Well everyone, it’s just about time to get the Awards Season really going. This week, the Golden Globe nominations were announced (the actual event takes place on January 10), and as always there are some surprises and snubs. Let’s get to it:

Best Motion Picture–Drama:

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

 

Reaction: Pretty good lineup for the Drama category. Something I was a little surprised about (especially following last year’s White-Washing controversy) was that Straight Outta Compton (one of the Summer’s biggest hits, both in terms of box-office and critics) did not receive a nomination (in any category for that matter). The other minor shocker was Bridge of Spies being snubbed (as with Tom Hanks) especially since everyone basically loves Spielberg. I mean, Mad Max getting nominated is pretty big, and it makes me very happy–but The Hateful Eight was also left out instead.  No love for some of my favorites of the year, Far From the Madding Crowd, The End of the Tour, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, or even Creed (except Stallone).

Best Motion Picture–Comedy:

The Big Short

The Martian

Spy

Trainwreck

Joy

 

Reaction: Well, for one, The Martian is hardly a comedy; yes, it’s very funny, but it is more drama/sci-fi than comedy. Spy and Trainwreck were both really solid comedies, and Joy (despite a lot of negative early reviews) still made it on there. Of all of these, The Big Short seems to have the most buzz behind it, unless Joy somehow starts picking up more positive reviews.

 

Best Actor–Drama:

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)

Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Will Smith (Concussion)

 

Reaction: Biggest surprise here is probably Tom Hanks not being included.His performance is one of his best in years, but perhaps he is past his time to win any other awards. Johnny Depp in Black Mass and Michael B. Jordan in Creed are both missing as well.  Other than that, this category is pretty nailed down.

 

Best Actress–Drama:

Cate Blanchett (Carol)

Brie Larson (Room)

Rooney Mara (Carol)

Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)

 

Reaction: All of the big front-runners are up here, though Carey Mulligan is noticeably missing after two great performances this year (Suffragette and Far From the Madding Crowd). Alicia Vikander has made herself a big name this year following a couple excellent roles, and she is also nominated for her work in Ex-Machina.

 

Best Actor–Comedy:

Matt Damon (The Martian)

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Steve Carell (The Big Short)

Al Pacino (Danny Collins)

Mark Ruffalo (Infinitely Polar Bear)

 

Reaction: Probably the bottom two names are the biggest surprise here. Danny Collins didn’t blow over so well with critics, and Infinitely Polar Bear is a small indie that not many people have heard of. Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro must not be too powerful in Joy. Ruffalo should have been up for Spotlight, but at least he’s getting some recognition.

 

Best Actress–Comedy

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)

Amy Schumer (Trainwreck)

Melissa McCarthy (Spy)

Lily Tomlin (Grandma)

Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van)

 

Reaction: Nothing too surprising here, except if you were a major fan of Ricki and the Flash and wanted Meryl Streep to get yet another nom…sorry.

 

Best Supporting Actor:

Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)

Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Paul Dano (Love & Mercy)

Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)

Michael Shannon (99 Homes)

 

Reaction: Stallone getting a nomination this late in his career is quite pleasing, especially since he really deserves it for his role. Rylance holds strong with Bridge of Spies’ only nomination, and Shannon getting in for 99 Homes is pretty surprising if you want to consider that spot taking up what could have been Ruffalo’s for Spotlight. Jacob Tremblay, the young, incredible performer from Room, is also missing.

 

Best Supporting Actress:

Jane Fonda (Youth)

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)

Helen Mirren (Trumbo)

Alicia Vikander (Ex-Machina)

Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

 

Reaction: All solid picks, nothing to complain about here.

 

Best Director:

Todd Haynes (Carol)

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant)

Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)

Ridley Scott (The Martian)

 

Reaction: Really interesting picks here. No Tarantino, Spielberg, or Hooper. Some old faces (Scott and Gonzalez) but also some first-timers. So this year could really shape up to be contentious.

 

Best Screenplay:

The Big Short

Steve Jobs

The Hateful Eight

Room

Spotlight

 

Reaction: With how much buzz The Revenant is getting, it comes as a little bit of a surprise that it didn’t get nominated. Steve Jobs’ nomination is some love for Sorkin when it was only nominated for acting. Room is also a nice little addition.

 

Best Original Song:

Spectre (Writing’s on the Wall)

Fifty Shades of Grey (Love Me Like You Do)

Love & Mercy (One Kind of Love)

Youth (Simple Song #3)

Furious 7 (See You Again)

 

Reaction: Mainly just odd that Fifty Shades of Grey is now a Golden Globe-nominated movie, same with Furious 7. Nothing from Ricki and the Flash?

 

Best Score:

The Danish Girl

Carol

The Revenant

Steve Jobs

The Hateful Eight

 

Reaction: Haven’t seen most of these, so I can’t say anything is too surprising. Though having Ennio Morricone nominated is pretty awesome.

 

Best Animated Film:

The Good Dinosaur

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie

Anomalisa

Shaun the Sheep

 

Reaction: No surprises, there weren’t that many good animated movies this year.

 

Best Foreign Film:

The Club

The Fencer

Mustang

Son of Saul

The Brand New Testament

 

Reaction: Haven’t gotten around to any of these, nor have I heard of any surprises here, so I’ll just wait to see them before I pass my judgement.

 

So there we go, nothing huge or wrongfully missing, just a few oddities here and there. I have a feeling the Oscars are going to be quite interesting this year, especially if no movie starts taking all of the buzz. Anyway, thanks for reading–my predictions will be up closer to January 10.