And just like that it’s awards season again this morning the Hollywood Foreign Press announced the nominees for the 2020 Golden Globes. As expected there are plenty of surprises, frustrations, and plain old headscratchers. But that’s part of what makes these fun – taking the good with the bad and then talking about it. So here we go, a few random thoughts on this year’s batch.
- What a showing for Netflix! “Marriage Story”, “The Irishman”, and “The Two Popes” all scored big this morning proving the streaming platform has become a force (sorry Mr. Spielberg).
- Let me go ahead and get this out of the way: WHERE ON EARTH IS LUPITA NYONG’O? “Us” was considerably better than “Get Out” in large part due to her fabulous lead work. This is a big miss.
- “Joker” had a huge morning and I absolutely love it. Yes, I know it’s somewhat en vogue to dislike the movie but I firmly believe it’s one of the year’s best. Great job HFP!
- Speaking of “Joker”, it received a total of four nominations. The biggest being Best Picture: Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor.
- Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score for “Joker” was phenomenal. It’s eerie, forboding and such a big part of the movie. It was great to see her nominated.
- And Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor. I’m not sure how anyone can dismiss his performance. There is far more to it than weight loss and weird laughing fits. It’s a very complex role and Phoenix brings a ton of menace. I wouldn’t be a bit upset if he took home the win.
- I also wouldn’t be a bit upset if Adam Driver took home the win. He has to be considered among the most deserving for his intensely authentic performance in “Marriage Story”. He deserves all the praise he is getting.
- Huge props to the HFP for not forgetting either “Jojo Rabbit” or “Knives Out”. Both were really good last quarter movies that I was worried would be left out come awards time.
- Speaking of “Jojo Rabbit”, wasn’t it cool seeing young Roman Griffin Davis nominated. He’s such an integral part of that movie (pretty adorable too).
- On the hand it wasn’t cool leaving Thomasin McKenzie off the Supporting Actress list. Granted, there wasn’t a lot of awards buzz going in but I thought she was amazing.
- As for “Knives Out”, so good to see both Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas nominated. He is a ton of fun and she gives an eye-opening performance.
- And NOTHING for “A Hidden Life”? Talk about a travesty. Terrance Malick’s is nothing short of brilliant. And that score…wow!
- It looks like both “Parasite” and “The Farewell” are destined to be stuck in the Foreign Language category. Technically that is where they qualify but it would be nice to see both nominated for the big prizes.
- But to be fair Bong Joon Ho did get nominated for Best Director and Awkwafina for Best Actress. That makes me happy.
- Sadly “Transit” seems to be the forgotten foreign language film. More people need to see it.
- But seeing “Ad Astra” shut out makes me sad. I get that it may be too slow and ruminative for some. I thought it was tremendous and easily among my favorite films of the year. Hopefully Oscar will see things my way (though I doubt it).
- At one time I thought this might be a year where Brad Pitt was nominated for two films. It’s not happening for “Ad Astra” but at least they got it right by giving him a Supporting Actor nod for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. Leaving him off the list would have been criminal.
- Quentin Tarantino and his 9th film got plenty of love earning nominations for Best Picture: Musical or Comedy, Actor, Supporting Actor, Director, and screenplay. As someone who thinks this is some of QT’s best work, well done HFP.
- It’s really cool seeing “1917” getting nominations even though it looks like most of us won’t get to see it until next year. I’m still holding out hope for a screener but time is running out. It looks excellent.
- Nothing for “Avengers: Endgame”. I mean I didn’t expect there to be but I did hope they would do the right thing and show it some kind of appreciation.
- One of the most interesting categories is Best Actress: Musical or Comedy. It’s a fascinating mashup of nominees. I love seeing Awkwafina and Ana de Armas there. I’m sure Cate Blanchett will take some snarky shots but she was really good in “Where’d You Go Bernadette?”. But Beanie Feldstein? She was fine but nothing that screams award-worthy.
- By the way, Rebecca Ferguson for “Doctor Sleep”. I would include her over most nominated for Supporting Actress. And how about Florence Pugh? I’m hoping to see “Little Women” this week but from all accounts she is tremendous. That category is a headscratcher.
- Perhaps the biggest snub of all is no Best Actor nomination for Robert De Niro. Both Joe Pesci and Al Pacino get supporting nods for “The Irishman” but nothing for the film’s star? That’s a huge surprise.
- Much is already being made about the absence of women in the Best Director category and it certainly stands out. As mentioned I’m seeing “Little Women” this week so I can’t comment on Gerwig. But unlike last year there are no glaring female omissions especially considering the . I loved “The Farewell” and really liked “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, but it wasn’t the direction that stood out in those films. And “Hustlers”, not a great film. “Booksmart”? No way. Thankfully there is progress being made by the studios but not nearly enough.
- And the category is so stacked even Noah Baumbach was left out for “Marriage Story”. That’s really hard to imagine.
- I’m more annoyed at the lack of women in the screenplay category. Lulu Wang absolutely should have been nominated. Gerwig again is left out for “Little Women” and I think Julia Hart should be considered for “Fast Color”, one of the most overlooked movies of the year.
- Eddie Murphy nominated for “Dolemite Is My Name”? I gotta admit I didn’t see that coming. Also another win for Netflix.
- I wasn’t too high on “The Lighthouse” but I expected it to get a little something. Turns out…nope.
And those are a few random thoughts on this year’s Golden Globes nominations. What do you think of the choices and my take on them? And if you missed it, below is a full list of all of this year’s nominees.
Best Motion Picture – Drama
1917
The Irishman
Joker
Marriage Story
The Two Popes
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Dolemite Is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman
Best Director – Motion Picture
Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
Sam Mendes (1917)
Todd Phillips (Joker)
Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
The Farewell
Les Miserables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat (Little Women)
Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker)
Randy Newman (Marriage Story)
Thomas Newman (1917)
Daniel Pemberton (Motherless Brooklyn)
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)
Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han (Parasite)
Anthony McCarten (The Two Popes)
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Steven Zaillian (The Irishman)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
Al Pacino (The Irishman)
Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell)
Annette Bening (The Report)
Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)
Margot Robbie (Bombshell)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Daniel Craig (Knives Out)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)
Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari)
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Ana de Armas (Knives Out)
Cate Blanchett (Where’d You Go Bernadette?)
Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart)
Emma Thompson (Late Night)
Awkwafina (The Farewell)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)
Charlize Theron (Bombshell)
Renee Zellweger (Judy)
Best Motion Picture – Animated
Frozen 2
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Lion King
Best Original Song – Motion Picture (alpha by song title last year)
“Beautiful Ghosts” (Cats) — Taylor Swift & Andrew Lloyd Webber
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” (Rocketman) — Elton John & Bernie Taupin
“Into the Unknown” (Frozen 2) — Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Spirit” (The Lion King) — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Timothy McKenzie & Ilya Salmanzadeh
“Stand Up” (Harriet) — Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo
Keith & the Movies 
I don’t really pay much attention anymore with these anymore because most of the pics that I love are never included being a genre fan . As to the Irishman , I found it boring and derivative , I literally stopped watching it after half way . Not surprised Phoenix was nominated for best actor . His performance was very good even though I’m big on the movie. It is disappointing not seeing any love for Ad Astra . Solid film and good performances . Zero love shown towards any MCU movie or pretty much any genre film in my wheel house . Not surprising .
I understand where you’re coming from. I gotta admit I love awards season. I’ve been pretty disappointed with them over the last several years but I have some I’m really rooting for this year.
-Geez! I wasn’t expecting that much love for THE 2 POPES, based on other award ceremonies so far.
-Finally some love for Todd Phillips!
-They say that if you can’t get a G.G. nomination (which has a bigger field since they separate the acting categories by genre), then you won’t get an Oscar nomination. Does that mean that Robert DeNiro, Lupita Nyong’o and Adam Sandler are out of the race?
-THE LION KING for Best Animated Film?! Even if there weren’t more deserving movies like I LOST MY HAND, I’d be angry! Even ABOMINABLE would’ve been a better option!
“It looks like both “Parasite” and “The Farewell” are destined to be stuck in the Foreign Language category. Technically that is where they qualify but it would be nice to see both nominated for the big prizes.”
Unlike the Oscars, the GG have a rule about this. Foreign-language movies aren’t eligible for Best Drama/Comedy.
Have you seen The Two Popes? I’ll be honest it wasn’t even on my radar until now. I think it hits Netflix here December 20th. And I’m with you on Phillips. Love seeing his name on that list. As for The Lion King, I still haven’t seen it. Sounds like I’m not missing much.
THE 2 POPES also hits Netflix here on that date. They’re showing it now in some cinemas, but it didn’t catch my interest. Just to clarify, I did see THE IRISHMAN, MARRIAGE STORY and ROMA on the big screen.
Nice! I never had the opportunity to see any of them on the big screen.
“I’m not sure how anyone can dismiss his performance” – Like this. Here’s me dismissing his performance.
Florence and Rebecca were shut out because their films aren’t their cup of tea. The nominations are a joke yet again and tbh I don’t care about this season at all, at least last one had ASIB. Happy for Hader and craig tho
Still not sure, but ok. 😉
I don’t know if I would say Little Woman wasn’t their cup of tea. They did give a big nomination to Ronan. I never expected Ferguson to get one though. But she’ll certainly be on my list.
oh I meant Midsommar. As for Lupita this also applies to Us, which I guess they saw more as horror than comedy
Ooooh, yes, yes, yes! I’m with you. I wasn’t crazy about Midsommar but Pugh was freaking great. And about Lupita, it’s interesting that she didn’t get nominated but Kaluuya did for Get Out. I don’t know about you, but that is utter nonsense to me. It almost seems like selective genre bias.
They saw Get Out as comedy there was this whole mess when they categorized it as such, they always have issues with horror movies, The Lighthouse got totally shut out too
Oh ok. That’s right. I remember it being called a “comedy”. Bizarre.
I remember you really liking Ad Astra. I wish Detroit had just been released. Think it would get more love now.
Yep, I’m quite the apologist when it comes to Ad Astra. It comes out on 4K blu-ray in a couple of weeks and I’m really anxious to see it a third time.
🤣🤣 haven’t seen any of them yet 🥴 but be sure I’ll give them marks out of 10 when I do. 😀
Wait… none? Not a single one? Boooo! 😂
🤷♀️
I’d like to see Jeff Fatt hosting the Golden Globes 💜
I can’t wait to see 1917 and Two Popes. I suspect they will follow the season through to the Oscars. I liked your comment about Netflix, et al, breaking boundaries and are here for good. I agree. I don’t know if Joker will win best film but I cannot not imagine Joaquin winning. I’m surprised with all the love for Knives Out.
Oh wait! Did you see Knives Out? Not a fan? I was thinking you might really like that one.
I don’t think there is any way 1917 comes to my area before mid January and it really frustrates me. The Two Popes hits Netflix December 20th but I do have a screener that I hope to watch in the next few days.
Yeah, I have to wait for Two Popes, too. I did not see Knives out. I enjoyed reading the various reviews. It seems better than average but nothing stellar.
Watching “A Hidden Life” tonight, “Little Women” tomorrow, and hopefully “The Two Popes” Thursday.
I have to see Marriage Story.
Absolutely. Finishing up my review now. Hope to post it Thursday.
I have a lot of work to do with movie catchup, but screener season ought to help with that. I’m going to watch JoJo Rabbit later this week, and hopefully the Joker soon as well. I also must say I haven’t seen Marriage Story yet (I told you – I’m WAY behind) but I really like Adam Driver a lot. And I just saw Knives Out on Saturday – I LOVED it. There’ so many more that I need to get around to, I better get busy!!
Isn’t Knives Out a blast?!?! I agree and I’m really anxious to show it to my wife. I’ve watched Marriage Story twice now. It’s such a powerful and honest movie. It’ll get to ya! And Jojo is an absolute delight. Watched it with my 14-year-old daughter. We had such a joyous conversation afterwards. As for Joker, I can’t wait to hear your reaction. I absolutely love it.
My reaction to the whole Golden Globes thing is… eh… never really cared for it except to see Taylor Swift lose like the time she lost to Adele and gave this awful look towards Adele.
I can understand. You have to take these awards things with a grain of salt. I just get excited about them because it gives us all a chance to talk about movies and reflect on the past year.
It’s really just a precursor to the Oscars no matter how fucked up the voters are. I’d still take the Oscars over the Golden Globes. 2 words: Pia Zadora.
Oh I do too. The Oscars are the Super Bowl.
Well….I hate all the Joker noms but you know that lol. The only one I think is deserved is score.
I’m also beyond annoyed that Lupita was snubbed. So was Florence Pugh for everything. She should’ve been in comedy too for Fighting With My Family.
I’m happy for Roman and Murphy. I was afraid they’d shut out Dolemite and I’m glad they didn’t because it’s so funny.
Best Director is offensive at this point minus Bong Joon Ho.
Fucking HFPA lol
LOL! Movies are crazy. They can provoke such different responses. That’s why I tend to appreciate everyone’s points of view. For example I think the director category is stacked with worthy nominees (don’t slap me 😂). The Nyong’o thing defies logic. I don’t get it at all.
Love reading your thoughts on the awards season!
I don’t see a lot of new movies anymore and stick to whats available on Netflix, cheap rentals and then festival stuff (which 90% never makes it to awards season because its all genre and/or hasn’t gotten wide releases). So haven’t seen any of these titles but definitely going to try to catch up with Marriage Story and The Irishman.
Oh thank you. Netflix really had a strong showing and have really established themselves. They very well could win Best Picture this year. It’ll be fun to watch.
Nice recap and thoughts! Ah the HFPA… 😛 But then again, most of these awards shows are too commercialized which reflects their nominations. There are some good ones though. I’m surprised they didn’t nominate Lupita Nyongo’o as US seemed to me like a film that more mainstream voters would love. But regardless, she is so good in it and I hope she gets the oscar nom.