Movie Talk: Golden Globes 2016

Welcome to another episode of moviemanMDG's Movie Talk, where I talk about everything film-related, whether it's news, trailers, or me talking about a specific film.  To me, the Golden Globes serves as some sort of appetizer before the main course, which is the Oscars.  This year's Oscar season had gone off to a rocky start back in September, but after seeing some great films such as Bridge of Spies, The Walk, and Steve Jobs, I had a feeling that it will be an interesting race to achieve Oscar glory.  The Golden Globes is full of surprises, humor, and of course, celebrities, and the outcome of this type of ceremony may or may change the course of us predicting who will take home the Oscar. The nominations for the 2016 Golden Globes had been announced this morning, so for this episode of Movie Talk, I will express my feelings and predictions of the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, which will air live on January 10, 2016 on NBC and will be hosted by Ricky Gervais.  This will be the film nominations and not the television nominations, just letting you know.

​

Best Motion Picture-Drama

All right, let's start things off with the  Best Motion Picture-Drama category.  The nominees are as follows:

-Carol
-Mad Max: Fury Road
-The Revenant
-Room
-Spotlight

​I have been hearing great reviews for Carol, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight, so I'm glad that they were noticed by the Golden Globes.  Seeing Mad Max: Fury Road on the list is, to me, one of my biggest surprises in Oscar history.  I thought it was one of the best action films of the year and an extraordinary return to the Mad Max franchise, but earning a nomination for Best Motion Picture-Drama has to be a shocking moment to me.  I'm also surprised that Steve Jobs or The Walk didn't make the cut.  They were such great movies about technology and following your dreams.  If I were to choose who will take home this award, I think it will have to be Spotlight. Even though I haven't seen it yet, I think it might have a good chance in terms of word of mouth, although either Room or Carol might pull off an upset.
​

Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy

Let's move past the seriousness and move on to the musical or comedy category.  The nominees are as follows:

-The Big Short
-Joy
-The Martian
-Spy
-Trainwreck

The Martian is a comedy?!  I thought it was a science fiction drama!  There's nothing funny about a man being stranded on Mars!  This has to be a joke.  Anyway, I only saw three out of the five nominees in that category: The Martian, Spy, and Trainwreck.  I have not seen Joy and The Big Short because they're not out yet.  Spy was a big improvement over Melissa McCarthy's last film, Tammy, while Trainwreck was respectable for the female crowd.  I would say that The Martian should take home the award because of the realistic experience of being alone on a distant planet.  It's not as great as Gravity, but with Ridley Scott's direction, fantastic visuals, and Matt Damon's performance, you have to be a monkey not to honor this film.
​  

Best Performance in a Motion Picture–Drama

The nominees are as follows:

Actor
-Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
-Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
-Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
-Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)
-Will Smith (Concussion)

Actress
-Cate Blanchett (Carol)
-Brie Larson (Room)
-Rooney Mara (Carol)
-Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)
-Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

I have nothing to say about this category except that they all deserved the nomination.  For the Actor category, I would bet on Michael Fassbender because he portrayed Jobs like he was a human being rather than a man who makes computers.  However, there's a good chance that Redmayne could pull off an upset like he did with last year's Oscars.  For the actress category, I not too sure who to choose since I haven't seen any of those films yet, so I'm going to trust my gut and choose Blanchett.
​

Best Performance in a Motion Picture–Musical or Comedy

The nominees are as follows:

Actor
-Christian Bale (The Big Short)
-Steve Carell (The Big Short)
-Matt Damon (The Martian)
-Al Pacino (Danny Collins)
-Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear)

Actress
-Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
-Melissa McCarthy (Spy)
-Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)
-Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)
-Lily Tomlin (Grandma)

It's no contest for the actor category.  Matt Damon all the way!!  For the actress category, I'm leaning towards Lily Tomlin because of her portrayal as the sassy grandma.  She cracked me up.  However, there is a chance that Lawrence or Smith might pull off an upset.
​

Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture–Drama, Musical or Comedy

The nominees are as follows:

Supporting Actor
-Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)
-Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)
-Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
-Michael Shannon (99 Homes)
-Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Supporting Actress
-Jane Fonda (Youth)
-Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
-Helen Mirren (Trumbo)
-Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)
-Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina)

I'm quite happy that Stallone got nominated in this category.  I usually see him in action films such as The Expendables, but thanks to his brilliant performance in Creed, he convinced me that he can handle drama films as well.  However, it might not be enough for him to win because I'm betting on Rylance to win, although Dano or Shannon could win instead.  I will also be voting for Vikander to win, but it may be possible that Winslet will win.  They're both great actresses, so it might not matter who wins.
​

Best Director

Now we get to the challenging categories, starting with best director.  The nominees are as follows:

-Todd Haynes (Carol)
-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)
-Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)
-George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
-Ridley Scott (The Martian)

I usually get my predictions wrong for this category because they all have different visions on their films.  If I were to choose who I want to win, I would choose Inarritu for The Revenant because he won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture for Birdman at last year's Oscars, so it might be possible that he'll take home the award.
​

Best Screenplay

The nominees are as follows:

-Room
-Spotlight
-The Big Short
-Steve Jobs
-The Hateful Eight

Another category in which I usually get my predictions wrong.  So I'm going to have to bet on The Hateful Eight just for the heck of it, although Steve Jobs or Spotlight might take home the award instead.
​

Best Original Score

The nominees are as follows:

-Carol
-The Danish Girl
-The Hateful Eight
-Steve Jobs
-The Revenant

​Not too sure about this category, so either The Revenant or Hateful Eight.
​

Best Original Song

Who doesn't love listening to songs in movies?  The nominees are as follows:

-"Love Me Like You Do" (Fifty Shades of Grey)
-"One Kind of Love" (Love & Mercy)
-"See You Again" (Furious 7)
-"Simple Song #3" (Youth)
-"Writing's on the Wall" (Spectre)

​I'm kind of surprised that "Love Me Like You Do" got nominated.  I mean it's a good song, but I'm not sure it's considered Golden Globe-worthy.  I'm going to have to choose "See You Again" because it is a fitting tribute to the late Paul Walker and his Fast and Furious adventures with Vin Diesel and the gang.  "Writing's on the Wall" is a good 007 song even though it's not as memorable as Adele's 007 song, "Skyfall".
​

Best Animated Feature Film

Now we're getting to the good stuff.  This is my absolute favorite category in the Golden Globes because they celebrate the accomplishments of how they use animation to make breathtaking stories and create astonishing new worlds that will not only attract children, but adults as well.  The nominees are as follows:

-Anomalisa
-The Good Dinosaur
-Inside Out
-The Peanuts Movie
-Shaun the Sheep Movie

I knew all along that Inside Out is going to be nominated the first time I saw this amazing film.  Not only was it funny, charming, and emotional (no pun intended), but it's also a fantastic way of showing how our emotions work and the story is appealing to both kids and adults alike.  I'm definitely betting on Inside Out to win, although Anomalisa might pull off an upset by the way it looks from the trailers.

​

Best Foreign Language Film

Saving the hardest part for last.  The nominees are as follows:

-The Brand New Testament
-The Club
-The Fencer
-Mustang
-Son of Saul

I always get this wrong because I have not seen any of the Foreign Language films throughout my film critic career.  I'm going to go with Son of Saul, just for the heck of it.

So those are my predictions for the 2016 Golden Globes.  Let me know in the comments what you think of the nominations and who do you think should win in each category.  Don't forget to tune in to the 73rd Golden Globe Awards on January 10th, 2016.