2021 Golden Globe Nominations

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

BELFAST

CODA

DUNE

KING RICHARD

THE POWER OF THE DOG

BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

CYRANO

DON’T LOOK UP

LICORICE PIZZA

TICK, TICK…BOOM!

WEST SIDE STORY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

JESSICA CHASTAIN, THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

OLIVIA COLMAN, THE LOST DAUGHTER

NICOLE KIDMAN, BEING THE RICARDOS

LADY GAGA, HOUSE OF GUCCI

KRISTEN STEWART, SPENCER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

MAHERSHALA ALI, SWAN SONG

JAVIER BARDEM, BEING THE RICARDOS

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, THE POWER OF THE DOG

WILL SMITH, KING RICHARD

DENZEL WASHINGTON, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

MARION COTILLARD, ANNETTE

ALANA HAIM, LICORICE PIZZA

JENNIFER LAWRENCE, DON’T LOOK UP

EMMA STONE, CRUELLA

RACHEL ZEGLER, WEST SIDE STORY

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, DON’T LOOK UP

PETER DINKLAGE, CYRANO

ANDREW GARFIELD, TICK, TICK…BOOM!

COOPER HOFFMAN, LICORICE PIZZA

ANTHONY RAMOS, IN THE HEIGHTS

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED

ENCANTO

FLEE

LUCA

MY SUNNY MAAD

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON

BEST MOTION PICTURE – NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE (FORMERLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

COMPARTMENT NO. 6 (FINLAND / RUSSIA / GERMANY)

DRIVE MY CAR (JAPAN)

THE HAND OF GOD (ITALY)

A HERO (FRANCE / IRAN)

PARALLEL MOTHERS (SPAIN)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE

CAITRIONA BALFE, BELFAST

ARIANA DEBOSE, WEST SIDE STORY

KIRSTEN DUNST, THE POWER OF THE DOG

AUNJANUE ELLIS, KING RICHARD

RUTH NEGGA, PASSING

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE

BEN AFFLECK, THE TENDER BAR

JAMIE DORNAN, BELFAST

CIARÁN HINDS, BELFAST

TROY KOTSUR, CODA

KODI SMIT-MCPHEE, THE POWER OF THE DOG

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

KENNETH BRANAGH, BELFAST

JANE CAMPION, THE POWER OF THE DOG

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, THE LOST DAUGHTER

STEVEN SPIELBERG, WEST SIDE STORY

DENIS VILLENEUVE, DUNE

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, LICORICE PIZZA

KENNETH BRANAGH, BELFAST

JANE CAMPION, THE POWER OF THE DOG

ADAM MCKAY, DON’T LOOK UP

AARON SORKIN, BEING THE RICARDOS

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, THE FRENCH DISPATCH

GERMAINE FRANCO, ENCANTO

JONNY GREENWOOD, THE POWER OF THE DOG

ALBERTO IGLESIAS, PARALLEL MOTHERS

HANS ZIMMER, DUNE

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

“BE ALIVE” — KING RICHARD

Music by: Dixson, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter; Lyrics by: Dixson, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

“DOS ORUGUITAS” — ENCANTO

Music by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda

“DOWN TO JOY” — BELFAST

Music by Van Morrison; Lyrics by Van Morrison

“HERE I AM (SINGING MY WAY HOME)” — RESPECT

Music by Carole King, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Hartman; Lyrics by Carole King, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Hartman

“NO TIME TO DIE” — NO TIME TO DIE

Music by Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell; Lyrics by Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

LUPIN

THE MORNING SHOW

POSE

SQUID GAME

SUCCESSION

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

UZO ADUBA, IN TREATMENT

JENNIFER ANISTON, THE MORNING SHOW

CHRISTINE BARANSKI, THE GOOD FIGHT

ELISABETH MOSS, THE HANDMAID’S TALE

MICHAELA JAÉ RODRIGUEZ, POSE

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

BRIAN COX, SUCCESSION

LEE JUNG-JAE, SQUID GAME

BILLY PORTER, POSE

JEREMY STRONG, SUCCESSION

OMAR SY, LUPIN

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

THE GREAT

HACKS

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

RESERVATION DOGS

TED LASSO

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

HANNAH EINBINDER, HACKS

ELLE FANNING, THE GREAT

ISSA RAE, INSECURE

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS, BLACK-ISH

JEAN SMART, HACKS

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY

ANTHONY ANDERSON, BLACK-ISH

NICHOLAS HOULT, THE GREAT

STEVE MARTIN, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

MARTIN SHORT, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

JASON SUDEIKIS, TED LASSO

BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

DOPESICK

IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY

MAID

MARE OF EASTTOWN

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

JESSICA CHASTAIN, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE

CYNTHIA ERIVO, GENIUS: ARETHA

ELIZABETH OLSEN, WANDAVISION

MARGARET QUALLEY, MAID

KATE WINSLET, MARE OF EASTTOWN

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

PAUL BETTANY, WANDAVISION

OSCAR ISAAC, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE

MICHAEL KEATON, DOPESICK

EWAN MCGREGOR, HALSTON

TAHAR RAHIM, THE SERPENT

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ON TELEVISION

JENNIFER COOLIDGE, THE WHITE LOTUS

KAITLYN DEVER, DOPESICK

ANDIE MACDOWELL, MAID

SARAH SNOOK, SUCCESSION

HANNAH WADDINGHAM, TED LASSO

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ON TELEVISION

BILLY CRUDUP, THE MORNING SHOW

KIERAN CULKIN, SUCCESSION

MARK DUPLASS, THE MORNING SHOW

BRETT GOLDSTEIN, TED LASSO

O YEONG-SU, SQUID GAME

2013 Golden Globe Winners

BEST PICTURE DRAMA - 12 Years a Slave
BEST PICTURE COMEDY - American Hustle
BEST DIRECTOR - Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
BEST ACTOR DRAMA - Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ACTOR COMEDY - Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ACTRESS DRAMA - Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
BEST ACTRESS COMEDY - Amy Adams, American Hustle
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
BEST SCREENPLAY - Spike Jonze, Her
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - The Great Beauty
BEST ANIMATED FILM - Frozen
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - “Ordinary Love,” by U2, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - All is Lost

BEST TV DRAMA - Breaking Bad
BEST TV COMEDY - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
BEST ACTOR DRAMA - Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
BEST ACTOR COMEDY - Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
BEST ACTRESS DRAMA - Robin Wright, House of Cards
BEST ACTRESS COMEDY - Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation
BEST MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE - Behind The Candelabra
BEST ACTOR MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE - Michael Douglas, Behind The Candelabra
BEST ACTRESS MINI-SERIES OR TV MOVIE - Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Cecil B. DeMille Award - Woody Allen

The Golden Globes are known for being a little wacky, the speeches a little looser, the winners a little cool-kids. When they announced they were giving the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Woody Allen, I thought, "Wow, are they really going to get him to attend an awards show?" but no, Diane Keaton comes out and accepts for him in intentionally surreal fashion.

Movie-wise the love was spread.  The Globes have been looser in what they consider a comedy to help strengthen the category. American Hustle and Wolf of Wall Street have a lot of funny stuff in them, but are they really comedies? Eh, I'm not complaining. Happy about all the results, at least for the ones I've seen.

TV-wise, I was shocked that Brooklyn Nine-Nine won, but very happy for the show. It's the best rookie comedy out there, and it could use the boost. Also thrilled Amy Poehler finally won.

The Wolf of Wall Street - Movie Review

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, Jon Bernthal, Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Milioti, PJ Byrne, Shea Whigham and Ethan Suplee.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.

★★★

The true story of Jordan Belfort, a Wall Street wizard who stole millions of dollars from thousands of people, and he is one of hundreds of others doing the same.  Sure, there are honest people in the financial industry, but there are a lot of dishonest ones too, and those are the ones who make life worse for the 99%.

There's been some criticism of this film that it glorifies Jordan. That's like saying Goodfellas glorifies Henry Hill.  It's a fun ride to watch, but you don't deep down actually want his life. If you do, you're a bad person.

One thing Wolf of Wall Street makes clear - it takes talent to be evil. Jordan may be a raging narcissist, but he's also excellent at selling, and lying, and leading others.  We don't see his victims because he never thinks about them. If he does, it's flippant. At one point he narrates that the way he sees it, it's better that he has the money rather than those middle-class people he's ripping off, because he knows how to spend it. Says the guy who does enough cocaine to power a small city.

It's a three-hour biopic that takes us on the decadent ride of an amoral man and his band of merry swindlers who get rich quick with no conscience. He grew up with one goal - to be rich. Didn't care how, and didn't really have a noble goal of what to do with his wealth either.

Leonardo DiCaprio gives a ferocious performance, maybe a career best for him.  It's his fifth collaboration with Scorsese (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, and Shutter Island being the other four), and they really seem to have each other's rhythms down.

Did it need to be three hours? I don't think so. The parade of immorality goes on pretty long.  I don't think we really need that many scenes of drugs and hookers, but my understanding is his first cut could have been four hours.  It is darkly funny, like one scene where he's near paralyzed from Quaaludes but tries to drive home anyway.

So yeah, this movie ended and I felt like I'd seen a very well-made ride of a shallow, empty man who had the potential to do some good with his talents, but with no ethics or principles, he just ruined lives to feed his need for greed instead. But I do have that McConaughey chest-thumping song still stuck in my head.

Random Movie Stuff - 7/2/13

- Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have been asked to get in shape for their extended cameos in Star Wars Episode VII.

- Django Unchained alum Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx will reteam in Mean Business on North Ganson Street, about two detectives investigating the murders of some local police officers.

- Helena Bonham Carter is in talks to play the Fairy Godmother in Disney's live-action Cinderella movie, starring Lily James (Downton Abbey), Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) and Cate Blanchett (Hanna) as the Wicked Stepmother.  Sir Kenneth Branagh is directing.

- Daniel Huttlestone, who played Gavroche in Les Miserables, is in talks to play Jack in the big-screen Into the Woods movie, starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal.

- Helen Mirren and newcomer Manish Dayal will star in The Hundred-Foot Journey, about a woman who opens an Indian restaurant in southern France, causing competition with neighboring restaurants.

- Timothy Simons (HBO's Veep) has joined the cast of Inherent Vice, the next film from director Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Josh Brolin and Martin Short.

Some leftover movies from 2012:

SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED (★★★) - Starring Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Kristen Bell and Mary Lynn Rajskub.  Directed by Colin Trevorrow.

Well-done indie about a reporter who sees an ad for someone wanting a time-traveling companion, serious inquiries only, safety not guaranteed.  She and two co-workers head to the small town where he lives to find him and see if he really believes what he's saying.  Audrey Plaza takes a break from rolling her eyes on Parks & Recreation to play a girl with a soul, and Mark Duplass has the right amount of off-putting quirk to make the relationship feel more organically developed.

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SEEKING A FRIEND AT THE END OF THE WORLD (★★★) - Starring Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Connie Britton, Rob Corddry, Martin Sheen, Adam Brody, Melanie Lynskey, Patton Oswalt, William Peterson, Derek Luke and Gillian Jacobs.  Directed by Lorene Scafaria.

This movie had more melancholy attached to it than the trailer suggested, which is a good thing. It was an indie film pretending to be mainstream fare.

Carell plays a sad-sack named Dodge who learns along with everyone else on Earth that a deadly meteor is heading right toward them, and it will wipe out the human race.  By chance he meets his bohemian British neighbor Penny (Keira Knightley) and the two of them set out on a quest, he to get her to an acquaintance with a plane so she can fly across the Atlantic to be with her family in the final days.

These two hold to their purpose while the world falls around them in morbidly comical ways. While most people are using their little time left to try orgies and heroin, these two develop an odd, affecting friendship in their quest.  I liked it.

The Great Gatsby - Movie Review

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Amitabh Bachchan and Adelaide Clemens.  Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

★★★

I'll never forget the hyper little conductor that appeared at the bottom of the screen to conduct the 20th Century Fox song at the beginning of Moulin Rouge. It was a taste.  It was a signal that this is the ride you're about to take.

Luhrmann's flourishes are intact with The Great Gatsby, a 3-D party movie that revives F. Scott Fitzgerald for an audience that knows he was played by Loki in Midnight in Paris.  The 1920's are alive with the sound of hip-hop.

It starts with a flashback narrative structure, where Nick Carraway is looking back on the events that transpired with a psychiatrist.  We go to when Nick is an optimistic 29-year-old Wall Street broker, played by 37-year-old Tobey Maguire, perhaps a little too old to be full of wide-eyed naivete.  He moves in next door to the elusive Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio, a few months old than Tobey but easier to buy at age 32).  Gatsby is a multimillionaire who throws elaborate parties in his mansion-castle every week, but no one seems to know much about him.  Is he more of a Bruce Wayne or Citizen Kane type?

Gatsby takes an interest in Nick, not only because they are neighbors but because Nick is cousin to Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), the rich wife of Tom, who lives in his own lavish estate across the bay.

I'll say at this point the thing that bothered me most about my experience was the sound.  The sound was very toward the front, and the music sounded like it was all coming out of one speaker in the upper right-hand corner of the theater. I asked management about it mid-movie and then once it was over. They said their booth technician calibrated and everything looked normal, that it was the fault of the studio that the 3-D Great Gatsbys were off on sound.  Music is so crucial to a Luhrmann movie and it was frustrating to not hear the soundtrack pop.

As to the movie itself, I rather enjoyed it. I would've preferred someone else in Maguire's role, but he was fine.  DiCaprio's always interesting, and I was impressed with the stylized work of Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan.

I do wish the screenwriter had cut out about 90% of the uses of "old sport." I swear DiCaprio used it as often as Django Unchained used the n-word.  Toward the end of the movie, I wanted Tobey to scream, "Nick! My name is NICK! Not 'Old Sport'!"

The movie made me want to read the book. (Yeah, never got assigned it in high school.)

Also amusing to see Zero Dark Thirty's Edgerton and Jason Clarke reunite as completely different characters.

Iron Man 3 #1, Gatsby gets $50 million

For the weekend of May 10-12.

1.  Iron Man 3 - $72.53 million ($284.95) - 2 wks (BV) -58.4%
 . . . 4253 screens / $17,053 per screen
2.  The Great Gatsby - $50.09 - 1 wk (WB)
 . . . 3535 / $14,169
3.  Pain & Gain - $5 ($41.61) - 3 wks (Par) -33.4%
 . . . 3303 / $1514
4.  Peeples - $4.61 - 1 wk (LG)
 . . . 2041 / $2259
5.  42 - $4.59 ($84.67) - 5 wks (WB) -24.2%
 . . . 2930 / $1566
6.  Oblivion - $4.11 ($81.91) - 4 wks (U) -27.1%
 . . . 2770 / $1485
7.  The Croods - $3.61 ($173.22) - 8 wks (Fox) -14.1%
 . . . 2650 / $1362
8.  Mud - $2.54 ($8.56) - 3 wks (RA) +17.3%
 . . . 852 / $2976

The second weekend of May has seen success.  2010's Robin Hood opened to $36 million, 2011's Bridesmaids to $26 million, 2012's Dark Shadows to $29 million, but $50 million for The Great Gatsby guarantees it as one of the hit movies of summer.  It also bolsters Leonardo DiCaprio's street cred as still one of the most bankable leading men in Hollywood.

Iron Man 3 has $300 million in the bag, and the question now is can the momentum carry it past $400 million domestic?  It's already at $949 million worldwide, well on its way to join the Top 5 Grossing Movies of All Time!

Meanwhile having "Tyler Perry Presents" in front of its title couldn't help Peeples attract much of an audience.

Opens Thursday
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS with Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana and Benedict Cumberbatch.


Opens May 24
FAST & FURIOUS 6 with Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker and Luke Evans.
THE HANGOVER PART III with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zack Galifianakis.
EPIC with the voices of Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried and Beyonce.

Random Movie News - 3/1/13

- David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter) will next direct Abscam, about a con artist (Christian Bale) and his mistress/partner in crime (Amy Adams) forced to work with a federal agent (Bradley Cooper) to take down other con artists, mobsters and politicians, and they center on the leader (Jeremy Renner) of the New Jersey state assembly.  Jennifer Lawrence and Louis C.K. also star.

- Russell will then direct The Ends of the Earth, based on the true story of an oil tycoon who lost everything after he began an affair with his adopted daughter. Lawrence will play the daughter, and it'll be the third film she and Russell make together.

- Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) has joined the cast of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, starring Andy Serkis and Jason Clarke. The sequel starts 15 years after the events of the first film.

- The Wolf of Wall Street will now open November 15.  Based on a true story, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a New York stockbroker who became entangled in a securities fraud case.  It's directed by Martin Scorsese and co-stars Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Jean Dujardin, Jon Bernthal and Kyle Chandler.

- Would I bring Seth MacFarlane back to host the Oscars?  No.  For every funny bit, like Flight retold with sock puppets, there was something haltingly inappropriate, like the sexist "We Saw Your Boobs" number. He wasn't the worst host; I'd actually put him somewhere in the middle overall, but I agree with the sentiments expressed elsewhere: get Tina Fey and Amy Poehler to host next year. Or maybe they'll look at the ratings and say, "Let's give it to Trey Parker and Matt Stone."

Django Unchained - Movie Review

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, Walton Goggins, Dennis Christopher, James Remar, Don Johnson, James Russo, Tom Wopat, M.C. Gainey, Dana Gourrier, Laura Cayouette, Franco Nero and Jonah Hill.
Directed by Quentin Tarantino.

★★★½

QT does for slaves here what he did for Jews in Inglourious Basterds - gives them a violent reimagining of history, boiling it down to a revenge flick.  Which is all fine and good.  When Tarantino puts history through his 1970's blaxploitation spaghetti-western worldview, he uses staples from his favorite B-flick genres, and by scrambling events through his prism, we get another ironic staple.  Cinematically alive and consistently engrossing, this Django doesn't disappoint.  It's not his best, but it's another impressive addition to his filmography.

When we first meet Django (Foxx), he is a slave being moved with a chain-gang across various terrains.  That gang is stopped by Dr. King Schultz (Waltz), a dentist turned bounty hunter who needs Django to help him identify some men he's hunting down.  Waltz gets to demonstrate all the charisma he had for Hans Landa, but for a slightly more moral man.  The Schultz-Django dynamic is like a fun buddy-cop period piece.

Schultz trains Django in the art of gunfire, and as they collect bounties and make money, Schultz makes a deal with Django. He hates slavery and feels bad he's benefiting from its trappings by owning Django, so after they've made some money, he agrees to set Django free and help him find his wife Broomhilda (Washington).  They learn she was sold to Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), owner of one of the largest plantations in Mississippi.

The second half of the movie takes on a more heart-of-darkness feel.  Our heroes enter deep into the property of Candieland, and we hope they're going to somehow pull off their con and get out alive.

Candie's side business is "mandingo fighting", having slaves fight no-holds-barred to the death, and placing bets.  Schultz poses as an interested investor, and Django is his expert on black stock.  They intend to buy one of Candie's best fighters, then casually buy Broomhilda on the side.

One wrench in the plans comes from Stephen (Jackson), Candie's right-hand house slave whose subservient dicrepitude hides a steel mind and loyal soul to Candie.  Stephen plays his Uncle Tom role well, but behind closed doors, there's clearly more respect and trust than outsiders can see.  Stephen is unlike anything Samuel L. Jackson's played before, and while Waltz and DiCaprio were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the Golden Globes, I hope come Oscar time one of those slots goes to Jackson.  The Django-Schultz relationship paralleled with the Stephen-Candie one is just another sign there's a method to QT's madness.

There's been controversy due to the movie's frequent use of the n-word. QT's dialogue is always so quotable, but this is one where white people won't be able to casually quote some of his best lines because that word's in there.  Well, historically it seems to fit right in. It's as though QT's rubbing our face in the history of race relations, that unpleasant bit of business our great-great-great grandparents went through.

The violence, especially the last half-hour, explodes like a comic opera.  Each bullet explodes its target like a Ziploc baggie full of Karo syrup.  People who've found previous Tarantino flicks distasteful should not hope he's calmed down for this one.

2012 Golden Globe Nominations

Best Motion Picture — Drama

Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Richard Gere, Arbitrage
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Moonrise Kingdom
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Maggie Smith, Quartet
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy Or Musical
Jack Black, Bernie
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin, Argo
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Director — Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, Argo
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
Argo, Chris Terrio
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

Best Original Score — Motion Picture
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Cloud Atlas, Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimet & Reinhold Heil
Life of Pi, Michael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams

Best Animated Film
Brave
Frankenweenie
Hotel Transylvania
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour
The Intouchables
Kon-Tiki
A Royal Affair
Rust & Bone

Best Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
The Big Bang Theory
Episodes
Girls
Modern Family
Smash

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series – Drama
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Connie Britton, Nashville
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Kevin Costner, Hatfields and McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Toby Jones, The Girl
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn

Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum
Sienna Miller, The Girl
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Ed Harris, Game Change
Danny Huston, Magic City
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Hayden Panettiere, Nashville
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Sarah Paulson, Game Change
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louis
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Television Series — Drama
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Newsroom

Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television
Game Change
The Girl
Hatfield & McCoys
The Hour
Political Animals

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Jodie Foster

J. Edgar - DVD Review

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Stephen Root, Denis O'Hare, Damon Herriman and David Clennon.
Directed by Clint Eastwood.

★★

While I consider every directorial effort by Clint Eastwood a must-see, that doesn't mean he hits in out of the park each time, and this is an uneven effort, a meandering biopic about J. Edgar Hoover that spans sixty years, and Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hoover for all of those sixty years. And this is a problem.

Someday they'll digitally age actors instead of trying the old pancake make-up routine. I don't mind brief scenes with younger actors aged to make a point, but since DiCaprio spends a third of the movie buried in the stuff, I couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough. I'd rather Eastwood had gone with three 77-year-old actors to play Hoover, Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), and secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts).

My other problem with this is the whole thing is so morose and dour. The lighting is saturated of any color that could be mistaken for warmth.

Now buried in all of this is a great central performance by Leonardo DiCaprio. His Hoover is steely, maybe a little shady, more than a little paranoid. By the end I wasn't sure if I should view Hoover as a hero or a villain. I was just ready for ti to be over.

Kurt Russell, Don Johnson join Django Unchained

After some largely ignored supporting roles (Machete, Bucky Larson), Don Johnson has joined the cast of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. This pits the original Miami Vice's Crockett in a movie with the new Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) in a movie. Johnson will play an evil plantation owner. It also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, and Samuel L. Jackson. Kurt Russell recently replaced Kevin Costner in the role of DiCaprio's malevolent right-hand man, and Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away, It) has also signed on.

Kevin Costner drops Django Unchained

Kevin Costner has dropped out of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. He was to play Ace Woody, right-hand man to evil plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). The movie stars Jamie Foxx as freed slave Django, with the help of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), seting out to free his wife from Candie. Samuel L. Jackson also has a role.

I was looking forward to seeing Costner unleash in QT's world, so who should replace him? I would enjoy seeing QT alum Kurt Russell (Death Proof) or Michael Keaton (Jackie Brown) come back. Maybe Woody Harrelson, who did Natural Born Killers which was written by but not directed by QT. Who's someone who would not be an obvious choice but might be able to let loose in QT's world? Anthony Edwards? Anthony LaPaglia? Ed Harris? Colin Farrell? Brian Van Holt? Bryan Cranston? Andrew McCarthy? Powers Boothe?