My Globe Scores

Motion pictures

Picture, Drama: "Babel," "Bobby," "The Departed," "Little Children," "The Queen"
Score: 3/5

Actress, Drama: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Sherrybaby"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children"
Score: 4/5

Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Departed"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"
Score: 4/5

Picture, Musical or Comedy: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Dreamgirls," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Thank You for Smoking"
Score: 4/5

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Annette Bening, "Running With Scissors"; Toni Collette, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Beyonce Knowles, "Dreamgirls"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Renee Zellweger, "Miss Potter"
Score: 4/5

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"; Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"; Aaron Eckhart, "Thank You for Smoking"; Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Kinky Boots"; Will Ferrell, "Stranger than Fiction"
Score: 4/5

Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"; Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"; Emily Blunt, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"; Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel"
Score: 4/5

Supporting Actor: Ben Affleck, "Hollywoodland"; Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"; Jack Nicholson, "The Departed"; Brad Pitt, "Babel"; Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed"
Score: 3/5

Director: Clint Eastwood, "Flags of Our Fathers"; Clint Eastwood, "Letters from Iwo Jima"; Steven Frears, "The Queen"; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"; Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"
Score: 4/5

Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"; Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children"; Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal"; William Monahan, "The Departed"; Peter Morgan, "The Queen"
Score: 3/5

Foreign Language: "Apocalypto," USA; "Letters from Iwo Jima," USA/Japan; "The Lives of Others," Germany; "Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico; "Volver" Spain
Score: 3/5

Animated Film: "Cars," "Happy Feet," "Monster House"

Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, "The Painted Veil"; Clint Mansell, "The Fountain"; Gustavo Santaolalla, "Babel"; Carlo Siliotto, "Nomad"; Hans Zimmer, "The Da Vinci Code"
Score: 2/5

Original Song: "A Father's Way" from "The Pursuit of Happyness"; "Listen" from "Dreamgirls"; "Never Gonna Break My Faith" from "Bobby"; "The Song of the Heart" from "Happy Feet"; "Try Not to Remember" from "Home of the Brave"
Score: 1/5

Television

Series, Drama: "24," Fox; "Big Love," HBO; "Grey's Anatomy," ABC; "Heroes," NBC; "Lost," ABC
Score: 3/5

Actress, Drama: Patricia Arquette, "Medium"; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos"; Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"; Ellen Pompeo, "Grey's Anatomy"; Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
Score: 2/5

Actor, Drama: Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"; Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Bill Paxton, "Big Love"; Kiefer Sutherland, "24"
Score: 3/5

Series, Musical or Comedy: "Desperate Housewives," ABC; "Entourage," HBO; "The Office," NBC; "Ugly Betty," ABC; "Weeds," Showtime
Score: 3/5

Actress, Musical or Comedy: Marcia Cross, "Desperate Housewives"; America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"; Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"; Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"
Score: 3/5

Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Zach Braff, "Scrubs"; Steve Carrell, "The Office"; Jason Lee, "My Name is Earl"; Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Score: 4/5

Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Emily Blunt, "Gideon's Daughter"; Toni Collette, "Tsunami, The Aftermath"; Katherine Heigl, "Grey's Anatomy"; Sarah Paulson, "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip"; Elizabeth Perkins, "Weeds"
Score: 2/5

Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Thomas Haden Church, "Broken Trail"; Jeremy Irons, "Elizabeth I"; Justin Kirk, "Weeds"; Masi Oka, "Heroes"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Score: 2/5

Golden Globe Dark Horses

Since I can't sleep (could it be GG anticipation...no.) I decided to make a list of possible spoilers or dark horses to the Golden Globes announced tomorrow morning.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Half Nelson
Letters from Iwo Jima
Children of Men
Bobby
Little Children

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Sherrybaby

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama
Matt Damon and/or Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
A Prairie Home Companion
For Your Consideration

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
Anne Hathaway - The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet - The Holiday

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
Greg Kinnear - Little Miss Sunshine
Steve Carrell - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett – Babel
Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Mark Wahlberg – The Departed
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Ben Affleck - Hollywoodland

Best Foreign Language Film
Letters from Iwo Jima

Best Director – Motion Picture
Pedro Almodovar - Volver
Robert Altman - A Prairie Home Companion
Paul Greengrass - United 93

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Zach Helm - Stranger than Fiction
Jason Reitman - Thank You for Smoking

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Philip Glass - The Illusionist
Philip Glass - Notes on a Scandal

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
Prince - The Song of the Heart, Happy Feet
Tim McGraw - My Little Girl, Flicka

Best Television Show – Drama
Lost
House
Battlestar Galactica

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Kristen Bell - Veronica Mars
Edie Falco - The Sopranos
Amanda Peet - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Matthew Fox - Lost
Edward James Olmos - Battlestar Galactica
Matthew Perry - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Patrick Dempsey - Grey's Anatomy

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Desperate Housewives
30 Rock
How I Met Your Mother
Entourage

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
Felicity Huffman - Desperate Housewives
Teri Hatcher - Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The New Adventures of Old Christine

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
James Spader - Boston Legal
Tracy Morgan - 30 Rock
James Roday - Psych
Tony Shaloub - Monk

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jenna Fischer - The Office
Chandra Wilson - Grey's Anatomy
Sarah Paulson - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mine-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Rainn Wilson - The Office
John Krasinski - The Office

Dreamgirls Make it Worth It

The question on everybody who has any vested interest in film’s mind is whether or not Dreamgirls really lives up to the hype. Arguably the most talked about, especially in terms of the impending awards season, film of the year…I’ll be the first to say that the film does live up to the hype. It’s a fun, carefree, decade-spanning, toe tapping ditty filled musical from Bill Condon. The number of Hollywood veterans that join them grounds the fresh young cast.
That being said, do I think that Dreamgirls is really Best Picture worthy? No. It fails in all the same respects that Bill Condon and Rob Marshall’s Chicago did. The musical numbers, though catchy and fantastically performed, just don’t seem to jive with the majority of the picture. The diagetic songs work like a dream, but it’s when the cast members begin to perform their respective subjective songs that the film kind of putters. Unfortunately for me and everyone at the advanced screening, a fire alarm went off right in the middle of scene-stealer, Jennifer Hudson’s performance of “And I’m Telling You, I’m Not Going.” In spite of this, the five-minute clip secured her as a lock in the Best Supporting Actress category. As the outspoken Effie, Hudson, is altogether pleasurable and heartbreaking. Also delivering a performance worthy of Oscar consideration and show stopping is Eddie Murphy as the indescribably funny and tragic. There’s a moment in the beginning of the film when his character is first revealed to the audience that just makes the audience bust out laughing. I can’t say if it’s his smile or hair or a combination of both, but Murphy is absolutely perfect for the character. Likewise, his rap boogie breakdown in the second act of the film is amazing and puts him on the same level as Hudson. Unfortunately for Beyonce Knowles, who plays Deena Jones, a majority of her above average performance is completely overshadowed by Hudson. That isn’t to say that Knowles doesn’t share some fantastic moments. Her performance of “Listen” is another high point of the film.
As I said before, the film seems to lose some energy at some points. This could be a result of my distaste for musicals, but it just doesn’t seem to work as well on screen as it seems it should. I think it’s less the fault of the film and more the fault of Condon, who seems to be unsure of himself. This seems sort of strange considering Condon’s track record. Looking at the larger picture, Dreamgirls is a much better entry to the modern film musical than Chicago. The musical numbers do work better here than they did for Chicago, but can often be awkward and forced rather than natural.
This is definitely a picture you don’t want to miss on the big screen. The sound, spectacle and fantastic performances are all worth paying 8 bucks for. If you can get wrapped up in the rather narrow story, which gradually becomes broader and broader as the film drives home, then I think you will leave the theater unbelievable happy. The problem lies in convincing the people who won’t be able to buy into the story that the film is beyond decent.

Golden Globe Nomination Predictions

Nominations for the 64th Annual Golden Globes are due in this Thursday. Here is how I think they will go down.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
United 93
Flags of Our Fathers
The Departed
The Queen
Babel

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama
Helen Mirren – The Queen
Kate Winselt – Little Children
Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal
Penelope Cruz – Volver
Naomi Watts – The Painted Veil

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama
Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland
Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson
Will Smith – The Pursuit of Happiness
Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond
Peter O’Toole – Venus

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Dreamgirls
Little Miss Sunshine
Borat
The Devil Wears Prada
Stranger than Fiction

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine
Beyonce Knowles – Dreamgirls
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada
Renee Zelwegger – Miss Potter
Annette Benning – Running with Scissors

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
Sacha Baron Cohen – Borat
Aaron Eckhart – Thank You for Smoking
Will Ferrell – Stranger than Fiction
Jamie Foxx – Dreamgirls
Johnny Depp – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett – Notes on a Scandal
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
Rinko Kikuchi – Babel
Catherine O’Hara – For Your Consideration
Adriana Barraza – Babel

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls
Jack Nicholson – The Departed
Brad Pitt – Babel
Djimon Hounsou – Blood Diamond
Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine

Best Foreign Language Film
Volver
Apocalypto
Curse of the Golden Flower
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Lives of Others

Best Director – Motion Picture
Clint Eastwood – Letters from Iwo Jima
Martin Scorsese – The Departed
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Babel
Bill Condon – Dreamgirls
Stephen Frears – The Queen

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Peter Morgan – The Queen
Guillermo Arriaga – Babel
Pedro Almodovar – Volver
William Monahan – The Departed
Bill Condon – Dreamgirls

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Clint Eastwood – Letters from Iwo Jima
Gustavo Santaolalla – Babel
Hans Zimmer – The Da Vinci Code
Howard Shore – The Departed
Alexandre Desplat – The Queen

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
Melissa Etheridge – I Need to Wake Up, An Inconvenient Truth
Beyonce Knowles – Listen, Dreamgirls
Jennifer Hudson – Love You I Do, Dreamgirls
Eddie Murphy – Patience, Dreamgirls
The Dixie Chicks – The Neighbor, Shut Up and Sing

Best Television Show – Drama
24
Brothers & Sisters
Heroes
The Sopranos
Grey’s Anatomy

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Calista Flockhart – Brothers & Sisters
Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer
Sally Field – Brothers & Sisters
Patricia Arquette – Medium

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Hugh Laurie – House
Kiefer Sutherland – 24
James Woods – Shark
James Gandolfini – The Sopranos

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Weeds
My Name is Earl
The Office
Scrubs
Ugly Betty

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
Eva Longoria – Desperate Housewives
America Ferarra – Ugly Betty
Mary Louise Parker – Weeds
Marcia Cross – Desperate Housewives
Tina Fey – 30 Rock

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Musical Or Comedy
Zach Braff – Scrubs
Steve Carell – The Office
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Jason Lee – My Name is Earl
Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Sandra Oh – Grey’s Anatomy
Jamie Pressley – My Name is Earl
Elizabeth Perkins – Weeds
Vanessa Williams – Ugly Betty
Katherine Heigl – Grey’s Anatomy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mine-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jeremy Piven – Entourage
Forrest Whitaker – The Shield
Masi Oka – Heroes
Gregory Itzin – 24
Steven Weber – Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Favorite Albums of 2006

Film Favorites
Television Favorites
within the next few weeks.