Tis the season . . .

It’s geering up to one of my favourite times of year! No, not Christmas . ..awards season! I always look forward to finding out the nominations for the Golden Globes and Oscars despite the fact I’m nearly always disappointed with who the winners are. The Globes and Oscars mark a tradition for me-staying up late with a tasty beverage and watching the whole ceremony. I find the whole process so fascinating and like the opportunity to earmark any quality films I haven’t seen yet. The Golden Globe nominations were announced today by the always lovely Miri opps I mean Elizabeth Banks and are as follows:

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – 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

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Leonardio DiCaprio, Revolutionary Road
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Burn After Reading
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Rebecca Hall, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Frances McDormand, Burn After Reading
Meryl Streep, Mamma Mia!
Emma Thompson, Last Chance Harvey

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Javier Bardem, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
James Franco, Pineapple Express
Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges
Dustin Hoffman, Last Chance Harvey

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden/Denmark)
Gomorrah (Italy)
I’ve Loved You So Long (France)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Christina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Tom Cruise, Tropic Thunder
Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
Ralph Fiennes, The Duchess
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare, The Reader
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Clint Eastwood, Changeling
James Newton Howard, Defiance
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Hans Zimmer, Frost/Nixon

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

a. “DOWN TO EARTH” — WALL-E
Music by: Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman
Lyrics by: Peter Gabriel

b. “GRAN TORINO” — GRAN TORINO
Music by: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Lyrics by: Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens

c. “I THOUGHT I LOST YOU” — BOLT
Music & Lyrics by: Miley Cyrus, Jeffrey Steele

d. “ONCE IN A LIFETIME” — CADILLAC RECORDS
Music & Lyrics by: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street

e. “THE WRESTLER” — THE WRESTLER
Music & Lyrics by: Bruce Springsteen

Thoughts? The awards committee clearly responded well to Ben Stiller’s comedy Tropic Thunder with more than a few nominations. Everyone’s eyes are on the best supporting actor category. I think it’s awesome Robert Downey Jnr was nominated for Tropic Thunder because he really was brilliant but I thought he would be starved of a nomination due to the comedic nature of the film. And Tom Cruise! His turn in said movie was also great and it’s nice to see he’s getting some recognition for it . . . even if I think he’s a tool. I thought Australia was unlucky to miss out nomination in several categories, particularly best actress for Nicole Kidman. Don't get me wrong-I'm not a Nicole Kidman fan. Yeah, I know, I'm unAustralian etc etc but she was genuinely great in Australia. I’m glad to see In Bruges has a handful of nominations as it was one of the best and underrated films of the year. But it’s all about Heath. If he doesn’t win, the awards committee (in the wise words of Homer Simpson) deserve a “glove slap”. His turn as the joker in The Dark Knight was seriously one of the best things I have EVER seen on screen. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and his performance had a lot to do with why I saw that film five times at the cinema. The fact he is no longer with us is irrelevant to the award. No other actor in any film this year (dare I say the past few decades) came close to something as brilliant as what he pulled out of his dynamite ridden bag. Heath Ledger deserves the Golden Globe for his joker. He deserves the Oscar for it too. Let’s hope his posthumourous win at the Australian Film Institue Awards over the weekend for best international performance from an Australian actor is a good indication the Globe and Oscar are on their way.
Wait a second, I almost forgot to mention my second favourite nomination.
JAMES FRANCO FOR PINEAPPLE EXPRESS! YAAAAAAAAYYYYYY! I’ve already mentioned a thousand times over this is my favourite comedy of 08 and I’m glad to see the critics have got off their high horse and slipped the nominations out to those who deserve them. If you haven’t seen Franco in this film yet then you MUST see it! NOW! GO! Freakin hilarious.