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2020 Golden Globes Predictions
The Golden Globe Awards are tomorrow night after one of the best years for movies and television in the last decade. After a disappointing first half of the year in movies, the rest of the year put out lots of good stuff.
I missed out on seeing Motherless Brooklyn, which was nominated for Best Original Score, skipped The Lion King, and have yet to see 1917, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Les Misérables. In addition, I missed both Cats and Frozen 2, which have Best Original Song nominations. Other than those few small exceptions, I've seen all of the movie nominations.
As for TV, I saw a handful of shows here and there, so I'll comment on that a bit, but my focus for the year was on going to the movies.
While I'll be discussing the nominees, I won't be listing out each movie nominated. For a full list of those, go here!
Best Original Song - Motion Picture
I see Stand Up from Harriet as a dark horse in this category. It is powerful every time it comes up in the movie and shows off Cynthia Erivo's vocal talent, but I don't think the movie was well-received enough to get the award. Any time Beyoncé or Taylor Swift are involved in a project, they get a bit of a boost in consideration, but again, the films weren't well enough received. That makes it come down to Frozen 2, which has another ballad for children everywhere, and Rocketman, which has a new Elton John song.
My Pick - I'm Gonna Love Me Again from Rocketman
Best Original Score - Motion Picture
This is where I've not seen two of the nominees, but I think Marriage Story and Little Women have absolutely standout scores that perfectly fit their movies. Randy Newman is an absolute legend, but this score does sound a bit like some of his others, which doesn't make it stand out at well as it should. Meanwhile, Alexandre Desplat's score is joyful and somber and enhances every single scene in the movie. It's the perfect kind of score to listen to on its own, as well.
My Pick - Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language
It's pretty much impossible to choose from this group. I've heard nothing but good things about Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Les Misérables - I can't wait to see them. Meanwhile, The Farewell was an early sleeper pick to take awards season by storm. It's excellent and I love it, I just don't think it can win this category. Similarly, Pain and Glory is a slow burn, but really affecting from Pedro Almodóvar. And I love any movie about movies. But I don't think there's any stopping Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite. It's a perfect movie and an instant classic.
My Pick - Parasite
Best Motion Picture - Animated
According to everyone who has seen it, it's almost laughable that Lion King is on this list. The animation is great, but not much else is. Missing Link and How to Train Your Dragon are fun and charming, but not great. So that brings it down to Disney's sequels - Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2. Ultimately, only one of these two had great reception across the board.
My Pick - Toy Story 4
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
I love the beautiful scenes of dialogue in The Two Popes. Their discussions on the church are beautiful and it's great to hear people who disagree be respectful of each other. Unfortunately, the other four nominees are on another level. Though The Irishman and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood have masters behind them, and Parasite is one of the smartest movies of the year, I think Marriage Story has the best screenplay. Noah Baumbach has conviction and sticks to his scripts when making his movies.
My Pick - Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Best Director - Motion Picture
Todd Phillips shouldn't be in this conversation at all. Greta Gerwig should be in his place, but the rest of the nominees are all great. I think most of the credit for 1917 will go to Roger Deakins, so I don't think Sam Mendes has much of a chance here. Scorsese and Tarantino are both masters, but because of future predictions I'll make, I think this one will ultimately go to Bong Joon-Ho.
My Pick - Bong Joon-Ho, Parasite
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
This is an unpopular opinion, but I think Tom Hanks' performance wasn't too great in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. All I could see was him the whole time and not Mr. Rogers. Anthony Hopkins is great in The Two Popes, but he isn't even the best performance in that movie. Al Pacino was great and loud, and Joe Pesci is understated and internal, but I love Brad Pitt's performance in Once Upon A Time. He channels so much of the classic Pitt swagger, but there are so many layers to the performance.
My Pick - Brad Pitt
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Anette Benning and Margot Robbie don't really have a ton to do in their roles, even though both of them are great. I also haven't seen the appeal of Jennifer Lopez's performance in Hustlers either. Between Laura Dern and Kathy Bates, I'd pick Bates. I think she has more to do in Richard Jewell and carries more of the emotional weight. But Dern has seemed like she ran away with the award for months now.
My Pick - Laura Dern
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Eddie Murphy and Roman Griffin Davis are both great in their roles, but I think they're in fourth and fifth place in this race. Taron Egerton is so much better than Rami Malek was in Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman is underrated, but I don't think he'll be winning. Daniel Craig is a surprise nomination and I loved seeing him nominated at all. But I don't think there's any chance anyone beats Leonardo DiCaprio here. This is a top 3 performance for him.
My Pick - Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Cate Blanchett is a surprise to be nominated at all in this category. Similarly, Beanie Feldstein isn't doing anything spectacular in Booksmart, even though she's very good in it. Awkwafina goes against type, but I don't think she's better than Ana de Armas or Emma Thompson. It's a tossup between the two of them for me, but I think Knives Out will get recognition in this category.
My Pick - Ana de Armas
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
This is definitely the most stacked acting category. Christian Bale has had more flashy performances, and I don't think this is a movie he'll get awarded for. Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce are both more than excellent in their movies. They have a lot going on under the surface, and I love performances like that. That's why, if I had my choice, Adam Driver would win this award. But I don't think there's any stopping Joaquin Phoenix.
My Pick - Joaquin Phoenix
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
It seemed for a while that Renée Zellweger would be the runaway winner here, but she's seemed to have lost a lot of momentum, and it's the same with Scarlett Johansson. Cynthia Erivo is great, but a nomination is all she'll get. Again, if I had my way, this award would go to Saoirse Ronan - she's incredible in Little Women. But Charlize Theron is so good as Megyn Kelly, and it's the type of role that tends to win.
My Pick - Charlize Theron
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Dolemite Is My Name seems more like a comeback vehicle for Eddie Murphy than an award-worthy movie on its own. I think Jojo Rabbit is too divisive to win here (maybe I'm trying to will that into being after Green Book). Again, Rocketman was great, but I think it was only nominated because it's a musical. Knives Out is an interesting dark horse candidate here, but I don't think there's any stopping Tarantino and his supposed second to last movie.
My Pick - Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
Best Motion Picture - Drama
It seems like 1917 and The Two Popes were nominated mostly to get them much-deserved recognition. I don't think they have a chance to win here, though. Marriage Story would win if I was the one choosing, but between Joker and The Irishman, I think it is in third place. Similarly to awarding Tarantino, I think Scorsese will go home a winner.
My Pick - The Irishman
My Thoughts on 2019 Television
Like I said, I didn't get to see a lot of TV last year. I would have loved to watch Succession, The Crown, and Chernobyl, I just never got the chance. What I do know is that Fleabag was incredible. Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott have electric chemistry, and the themes about love and religion appeal deeply to me. Barry season 2 just cemented Bill Hader as more than a comedic actor. The second season of Big Little Lies was a few steps down from the first. I hope they don't make a third. And as I've outlined on this blog, I still loved the final season of Game of Thrones.