the film that much more intimate and thrilling, and made you root for the characters that much more.

Snubbed: Short Term 12 was a phenomenal film that was definitely underrated, and is an emotional powerhouse of a film.  Fantastic acting, great chemistry between the actors, and a great, compelling story all make this film a must-watch!

BEST MUSICAL/COMEDY

Think will win: American Hustle has been getting a lot of buzz, and rightly so, due to it’s old-school feel and great acting.

Want to win: The Wolf of Wall Street is, in my opinion, the funniest film of the year.  Thanks to the over-the-top acting of DiCaprio and Hill, this wild true story is taking to new heights, and never comes back down!

Snubbed: The Way, Way Back was a fantastic comedy/drama that definitely slipped under the radar.  Fantastic acting by Steve Carrell and the rest of the cast made this a compelling film that nicely balanced comedy with drama.

BEST DIRECTOR

Think will win: Steve McQueen will probably take this one along with the Best Picture.

Want to win: Alfonso Cuarón deserves it for the masterful job he did with his film.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Think will win: Judi Dench has only won one Academy Award/Golden Globe in her illustrious career (though she’s been nominated for many), and the academy usually likes to give these awards to older actors/actresses before it’s too late.

Want to win: This is a tough one, because both Emma Thompson and Sandra Bullock did such phenomenal jobs in their respective films.  While I loved Emma Thompson though, I think I’ll lean toward Bullock, since she essentially carries her whole film.

Snubbed: Once again, I’m going to go with Brie Larson from Short Term 12, who wears her heart on her sleeve in the film and experiences just about every emotion you can go through in the film, from anger and depression to excitement and joy.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Think will win: Chiwetel Ejiofor will probably also take this award for this film, though maybe due to the times, Idris Elba will sneak away with the win with his interpretation of Mandela.

Want to win: Matthew McConaughey found a way to make a cocky, stubborn, homophobic uber-cowboy into a likable character.

Snubbed: I know he’s already nominated, but I think McConaughey should have been nominated for his awesome role in Mud, which I thought was a much more compelling character.  But just to add variety, I believe Hugh Jackman’s role in Prisoners was incredible and completely ignored.

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL/COMEDY

Think will win: Christian Bale certainly does a great job in this role, and I think he will probably take it.

Want to win: DiCAPRIO!!  He absolutely DESERVES to win this award for his phenomenal job in this insane film!  However, I also believe Oscar Isaac did a fantastic job in his role as well (as both an actor and singer), and he certainly deserves some recognition for it.

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL/COMEDY

Think will/want to win: To be honest, the only one I’ve seen in this list is Amy Adams, and she definitely did a great job.

Snubbed: I think it would have been awesome for the academy to think outside of the box and give the award to Scarlett Johansson for her voice acting in the film.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Think will/want to win: J-Law totally stole the show in her film, and is the funniest part about the whole movie.  She definitely deserves the win!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Think will win: Michael Fassbender played a totally despicable plantation owner, which is what made 12 Years a Slave such a powerful film, so he’ll probably win it.

Want to win: Jared Leto did an absolutely incredible job in his role, and completely stole the movie.  Funny, emotionally powerful, and absolutely compelling, he deserves the win!

BEST SCREENPLAY

Think will/want to win: Spike Jonze for Her. It’s an original, fresh love story that also smartly looks at our obsession with technology, specifically our smart phones.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Think will/want to win: Once again, I haven’t seen any of these films, but based on the buzz and reviews, I’m going to say Blue is the Warmest Color will probably take the award.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Think will/want to win: Frozen is the best Disney film in years, and has a phenomenal soundtrack.  As cute as the minions are, there’s no competition for in this category in my opinion.

Snubbed: Regardless, I’m surprised Monsters U didn’t get nominated.  I guess there’s only room for one Disney movie! 🙂

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Think will/want to win: “Let it Go” for Frozen is essentially the theme of the film, and fits it very well.  Sung incredibly by Idina Menzel, it’s worthy of the prize.

BEST SCORE

Think will win: 12 Years a Slave will probably take it for adding to the emotional powerhouse film.

Want to win: Gravity‘s score added so much tension to the film, which was already tense enough!  It was very powerful and deserves recognition.

Now on to TV!

BEST TV COMEDY/MUSICAL

Think will win: I don’t know how it continues to do so, but Modern Family seems to be unstoppable.  I’m guessing it will continue its reign of terror.

Want to win: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of the funniest new shows of the year, and definitely deserves some recognition.

Snubbed: I’m surprised The Crazy Ones was not nominated; Robin Williams is back in top form in this show!

BEST TV DRAMA

Think will win: Though I’ve never seen the show, I know many people say Breaking Bad is one of the best TV shows of all time, and that it had a particularly strong final season.  I think the academy will bid it farewell with an award.

Want to win: Again, though I’ve never seen the show, I think it would be interesting to have the academy nominate a Netflix show.  If  House of Cards wins, it could really signal a shift in the power of TV shows that aren’t necessarily on TV.

Snubbed: That being said, I’m surprised Orange is the New Black and Orphan Black were left out of the running (they are nominated for other categories after all).  Once again, I guess there’s only room for one Netflix/internet TV show.

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV DRAMA

Think will win: I’ve never seen the show, but I know Julianna Marguiles has garnered consistent praise for the show, so I have a feeling she’ll win it.

Want to win: For the same reasons listed earlier, I would love to have Taylor Schilling or Tatiana Maslany win for their internet/Netflix shows!

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV COMEDY

Think will win: Julia Louis-Dreyfus will probably get an award, for the same reason Judi Dench will probably win; she’s been nominated many times and is due for a win.

Want to win: It would be awesome if Poehler won, a) because she’s hosting and b) because Parks and Recreation is probably coming to an end soon, and it would be a fitting send off.

BEST ACTOR IN A TV DRAMA

Think will win: For the same reason I think the show will win, I think Bryan Cranston will take the award, and rightly so.

Want to win: Again, for similar reasons listed above, I think it would be interesting for Kevin Spacey to win.  Also, James Spader has done a great job on The Blacklist, and is essentially the only real reason to watch that show.

BEST ACTOR IN A TV COMEDY/MUSICAL

Think will win: Much like Modern Family, Jim Parsons seems to be unstoppable in these awards, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he took home the win.

Want to win: Andy Samberg is hilarious in his show, and deserves some recognition.  But it would also be great if Michael J. Fox got an award for his great TV return.

Snubbed: Comedy legend Robin Williams is the star and redeeming factor of his show, and it’s a shame he didn’t get recognized for it.

It’s hard to judge the rest of the categories because I haven’t seen many of the nominated shows.  But I will say I think American Horror Story is doing an interesting thing in terms of having the same ensemble cast and putting them in different roles/scenarios each season, so Ryan Murphy and that show should get some recognition!  I also think Parenthood doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, it’s a great drama with an excellent cast to back it up!

Anyway, that’s all for now, what do you think? 🙂  We’ll find out soon enough how close I was!

Pacific Rim

 

Pacific Rim is an epic, action-packed, larger-than-life slug fest and a visually stunning homage to the “Godzilla”/monster movies we loved as kids.

From the creative, dark and twisted mind of Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, the Hellboy series, etc.), it’s no surprise that this film is full of so many amazing looking creatures.  As I stated before, this is an homage to and a re-imagining of sorts of all your favorite classic monsters (which should be immediately evident as all the alien monsters in this film are referred to as kaiju, which is Japanese for “strange creature” or “giant monster.”  There are beasts in here that resemble a giant gorilla (King Kong), crab (Mysterious Island), dragon (for the sake of the theme of this movie with kaijus, let’s go with Godzilla’s arch-nemesis Ghidorah, though there are plenty of other examples!), and of course a dinosaur (obviously Godzilla).  All of them are larger than life, and del Toro does a great job of scaling them against recognizable items and buildings to make that very clear.

Similarly, the robots (or as they’re called in this film Jaegers, German for “hunter”) are just as monumental (though apparently surprisingly light, as they are flown out by just 8 helicopters…  one of a very few gripes I had with the film).  They are powerful (though certainly flawed) war machines that are still grounded in humanity, as they require two humans to pilot and operate them.  I love how you can see the “battle scars” on these robots, it really adds to the vulnerability and “realism” (as much as you can get in a movie with alien sea monsters) of the war that is being waged.

Suffice to say, the movie looks great, and when these two colossal entities battle each other, it’s quite a spectacle and incredibly exciting to watch unfold!  Especially in IMAX 3D, these giants fight with an intense ferocity that you can literally feel in the theater!

The cast is composed of mostly unfamiliar faces.  However, the few familiar faces from the film do a great job in their roles.  Idris Elba (the Thor films, Prometheus) delivers as the battle-hardened commanding officer Spencer Pentecost, and is both intimidating and inspiring.  Experienced in the dangers of the war, he knows what to expect and tries his best to prevent it from happening again (though throughout the film his orders are disobeyed on multiple occasions).  Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) adds comic-relief to the film as the curious and rebellious scientist Dr. Geiszler.  His trademark acting style seems to be a perfect fit for his role and for this film, and he didn’t seem out of place in the movie (which I feared he would).  Lastly, Ron Perlman (the Hellboy films, Sons of Anarchy) appears briefly in the film as the black market salesman Hannibal Chau, but in his limited time on screen does a great job of being funny as well as intimidating, much like his role as Hellboy (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right?).

As for the unfamiliar faces, the lead actor Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Queer as Folk) does an ok job as the soldier Raleigh Becket who has experienced the brutalities of the kaiju war, though his performance can be dry and monotonous at times.  Rinko Kikuchi plays his partner Mako Mori, who has experienced the terrors of the kaiju in a frightening way, and does a satisfactory job as well.  Burn Gorman, who plays fellow scientist Dr. Gottlieb, works alongside Charlie Day as the comic duo of the film, and is entertaining and a fun character to watch.

Finally, let’s get to the plot.  Aliens have discovered a portal in the Pacific Ocean that they have used to send terrifying sea monsters to attack our planet.  After struggling to defeat them through traditional military tactics, the Jaegar program was developed, creating giant robots operated by not one (for some reason that I still don’t fully understand, it was too much for a single pilot to handle) but two pilots.  These pilots are connected through a “neural handshake” in which their memories and brains “drift” together, allowing them to guide the robot as one.  I won’t give away too much more for those of who still haven’t seen it, but suffice to say it is discovered why the aliens are attacking in a bizarre way and of course the fate of the world is at stake.  I think it’s funny how del Toro shows how when the kaiju were first defeated, they were turned into toys and made fun of on TV; it definitely seems like something we would do if we started to get cocky.  I also like the fact that the robots are guided by two people.  I may still not understand completely how the neural handshake/drift works, but it seems to be very handy to have two people guiding the robot, and it shows the value of teamwork in times of strife.  There are definitely some predictable/cliche moments in the film, but they are certainly overshadowed by the intense action of the film.

FINAL DIAGNOSIS: 9/10

This movie delivers everything it promised and that I hoped to see: giant robots fighting giant alien monsters.  In addition, some humorous moments lightened up the film, and some decent acting added tension and excitement to the story.  Especially in IMAX 3D, this is definitely a movie that is best seen on the big screen.  If you love action movies, sci-fi, or classic monster movies, then you will not be disappointed!