Skip to main content

2012 Golden Globe Awards

     So folks, it's that time of year again, when all of the prestigious awards go out to all those famous people in all those famous movies and made them noteworthy.  This time around, it's the Golden Globes.  I am fortunate to have seen many of the movies nominated for awards.  And, since I'm a film guy and don't watch a whole lot of television, I'm going to focus mainly on the films that were nominated.
     
Best Original Score
     The Artist is a silent film, making the background music a whole lot more important than in a film with sound.  The score is similar to that of other silent films from the past.  The score helps us understand better what is going on in the scene.  It helps convey the actors' emotions in the scene, but it doesn't really connect us with the actors.  I truly enjoy hearing the score that Ludovic Bource composed for the film and I am delighted that he won the award for Best Original Score.

Best Director
    I was hoping that Michel Hazanavicius would win this award for directing my favorite movie of 2011, The Artist, but this was not the case.  Instead, legendary director Martin Scorsese won for directing Hugo, a story about a young boy during the Interwar period discovering the mysteries behind a strange machine, and discovering the incredible history of someone close to him.  Until I saw The Artist, Hugo was my favorite movie of 2011.  Aside from it being one of Scorsese's few nonviolent films, there is a great appreciation for early film and filmmaking demonstrated in this movie.  The cast is excellent all around, with all actors delivering exceptional performances.  But I think the best part about this movie, is it's appreciation for the work of Georges Melies, an early filmmaker who created some of the earliest films ever made (we're talking as early as 1902 here).  While my first choice director did not win this award, I can hardly say that I'm disappointed with Scorsese taking Best Director.

Best Performance by an Actress Motion Picture - Drama
     Does Meryl Streep ever deliver a bad performance?  I mean, really.  Is this even a competition?  Yes, even though it is clear why Meryl Streep has won this award so many times.  She is truly incredible in The Iron Lady, playing Margaret Thatcher, one of England's most controversial Prime Ministers.  She seems to be awesome or better in just about all of her roles in movies, but her role in The Iron Lady is, in my opinion, one of her finer roles.  If you don't believe me, just go see the movie.

Best Performance by an Actor Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
     Another award for my favorite movie of the year, The Artist, this time for leading actor Jean Dujardin.  I find it interesting that a silent film is winning so many awards in a world where talking films are pretty much the only movies that are made.  However, it does not surprise me that Jean Dujardin won this award.  He is a pleasure to watch on screen.  I hadn't heard of him until I saw this movie, and if you don't think he deserves this award, all you need to do is see this movie.

    Overall, I am mostly pleased with the results of this year's Golden Globes, but there are a few movies that I think weren't recognized enough such as The Help, or The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  Now, it's time to move on to the Oscars at the end of next month, with nominations due out in just a couple of weeks.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Magnificent Seven

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Written by: Richard Wenk and Nic Pizzolatto      Remakes are funny things.  They can go either way.  On one hand, they can be like last year's Mad Max: Fury Road, a film that critics and audiences adore; a film that will live on as a cinematic masterpiece.  Remakes can also go in the direction of this year's rendition of Ben-Hur , one that critics and audiences will likely forget.       The Magnificent Seven some might say is an unnecessary remake.  It's a remake of an original that's based on another film, Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic,  Seven Samurai, in which seven samurai soldiers are hired by a town to keep them safe from raiding bandits.  This time, there are no raiding bandits, and there are not seven sword-wielding soldi...

Don Jon

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, Glenne Headly, Brie Larson, and Tony Danza Directed and written by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt     To the gentlemen with significant others, clear your internet history BEFORE you see this movie with them.     Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has an interesting life.  He cares about only a few things; his apartment, family, church, friends, girls, and porn, especially the porn.  He's nicknamed "Don" because he hooks up with the most attractive girls every weekend.  One night at the club, he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson).  She's different from all the other girls Jon hooks up with.  She wants more than just a happy ending one night, meaning Jon's going to have to change his game if he wants to get with her.  And as much as he likes her, he likes his porn even more.  She hates that he watches porn, so something's going to have to give.     Don Jon is ...

Flight

Starring: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, John Goodman, and Bruce Greenwood Directed by: Robert Zemeckis Screenplay by: John Gatins       For those of you who have any fear of flying, even the tiniest fear, you will never want to fly on an airplane again after seeing this film.       Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) saves a commercial airplane from a truly horrific crash, in which only a few people are killed.  Almost everyone survives, including himself.  The stunt he pulls to save the plane is nothing short of a miracle, but an investigation into the crash reveals something that could send Whitaker to prison.  Not only is he going to be responsible for the people who were killed in the crash (which will send him to prison on manslaughter charges), but he was also found to be drinking the night before and the morning of the flight.       The actual plane crash takes place only twenty minutes or so...