Golden Globes 2012

2010 was an absolutely phenomenal year for films.  To be honest, I don’t think 2011 had the same level of caliber.  It lacked all-around, start-to-finish solid films like “The King’s Speech” or “The Social Network,” or shockingly stunning films like “Black Swan”  or “Inception.”

Compare with 2011. “J. Edgar” suffers from a weak script and meandering direction.  “Hugo” is visually amazing and a loving tribute to cinema, but the story is laborious and surprisingly feels a little empty.  “Midnight in Paris” and “The Artist” are more in the category of musical/comedy.

Hosted by Ricky Gervais, who toned down his jabs and was underwhelming this time, the Golden Globes was a night of nice predictability, mixed with a surprise or two. No surprises at all with George Clooney winning ‘Best Actor’ for “The Descendants”  or Martin Scorsese as ‘Best Director’ for “Hugo.”  Meryl Streep as ‘Best Actress’ for “The Iron Lady” or Michelle Williams as ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for “My Week with Marilyn.”  The last two are on my must-watch list (“The Iron Lady” was long-delayed and just opened in San Diego this week).  These are the kinds of films that are obvious “awards-bait.”  We’ll see if they hold true for the Oscars.

I thought for a moment that “Hugo” might win ‘Best Picture’ and hoped that it wouldn’t (although the Academy Awards might disagree because of the Scorsese factor, visuals, and celebration of cinema).  I was pulling for “The Descendants” or “The Ides of March”  (for screenplay at the least).  “The Descendants” is incredibly affective and highly satisfying as a whole.  “The Ides of March” is exceptionally written and executed.

Gervais did pull off the biggest joke of the night, “Now the Hollywood Foreign Press have warned me that if I insult any of you or any of them or offend any viewers or cause any controversy whatsoever, they’ll definitely invite me back next year as well.”

And the winners are…

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Winner: “The Descendants”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Winner: George Clooney for “The Descendants”

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Winner: “The Artist”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Winner: Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Winner: Jean Dujardin for “The Artist”

Best Director – Motion Picture
Winner: Martin Scorsese for “Hugo”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Winner: Octavia Spencer for “The Help”

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Winner: “Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen

Best Animated Film
Winner: “The Adventures of Tintin”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Winner: Michelle Williams for “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Winner: Christopher Plummer for “Beginners”

For a complete list of Golden Globe winners, you can visit the official website.

Stay tuned for the Oscars!

Copyright (c) 2012. Nathalia Aryani.

Nathalia Aryani is a business manager, foreign language translator, lifestyle/travel writer and film columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Nathalia owns a movies blog, The MovieMaven (http://themoviemaven.posterous.com).  Twitter: http://twitter.com/the_moviemaven