Golden Globe Predictions - Who Will Win? Who Should Win?

The Golden Globes are always a good time - lots of big name winners, lots of booze, and this year's hosts (Amy Poehler and Tina Fey) are sure to give us many a drunken laughs. But to get serious, here are my predictions as to who will win tonight.

FILM

BEST PICTURE: DRAMA
Best Chance: LINCOLN
Second Place: ZERO DARK THIRTY
Eh... Probably not: ARGO and LIFE OF PI
At least you can put it on the DVD: DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: ZERO DARK THIRTY


BEST PICTURE: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Best Chance: LES MISERABLES
Second Place: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Eh... Probably not: MOONRISE KINGDOM and EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Just be happy you were nominated: SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN
My personal fav: SILVER LININGS, but MOONRISE would be a sweet win too.


BEST DIRECTOR
Best Chance: Steven Spielberg for LINCOLN
Second Place: Kathryn Bigelow for ZERO DARK THIRTY
Eh... Probably not: Ben Affleck for ARGO and Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI
Just be happy you were nominated: Quentin Tarantino for DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: Kathryn Bigelow - duhhh.


BEST ACTOR: DRAMA
Best Chance: Daniel Day-Lewis in LINCOLN
Second Place: Joaquin Phoenix in THE MASTER
Eh... Probably not: Denzel Washington in FLIGHT and John Hawkes in THE SESSIONS
Just be happy you were nominated: Richard Gere in ARBITRAGE
My personal fav: Joaquin!


BEST ACTRESS: DRAMA
Best Chance: Jessica Chastain in ZERO DARK THIRTY
Second Place: Naomi Watts in THE IMPOSSIBLE
Eh... Probably not: Marion Cotillard in RUST & BONE
Just be happy you were nominated: Helen Mirren in HITCHCOCK and Rachel Weisz in THE DEEP BLUE SEA
My personal fav: I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Chastain!


BEST ACTOR: COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Best Chance: Bradley Cooper in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Second Place: Hugh Jackman in LES MISERABLES (this is one of the closest races)
Just face it - no one voted for you...: Jack Black in BERNIE, Ewan McGregor in SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, and Bill Murray in HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
My personal fav: Bradley Cooper was the shit.


BEST ACTRESS: MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Best Chance: Jennifer Lawrence in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Second Place: There is no 2nd place for this category... sorry, ladies.
You're all great, but...: Meryl Streep in HOPE SPRINGS, Judi Dench in THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, Emily Blunt in SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, and Maggie Smith in QUARTET
My personal fav: Is this even a questions? Jennifer.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Best Chance: Tommy Lee Jones in LINCOLN
Second Place: Philip Seymour Hoffman in THE MASTER
Eh... Probably not: Alan Arkin in ARGO and Christoph Waltz in DJANGO UNCHAINED
Just be happy you were nominated: Leonardo DiCaprio in DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: Philip Seymour Hoffman... makes me sad THE MASTER isn't getting a whole lot of recognition.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Best Chance: Anne Hathaway in LES MISERABLES
Second Place: Sally Field in LINCOLN
Eh... Probably not: Helen Hunt in THE SESSIONS and Amy Adams in THE MASTER
Just be happy you were nominated: Nicole Kidman in THE PAPERBOY
My personal fav: Annie.


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Best Chance: AMOUR
Second Place: RUST & BONE
Eh... Probably not: THE INTOUCHABLES and A ROYAL AFFAIR
Who are you?!: KON-TIKI
My personal fav: THE INTOUCHABLES!!! (Though, I haven't seen AMOUR yet.)


BEST SCREENPLAY
Best Chance: ZERO DARK THIRTY
Second Place: LINCOLN
Well, maybe...: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Eh... Probably not: ARGO
Just be happy you were nominated: DJANGO UNCHAINED
My personal fav: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK


BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Best Chance: LINCOLN
Second Place: LIFE OF PI
Eh... Probably not: ARGO
Just be happy you were nominated: ANNA KARENINA and CLOUD ATLAS
My personal fav: ANNA KARENINA


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Best Chance: BRAVE
Second Place: WRECK-IT-RALPH
Eh... Probably not: RISE OF THE GUARDIANS and FRANKENWEENIE
Just be happy you were nominated: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
My personal fav: None. Didn't see any of these.


BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Best Chance: "Skyfall" from SKYFALL
Second Place: "Suddenly" from LES MISERABLES
Eh... Probably not: "Safe and Sound" from THE HUNGER GAMES
Just be happy you were nominated: "Not Running Anymore" from STAND UP GUYS and "For You" from ACT OF VALOR
My personal fav: Adele, y'all! (SKYFALL)

TELEVISION


BEST TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
Best Chance: HOMELAND
Second Place: DOWNTON ABBEY
Eh... Probably not: BOARDWALK EMPIRE and BREAKING BAD
Just be happy you were nominated: THE NEWSROOM
My personal fav: C'mon! HOMELAND!!!!!!!!


BEST TELEVISION SERIES: MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Best Chance: GIRLS
Second Place: MODERN FAMILY
Eh... Probably not: SMASH and EPISODES
Just be happy you were nominated: THE BIG BANG THEORY
My personal fav: GIRLS!


BEST MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Best Chance: GAME CHANGE
Second Place: HATFIELDS & McCOYS
Um... I don't even know who you are: THE GIRL, THE HOUR, and POLITICAL ANIMALS
My personal fav: Didn't see any!


BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
Best Chance: Damian Lewis in HOMELAND
Second Place: Bryan Cranston in BREAKING BAD
Eh... Probably not: Jeff Daniels in THE NEWSROOM, Steve Buscemi in BOARDWALK EMPIRE, and Jon Hamm in MAD MEN
My personal fav: Sgt. Brody! (Damian Lewis)


BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES: DRAMA
Best Chance: Claire Danes in HOMELAND
Second Place: Connie Britton in NASHVILLE
Eh... Probably not: Julianna Margulies in THE GOOD WIFE and Glenn Close in DAMAGES
Just be happy you were nominated: Michelle Dockery in DOWNTON ABBEY
My personal fav: Claire Fucking Danes. <3 p="p">

BEST ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES: COMEDY
Best Chance: Louis C.K. in LOUIE
Second Place: Matt LeBlanc in EPISODES
Eh... Probably not: Jim Parsons in THE BIG BANG THEORY and Alec Baldwin in 30 ROCK
Just be happy you were nominated: Don Cheadle in HOUSE OF LIES
My personal fav: Honestly, I don't care. Louie, I guess haha.


BEST ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES: COMEDY
Best Chance: Lena Dunham in GIRLS
Second Place: Amy Poehler in PARKS AND RECREATION
Eh... Probably not: Julia Louis-Dreyfus in VEEP and Zooey Deschanel in NEW GIRL
Just be happy you were nominated and so excited for your hosting!: Tina Fey in 30 ROCK
My personal fav: LENA BABY


BEST ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Best Chance: Kevin Costner in HATFIELDS & McCOYS
Second Place: Woody Harrelson in GAME CHANGE
Eh... Probably not: Clive Owen in HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN and Toby Jones for THE GIRL
Just be happy you were nominated: Benedict Cumberbatch in SHERLOCK
My personal fav: Don't know. Don't care.


BEST ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Best Chance: Julianne Moore in GAME CHANGE
Second Place: Jessica Lange in AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM
Eh... Probably not: Nicole Kidman in HEMINGWAY & GELLHORN and Sigourney Weaver in POLITICAL ANIMALS
Just be happy you were nominated: Sienna Miller in THE GIRL
My personal fav: Jessica Lange! Sistah Jude!


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN ANYTHING TV
Best Chance: Mandy Patinkin in HOMELAND
Second Place: Eric Stonestreet in MODERN FAMILY
Eh... Probably not: Ed Harris in GAME CHANGE and Max Greenfield in NEW GIRL
Just be happy you were nominated: Danny Huston in MAGIC CITY
My personal fav: I might cry if Mandy wins.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN ANYTHING TV
Best Chance: Hayden Panettiere in NASHVILLE
Second Place: Maggie Smith in DOWNTON ABBEY
Eh... Probably not: Sofia Vergara in MODERN FAMILY, Archie Panjabi in THE GOOD WIFE, and Sarah Paulson in GAME CHANGE
My personal fav: Sarah Paulson, not for GAME CHANGE... I'll just chalk it up for AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM

Best of 2009: Top 10 Performances by a Supporting Actor

2009 really was full of great performances throughout most of the films, especially in the supporting categories. In my opinion, to be legitimate supporting actors, you have to have that one scene that often steals the show from the other cast members.

For example, in "The Hurt Locker," two actors (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) not only took their roles in brave directions from the screenplay, but also stole a few scenes from lead actor Jeremy Renner. Mackie's final scene in the film is both heart-breaking and inspiring. It could have fallen flat but he added multiple dimensions to the scene. Geraghty - while having a smaller role - really embodied the soldier who just can't take anymore. His final scene is also his greatest moment in the film. Another scene-stealer is Woody Harrelson in "The Messenger." For most of the film, he allows hardly any emotion to emit, but near the end, we see a different, pained side - a human quality.

Some of the actors completely channel the roles from either page or real life. In "The Last Station," Christopher Plummer is a joy to watch as the famous Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy. There is a moment in the film when Plummer speaks to James McAvoy about his life as a young man and how he longs for that now as an old one. This scene, amoung the high grass and sun, takes the audience into the world of the film's and character's past, something we do not see on the screen. From page to screen, youngster Kodi Smit-McPhee is the exact replica of the son I imagined when I read "The Road." Quiet, clingy, and sort of whiny, but loyal to his father and often sad.

Then there are two actors from the same film: "A Single Man." Matthew Goode is riveting, astounding and completely likeable as the dead boyfriend to Colin Firth's character. All Goode has to work with are flashbacks (and there are only a handful of them), but he brings such life, happiness and eminent doom to these scenes, certainly stealing them away from Firth who is a powerhouse in the film. The other actor in the film, Nicholas Hoult, is in the present plot as Firth's college student and possible love interest. Hoult exudes art, cinematic chemistry, California, and the '60s. If that's not enough, I don't know what is.

The final batch of supporting, scene-stealing actors are all the villians (or at least the antagonists). First off, there's Alfred Molina (who was incredible on Broadway in "Red," by the way) as Jenny's father in "An Education." He is the force always in the back of Jenny's mind as she experiences life outside her home, and also in the back of the audiences mind. His role resonates with us even when he's not on screen. Stanley Tucci plays the psychotic killer in "The Lovely Bones"; while the film is self-indulgent and over-the-top, Tucci's performance is a knock-out that would have deserved the Oscar and every other award if it were not for our final actor. Christoph Waltz, an unknown German actor, completely steals - I mean the biggest bank robbery in history - the show from every incredible actor in "Inglourious Basterds." He was funny, insane, despicable and loveable - and he was a Jew-hunting Nazi! Brilliant.

The Top 10 Performances by a Supporting Actor for 2009 are:

10. Brian Geraghty as Specialist Owen Eldrige in THE HURT LOCKER

9. Nicholas Hoult as Kenny in A SINGLE MAN

8. Kodi Smit-McPhee as the Boy in THE ROAD

7. Alfred Molina as Jack in AN EDUCATION

6. Christopher Plummer as Leo Tolstoy in THE LAST STATION

5. Anthony Mackie as Sergeant JT Sanborn in THE HURT LOCKER

4. Matthew Goode as Jim in A SINGLE MAN

3. Woody Harrelson as Captain Tony Stone in THE MESSENGER

2. Stanley Tucci as George Harvey in THE LOVELY BONES

1. Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

August in December

Funny People
Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, and Jason Schwartzman

It's funny, it's sad, and it has excellent performances by Sandler, Rogen, and Mann, but this Apatow dramedy is just like every other Apatow film - too freaking long!

Grade: B


(500) Days of Summer
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

Some indie films feel indie, probably because they're more indie than others, but I don't really know. "(500) Days of Sumemr" creates a world where the audience knows the ending, knows the heartbreak's looming in the future, and still we hope for the lead man. It's an indie that can stand on its own feet and feel like a high-class film. The point of view is perfect, allowing us not to see the enitre picture at once, and the ending is hilariously perfect. Also, I knew he was going to start a song-and-dance routine!

Grade: A-


District 9
Starring Sharlto Copley

The thing about most sci-fi-alien-attacks-earth movies is that most of them never let you care. "District 9", on the other hand, presents us with a likeable, unknown actor named Sharlto Copley as the shit-on protagonist who undergoes changes that defy the usual character transformations (talking psychological/emotional here), and break into mutating characters physically without losing the character drama that is "District 9".

Grade: B+



Inglorious Basterds
Starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, and Diane Kruger

Tarantino at his best! When screenwriting books and blogs and guidelines tell you NOT to keep your characters in the same scene for too long, they should have a meeting with Quentin. It felt like a play but a kick-some-Nazi-ass one. The screenplay created a sense of entertainment, of old-fashioned Hollywood, like something in between "Casablanca" and "Taxi Driver". "Inglorious Basterds" glues you to your seat, makes you sweat, nervous, and jealous that Pitt and his Nazi-killing thugs are having so much fun. Watch out Oscar, here comes Christoph Waltz - the best villain since Anton Chigurh.

Grade: A