Golden Globe Nominations

Well, I had a whole thing written out about 'em, but it was probably too long for most of you to give a damn. Long and the short of it, though, is that I haven't seen several of the films that received multiple nominations (though I absolutely plan to when they come out). I could go on and on about how so much great work was overlooked, but it's not the Oscars so I don't care too much. And as much as elitists will tell you how much crap the Oscars are for never honoring the films that really deserve it (which is often true), I care about them because it's so cool when the stuff you really enjoy gets recognized (like Sofia Coppola winning screenplay for Lost in Translation, Rachel Weisz getting best supporting for The Constant Gardener, Adrien Brody beating out JACK NICHOLSON for Best Actor in The Pianist). And the fact that Pan's Labyrinth has a good shot at winning Best Foreign Film this year is so awesome. I love that.

This post isn't just about the Golden Globes but about all the results I've seen from critics' groups across the nation.

Anyway...I still can't believe how little love The Prestige and Marie Antoinette are getting from pretty much everybody. To me, they're two of the best movies of the year and mark huge steps forward for their directors (Christopher Nolan and Sofia Coppola), who are each at very exciting points in their careers and did really strong, gutsy work after coming off relatively huge success (both creatively and financially) with Batman Begins for Nolan and Lost in Translation for Sofia. Never mind how strongly directed each film was, Nolan's screenplay for The Prestige was incredible in its structure alone, and both films boasted fantastic performances (Christian Bale deserves a supporting nod, and I'm still rooting for Kirsten Dunst...her Marie Antoinette was transcendent). I know with Marie especially, I'm one of few really pulling for it, but I think over time it'll really, really hold up.

And then there's The Fountain, which I probably couldn't say more good things about but will continue to anyway. That Darren Aronofsky isn't being recognized for this almost proves how ahead of his time he is (Stanley Kubrick only won one Oscar in his life - for visual effects in 2001). That Hugh Jackman isn't being recognized shows how often great acting goes unrecognized (and it's totally an Oscar performance, too, is the thing...the whole movie is full of those scenes that you watch and you think "Oscar clip"...the fact that you DON'T think that is Aronofsky's magic).

And United 93, which is just such a fantastic film on so many levels...there needs to be more awards given for ensemble acting, that's for damn sure. Never mind Paul Greengrass directed the hell out of that. Man.

So those are the four films I'm really rooting for. Just sad that, besides maybe United 93 (which some critics' groups have been all over), they won't get the recognition they deserve. Argh.