The Golden Globes have been announced and, as always, there's plenty of kvetching to be done.
First, they picked four crime genre films (No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, Eastern Promises, American Gangster) out of seven nominees for Best Picture/Drama, but they couldn't find space for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Zodiac, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, or Gone Baby Gone--all of which were better than any of the crime nominees but No Country.
In Best Picture/Musical or Comedy, the dim, overwrought Across the Universe gets a nomination, but the magical, understated Once doesn't. (This one really sticks in the craw.)
Cate Blanchett (for the inept Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Jodie Foster (for the execrable The Brave One) both get nominations for Best Actress/Drama. Really? Did any of the voters actually see these films, or was it just a name-recognition thing, like Giuliani's early domination of the GOP primaries?
There Will Be Blood is nominated for Best Picture, but Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't get a nod for Best Director (while Ridley Scott does, for his far less memorable work on American Gangster).
Grrr.
On the plus side, Philip Seymour Hoffman did get a supporting nod for Charlie Wilson's War, in which he's nothing short of hilarious. (More on this next week.) He also received a lead actor nomination for The Savages, though his co-star, Laura Linney, was unaccountably stiffed.
That's all for now. I feel better.
--Christopher Orr
Note: Apologies for the gruesome links, which are the best I can manage until our archives get online. I couldn't find my review of Once at all, so I'll be brief: It comes out on video next Tuesday; see it.