Results from the Golden Globes

The Golden Globes just wrapped up after an entertaining evening. Ricky Gervais was hilarious as the host though he only appeared sparingly. There were some surprises as the night seemed to favor underdogs in many of the categories. Continue on for the winners in each category and my initial thoughts on each.

Best Picture Drama – Avatar
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air
Thoughts: It shouldn’t be a surprise that Avatar won here. The Hollywood Foreign Press loves James Cameron and the movie is about to become the biggest of all-time due in large part to its success overseas. Avatar will be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards but it won’t be the favorite. I still see that as being The Hurt Locker.

Best Picture Musical or Comedy – The Hangover
(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
It’s Complicated
Julie and Julia
Nine
Thoughts: This was one of the more surprising results from the evening. The Hangover is well liked but this type of comedy generally doesn’t get the support from the voters. I was alright with that over the other options except for the excellent (500) Days of Summer which was one of the best all-around films released this year.

Best Actor Drama – Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Tobey Maguire, Brothers
Thoughts: Bridges is fully expected to win the Oscar but many thought the HFPA would give the award to George Clooney here. Hard to argue with the choice though either way.

Best Actress Drama – Sandra Bullock
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Thoughts: This was probably more of an award for what Bullock achieved this year than the single performance. Now looks like she could win the Oscar too.

Best Actor Musical or Comedy – Robert Downey Jr.
Daniel Day-Lewis, Nine
Matt Damon, The Informant
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
Thoughts: This was a puzzling one. As much as I love RDJ there wasn’t anything amazing about his performance in Sherlock Holmes.

Best Actress Musical or Comedy – Meryl Streep
Sandra Bullock, The Proposal
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Julia Roberts, Duplicity
Meryl Streep, It’s Complicated
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia
Thoughts: There was some concern going in that being nominated twice could split the vote and someone else would sneak in and win. But there was really no competition outside of with herself.

Best Supporting Actress – Mo’Nique
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo’Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Thoughts: Mo’Nique was a lock going in.

Best Supporting Actor – Christoph Waltz
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Thoughts: The only bigger lock than Mo’nique was for Waltz here. His performance was far and away recognized as the best from a supporting role and he’ll win the Oscar as well.

Best Animated Film – Up
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Thoughts: There was little chance that Up would lose this given how much love is shown to Pixar. Fantastic Mr. Fox was the best movie in the group though.

Best Screenplay – Up in the Air
Neill Blomkamp, District 9
Terri Tatchell and Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Nancy Meyers, It’s Complicated
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Sheldon Turner and Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Thoughts: Winning this strengthened my belief that Up in the Air had the best shot at the Best Picture award. It didn’t turn out that way but at least got some good recognition.

Best Director – James Cameron
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Thoughts: As mentioned earlier the HFPA loves James Cameron. I wasn’t surprised at all that he won here. Bigelow has won all the other major awards so far though so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top at the Oscars.

Best TV Series Comedy or Musical – Glee
30 Rock
Entourage
Glee
Modern Family
The Office
Thoughts: Glee is such a fun show and it deserved the win.

Best TV Series Drama – Mad Men
Big Love
Dexter
House
Mad Men
True Blood
Thoughts: Mad Men was the favorite going in but after Dexter won the two acting awards I started to think it may have been able to pull off the upset.

Best Actress TV Musical or Comedy – Toni Collette
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Lea Michelle, Glee
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Thoughts: While I would have wanted Tina Fey or Lea Michelle here at least it didn’t go to Courtney Cox.

Best Actor TV Musical or Comedy – Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carrell, The Office
David Duchovny, Californication
Thomas Jane, Hung
Matthew Morrison, Glee
Thoughts: Alec Baldwin wins for the second straight year. Jack Donaghy is such a great character and it’ll be tough for anyone to top that as long as 30 Rock is on.

Best Actor TV Drama – Michael C. Hall
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House
Bill Paxton, Big Love
Thoughts: This made for an uplifting moment not just in that Hall was finally recognized for his amazing work on Dexter but also following the recent news about his fighting off cancer.

Best Actress TV Drama – Julianna Margulies
Glenn Close, Damages
January Jones, Mad Men
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Anna Paquin, True Blood
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Thoughts: This was regarded as a battle between January Jones and Margulies. Mad Men ended up losing in the acting categories but winning as the show. Margulies really holds up The Good Wife largely on her own.

Best Supporting Actress TV – Chloe Sevigny
Jane Adams, Hung
Rose Byrne, Damages
Jane Lynch, Glee
Janet McTeer, Into the Storm
Chloe Sevigny, Big Love
Thoughts: Major bummer here that Jane Lynch didn’t win considering how great she is in Glee.

Best Supporting Actor TV – John Lithgow
Michael Emerson, Lost
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
William Hurt, Damages
John Lithgow, Dexter
Jeremy Piven, Entourage
Thoughts: I was frustrated that Jimmy Smits got snubbed last year for his performance in the third season of Dexter. Some redemption though in recognizing Lithgow who was incredibly powerful and creepy in his role as the Trinity Killer this season.