2008 Golden Globe Nominees

Man, I have to get to the movies. I have seen NONE of the Best Picture - Drama nominees. Mostly because only one of them has actually opened wide yet. It's been a pretty dismal year, at least for conventional films, if all of your nominees open after the month of October.

In any case, it's impossible for me to handicap this one. My guess is that Benjamin Button will prove too weird, and they'll go with something more conventional, like The Reader or Revolutionary Road, but Slumdog has been firing up the critical press . . . the only sure thing I think I can say here is that Frost/Nixon is the longshot. Oh, and no Milk? Surprising.

Wow, In Bruges got a comedy nod? Cool! I liked it, but didn't expect anyone to remember it by this time of year. My guess? Happy-Go-Lucky or possibly Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Sean Penn. All the way. And I am NOT a big Penn fan. Rourke has an outside chance (call it the Polanski effect - no one actually likes the guy, but he makes good movies), and personally, it would be cool to see Frank Langella nab it. He's a class act, and his Nixon is supposed to be outstanding.

As far as Best Actress - Drama is concerned, it's mostly the usual suspects plus a fresh face or two (good on you, Kristen Scott Thomas), though this will probably be Winslet's year.

I hope Brendan Gleeson gets Best Actor - Comedy or Musical, though I'm pretty amused that James Franco was also nominated for Pineapple Express. This one could go any which way.

Sally Hawkins will probably get Best Actress - Comedy or Musical, unless I'm underestimating how much people love their Streep (see also, Best Actress - Drama).

I think the memorial award will go to Heath Ledger, for Best Supporting Actor, though Robert Downey Jr. should already have had that one messengered over to his house. The Hollywood Foreign Press should be embarrassed that Tom Cruise's name is even up there.

Ah-hah - Best Supporting is where the other Winslet nom landed. Interesting. I have no take on this one, though if she gets passed over in favor of Streep for the big prize, she should end up with this one by default.

My guess is that Best Director will end up being a competition between Danny Boyle and David Fincher. Never thought that I would write THAT sentence. In any case, if their movies end up being too weird to win Best Pic, this is the consolation prize.

Why did they even bother to nominate animated films OTHER than Wall-E?

I am still angry at myself for missing Gomorra at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Anyway, those are my immediate reactions. I've got to get out soon to see Slumdog, and hopefully Frost/Nixon will get here this weekend, though I'm generally allergic to Ron Howard (with the exception of Arrested Development). Revolutionary Road was a devastating book, and in Mendes' hands, promises a pretty dark cinematic treatment as well. I'd like to see The Reader, because I'm a sucker for Ralph Finnes and period pieces, but Benjamin Button is still leaving me kind of cold, even though I typically like Fincher's work. Maybe it's the Pitt effect. I just can't take him seriously.