The Golden Globes are almost upon us, and so now I must predict the winners in what is surely going to be a contentious year with some interesting results. As always I will not be focusing on the Television aspect, and only the film. Also, I will be incorporating the bold and italicized aspects to declare that what I think should win will be in bold and what probably will win will be italicized. Let’s get started:

 

Best Motion Picture-Drama

Boyhood

Selma

Imitation Game

Foxcatcher

Theory of Everything

Reason: Boyhood is a rare achievement in the realm of filmmaking. It is a once in a lifetime experience, one that will probably never be done again. It is a compelling, emotional, and true film that shows the magic of cinema. Compared to these other films, which are all great, it carries a certain sentimentality that makes you fall in love with it and appreciate it more than the other films. If this film weren’t up here, it would probably go to Imitation Game or Foxcatcher, but I think it’s pretty settled that Boyhood will take the gold.

 

Best Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical

Birdman

Grand Budapest Hotel

St. Vincent

Into the Woods

Pride

Reason: Birdman is far and away the front-runner here. Films like St. Vincent and Into the Woods have received too many mixed reviews for them to be considered anything worthy. Pride has no following here in America, considering it is a British film that has severely lacked in distribution over here. Grand Budapest Hotel, as good as it was, is nowhere near the excellence of Birdman. Wes Anderson will lose yet another award this year, but hopefully someday he will get the recognition he deserves.

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama

Steve Carrell- Foxcatcher

Benedict Cumberbatch-The Imitation Game

Jake Gyllenhaal- Nightcrawler

Eddie Redmayne- The Theory of Everything

David Oyelowo- Selma

Reason: Two immense performances from some of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood. Both are the respective actors’ best performances of the careers thus far. I think the award will go to Redmayne though, simply because of the disability aspect. As stereotypical as that might seem, it usually is the case with this type of performance. He really goes all out in his role, and it should be rewarded. Gyllenhaal won’t win because Nightcrawler has run out of steam, though I think Carrell might still be a bit of a dark horse who could snatch it away.

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama

Jennifer Aniston-Cake

Felicity Jones-The Theory of Everything

Julianne Moore-Still Alice

Reese Witherspoon-Wild

Rosamund Pike-Gone Girl

Reason: I have not seen this movie, but its all I am hearing about in terms of lead female performances. Also, Julianne Moore has never won for a film performance, only TV. Rosamund Pike was good in Gone Girl, but the buzz has significantly died down since its October release. Reese could stand a chance, but she has gotten the most recognition out of any of these people. Jennifer Aniston is a bit of a dark horse here, along with Felicity Jones, so I would not put my money on either of them winning.

 

Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy

Joaquin Phoenix-Inherent Vice

Michael Keaton- Birdman

Bill Murray- St. Vincent

Christoph Waltz- Big Eyes

Ralph Fiennes- Grand Budapest Hotel

Reason: Michael Keaton’s big return is one for the record books. His performance is his finest performance in years, if not ever. Christoph Waltz has won too much, and Inherent Vice does not have enough buzz yet to translate to a win from Phoenix. St. Vincent, again, is getting too mixed of reviews to allow Murray to take the gold. My money is firmly on Keaton for finally getting a trophy of his own.

 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture- Comedy

Amy Adams- Big Eyes

Emily Blunt- Into the Woods

Julianne Moore- Map to the Stars

Helen Mirren- The Hundred-Foot Journey

Quvenzhane Wallis- Annie

Reason: As adorable as young Quvenzhane is, she could not save Annie from being a huge failure among critics, so we can count her out. Map to the Stars is one that is not getting a lot of recognition or distribution anywhere, so Julianne definitely won’t win since she’s probably taking Drama. Into the Woods isn’t getting consistent reviews, and I have no way of measuring Blunt’s performance, so I doubt she will win based on buzz. My money is going to be on Adams who gives a powerful and understated performance in Big Eyes. She is loved by everyone, and she is consistently great.

 

Best Performance by a Supporting Male Actor

Ethan Hawke- Boyhood

Mark Ruffalo- Foxcatcher

J.K. Simmons- Whiplash

Edward Norton- Birdman

Robert Duvall- The Judge

Reason: J.K. Simmons, as I have said multiple times, gives such a demonic and brutal performance that he sheds his loving father skin from Juno and becomes a terrifying music teacher. It is the best performance he will probably ever give, and I think he will be awarded justly for it. The only other performance that I can see winning is Norton, who was quite fantastic in Birdman.

 

Best Performance by a Supporting Female Actress

Patricia Arquette- Boyhood

Keira Knightley- The Imitation Game

Emma Stone- Birdman

Meryl Streep- Into the Woods

Jessica Chastain- A Most Violent Year

Reason: The best performance in Boyhood is Arquette, so I think they will honor it with at least one of the acting awards. Streep has won so many so I don’t think she will win again. Emma Stone could potentially win, I would like her too, but Arquette has never won a Globe. A Most Violent Year is finally getting released, so perhaps it will be a bigger contender at the Oscars. Knightley is great in Imitation Game, but I don’t think she surpasses Stone or Arquette.

 

Best Director for a Motion Picture

Richard Linklater- Boyhood

David Fincher- Gone Girl

Wes Anderson- The Grand Budapest Hotel

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu- Birdman

Ava DuVarney- Selma

Reason: This is a pretty interesting category. Which of the two probable winners of the best pictures should have its director win too? Anderson, Fincher, and DuVarney are out of the picture. Linklater has the added bonus of being the guiding hand for the 12 year long project and astonishingly making it the movie it became. He is a great director who has never had the recognition he deserves when it comes to Awards Season. Inarritu also is a great director who managed to make Birdman into one of the best and weirdest films of the year. He has had several films nominated over the years, but has never had the win he deserves. My money, though, is on Linklater because of how beautiful Boyhood turned out to be, and how miraculous its production was.

 

Best Screenplay

Boyhood

Birdman

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Gone Girl

The Imitation Game

Reason: Wes Anderson always has the best storylines. He is also brilliantly consistent in his quality, so it is natural that I want him to win. Unfortunately he never wins anything, so I doubt this year will be any different. Birdman, though, is an amazing film with some excellent writing that critiques the state of Hollywood. It is very self-aware in what it is trying to do, and it is beautifully constructed. It is weird, funny, and it makes you think.

 

Best Original Song

Big Eyes-Lana Del Ray (Big Eyes)

Selma-John Legend and Common (Glory)

Noah- Patty Smith and Lenny Kaye (Mercy is)

Annie-Sia (Opportunity)

Mockingjay Part 1- Lorde (Yellow Flicker Beast)

Reason: Selma, which has grown in reputation now that it is slowly getting distributed, will probably take this single award from the globes. I have no means of critiquing music, but it seems like one of those songs that will win over others much like U2’s song last year for the Mandela film.

 

Best Original Score-

Interstellar- Hans Zimmer

Birdman- Antonio Sanchez

Gone Girl- Trent Reznor

The Imitation Game- Alexandre Desplat

The Theory of Everything- Johann Johannsson

Reason: Birdman will probably continue its winnings here thanks to its rhythmic and catchy score that adds a bit to the flow of the film. Again, I am not the best when it comes to music, but Birdman is definitely one that stands out among all of these.

 

Best Animated Film

The Boxtrolls

Big Hero 6

The Lego Movie

How to Train Your Dragon 2

The Book of Life

Reason: The Lego Movie was an amazingly creative and fun movie that defied the odds and became the best film based on a product ever. On top of that, the animation is astounding and wickedly innovative. It blends the love of building legos with the end results, has a great cast, and is also a blast from start to finish. Big Hero 6 could sneak in there too, or HtTYD2, but I think Lego Movie has enough creativity to win it.

 

Best Foreign Film

Ida

Leviathan

Force Majeure

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

Tangerines

Reason: This is the film I have heard most about this year, but sadly I have not seen any so I may be utterly wrong. Foreign films are always hard to judge for me, because it is hard to find all of them in time and its even harder to judge the best films from each country each year. So what was the best of the best of all of the countries? Since none of them crept into the main categories, it might be a slow year.

 

So, there we have it. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my pics to win and we will see the results this Sunday when the winners are announced. It is surely going to be an interesting year, and I am definitely expecting a few surprises.