GOLDEN GLOBES 2013 - THE VERDICT
Yes it's Golden Globes time again and the results are in!
As ever, it's a mixed bag but hey, when are awards ceremonies ever completely right?
Let's begin with:
Ben Affleck sure has come a long way since Daredevil. His film Argo winning Best Motion Picture over the favourite, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, Kathryn Bigelow's other intense war-themed flick Zero Dark Thirty, Ang Lee's visual treat Life Of PI and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is definitely confirmation that Affleck is finally getting recognised as not only being a good actor but a fine director as well. Argo, to be perfectly honest, wasn't the best film I'd seen all year and I don't think it's one I'll remember years from now. That said, I can't deny that I enjoyed watching it and that it was, indeed, very well made. The more light-hearted parts of the film I didn't find quite as sharp as they should have been but otherwise, Argo was a good flick so I don't mind it winning the Globe at all. Good job.
Here's a no-brainer. OF COURSE Les Miserables won! Have you seen what the movie was up against? The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (snore), Salmon Fishing In The Yemen (yawn), Silver Linings Playbook (facepalm)... and Moonrise Kingdom, which is actually a good movie but hardly Wes Anderson's best and not quite as big or as ground-breaking as Les Mis. A film which might just have changed the face of movie musicals for a long time. So yeah, easily the winner there.
Again, Argo was a good movie but this time it could have gone either way. Bigelow and Spielberg could have easily been winners here. But I do quite like that the less obvious choice won. Shame Sam Mendes didn't get nominated for Skyfall, though. What's that about?
The Berg had to win something! Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln was certainly his strongest performance since There Will Be Blood so pretty deserving of recognition, for sure. That said, I was more impressed by Joaquin Phoenix's oddball turn in The Master and would have definitely loved to see him win. Other nominees included Denzel Washington for Flight, Richard Gere for Arbitrage and John Hawkes for The Sessions.
Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty was a good choice, I think. She's the only one in the list who didn't overdo it just a bit performance-wise. The other nominees were pretty decent, to be fair, all strong performances but quite predictable: Marion Cotillard (Rust And Bone), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea).
Urgh. Ok, I'm no Jennifer Lawrence fan, I don't find her convincing in most things (the only exception to date being Winter's Bone) and Silver Linings Playbook is no exception. Again, uninspired competition there: Judi Dench, not for Skyfall weirdly but for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Maggie Smith for that other old people movie Quartet, Meryl Streep because... just because. And Emily Blunt for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. Moving on...
Now we're talkin'! It's no secret that Christoph Waltz is awesome in everything he's in so anything that confirms we'll be seeing more of him is all fine with me. After stealing the show in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, he does it again with Django Unchained and knocks the competition out of the way. And this time, it's tough competition to say the least. Leonardo Di Caprio, also for Django, Tommy Lee Jones for Lincoln, Alan Arkin for Argo and Philip Seymour Hoffmann for The Master. All terrific performances so Waltz might not be so lucky come Oscar time.
Reclaiming I Dreamed A Dream from you-know-who is just one of the many reasons why Anne Hathaway deserves that award. Her powerful, heartbreaking performance was the highlight of this year's Les Miserables and it's very likely that she'll cement the Oscar too. And rightly so. Other nominees included Amy Adams for her memorable against-type role in The Master, Sally Field for Lincoln, Nicole Kidman for The Paperboy and Helen Hunt for The Sessions.
Other winners included:
- DJANGO UNCHAINED for BEST SCREENPLAY
- SKYFALL for BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- LIFE OF PI for BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- AMOUR for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- BRAVE for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
I'd agree with Amour, Django and Skyfall but Brave?! Come on now. No way Brave was better than Frankenweenie, or even the not-nominated ParaNorman! And as for Life Of PI, I dunno, Howard Shore's The Hobbit score was pretty darn good.
Anyway, Oscar time soon!
As ever, it's a mixed bag but hey, when are awards ceremonies ever completely right?
Let's begin with:
BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
Ben Affleck sure has come a long way since Daredevil. His film Argo winning Best Motion Picture over the favourite, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, Kathryn Bigelow's other intense war-themed flick Zero Dark Thirty, Ang Lee's visual treat Life Of PI and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained is definitely confirmation that Affleck is finally getting recognised as not only being a good actor but a fine director as well. Argo, to be perfectly honest, wasn't the best film I'd seen all year and I don't think it's one I'll remember years from now. That said, I can't deny that I enjoyed watching it and that it was, indeed, very well made. The more light-hearted parts of the film I didn't find quite as sharp as they should have been but otherwise, Argo was a good flick so I don't mind it winning the Globe at all. Good job.
BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
BEST DIRECTOR
Again, Argo was a good movie but this time it could have gone either way. Bigelow and Spielberg could have easily been winners here. But I do quite like that the less obvious choice won. Shame Sam Mendes didn't get nominated for Skyfall, though. What's that about?
BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
The Berg had to win something! Daniel Day-Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln was certainly his strongest performance since There Will Be Blood so pretty deserving of recognition, for sure. That said, I was more impressed by Joaquin Phoenix's oddball turn in The Master and would have definitely loved to see him win. Other nominees included Denzel Washington for Flight, Richard Gere for Arbitrage and John Hawkes for The Sessions.
BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty was a good choice, I think. She's the only one in the list who didn't overdo it just a bit performance-wise. The other nominees were pretty decent, to be fair, all strong performances but quite predictable: Marion Cotillard (Rust And Bone), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea).
BEST ACTOR - MUSICAL/COMEDY
By miles the best choice here, Hugh Jackman fully deserves his Golden Globe win after giving it his all in Les Miserables, a difficult part which required a lot of work both physically and vocally. Such a weird bunch of nominees around him, by the way: Bill Murray? Jack Black? Really? As for Bradley Cooper and Ewan McGregor, not bad but simply inferior performances to Jackman's, I'm afraid. Finally justice is served for Monsieur Valjean.
BEST ACTRESS - MUSICAL/COMEDY
Urgh. Ok, I'm no Jennifer Lawrence fan, I don't find her convincing in most things (the only exception to date being Winter's Bone) and Silver Linings Playbook is no exception. Again, uninspired competition there: Judi Dench, not for Skyfall weirdly but for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Maggie Smith for that other old people movie Quartet, Meryl Streep because... just because. And Emily Blunt for Salmon Fishing In The Yemen. Moving on...
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Other winners included:
- DJANGO UNCHAINED for BEST SCREENPLAY
- SKYFALL for BEST ORIGINAL SONG
- LIFE OF PI for BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- AMOUR for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- BRAVE for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
I'd agree with Amour, Django and Skyfall but Brave?! Come on now. No way Brave was better than Frankenweenie, or even the not-nominated ParaNorman! And as for Life Of PI, I dunno, Howard Shore's The Hobbit score was pretty darn good.
Anyway, Oscar time soon!
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