"Bridesmaids" - REVIEW

With only a handful of exceptions, Saturday Night Live stars don't have the best track record of transitioning from sketch comedy to headlining feature films. For every Will Ferrell, there's half a dozen Julia Sweeneys floundering around in increasingly awful comedic vehicles. However, thanks to the magic hand of producer Judd Apatow, and some hard work of her own, current star Kristen Wiig may be on her way to becoming the next exception to the rule.

Wiig, who co-wrote the film with Annie Mumolo, stars as Annie, a down-on-her-luck woman whose best friend (Maya Rudolph) has picked her as the maid of honor for her upcoming wedding. As Annie tries to do her best to pull off the bachelorette party, as well as sort out her less-than-ideal love life, she has to deal with the bizarre group of bridesmaids.

Plot-wise, there's really nothing surprising to be found in Bridesmaids, and save for a few specifics, there isn't much in the limited plot that you won't see coming. Wiig and Mumolo's script is more interested in the character interactions and the jokes, and for the most part the approach works. While not a brilliant work of comedy, the film produces consistent laughs thanks to a sense of humor that perfectly matches Wiig's mix of goofiness and understated weirdness. Wiig makes a delightful leading lady, and keeps Annie (and the rest of the characters) from becoming a one-note role designed specifically for jokes. Even moments that feel like they could be an SNL sketch - a scene where Annie and Rose Byrne's Helen try to catch the attention of a traffic cop - don't become major distractions because, simply put, they're funny.

Backing up Wiig is a stellar ensemble of female comedic talent. Stand-outs go to Byrne, better known for her beauty (and TV's Damages) than for comedy, as a bitchy rival friend, and Melissa McCarthy as a brusque soon-to-be-relative of the bride. The bride herself, Ms. Rudolph, is given slightly less to do, and unfortunately has the 'straight' role of the bunch. Rounding out the party are Wendi McLendon-Covey (Reno 911!) and Ellie Kemper (The Office), as a stressed out mother of three, and an idealistic newlywed, respectively. Unfortunately, not everyone is given quite as much to do. As the film progresses, it's really Byrne and McCarthy who take center stage in supporting, while Covey and Kemper all but vanish after a certain point, which seems like a waste of talent.

As far as men are concerned, there are only two worth mentioning, played by Jon Hamm and Chris O'Dowd, each rather simplistic in spite of the talented actors in the roles. This is very much a woman-oriented film, and despite hitting plenty of familiar notes, Bridesmaids avoids becoming tired or tedious thanks to the strength of its triumphant female cast. There may be a wedding involved, but this is no Katherine-Heigl-romantic comedy (and that's for the best, isn't it?). The women are diverse, strong, independent, and most importantly, funny, and the film knows how to use each of them, even if they aren't all used enough. And in spite of the plot's lack of true suspense, Wiig deserves credit for deviating from the Apatow norm of going through a bunch of irreverent, silly, crude, and/or gross-out jokes before taking a sharp left turn into 'meaningful' territory. The softer side of the film is predictable, but also feels authentic and well-earned, even if everything does get tied up too neatly at the end. Bridesmaids may be a female-oriented comedy, but its humor, even in its weak moments, is universally appealing.

Grade: B

**Bridesmaids opens in US theaters on May 13th.

2011, 6 Months In: The Favorites

It's hard to believe, but half of 2011 is already gone. In a few months, we'll be hit with festivals from both Venice and Toronto, and then it's back to awards season madness. However, since that's still some ways off, I'd rather focus on the present: the halfway (well, probably a little past, but close enough) point of the year in movies. How 2011 will stack up against recent years remains to be seen, but it's certainly been a diverse year so far. Here's a look at my favorites (across the categories), written up as though today was the last day of the year:

The Half-Way Favorites:

Best Picture:
13 Assassins
Bridesmaids
Certified Copy
The Double Hour
Hanna
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
Rango
The Tree of Life
Tyrannosaur

Winner: The Tree of Life

Best Director:
Giuseppe Capotondi - The Double Hour
Abbass Kiarostami - Certified Copy
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life
Gore Verbinski - Rango
Joe Wright - Hanna

Winner: Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life

Best Actor:
Johnny Depp - Rango
Paul Giamatti - Win Win
Mel Gibson - The Beaver
Peter Mullan - Tyrannosaur
William Shimmell - Certified Copy

Winner: Peter Mullan - Tyrannosaur

Best Actress:
Juliette Binoche - Certified Copy
Olivia Colman - Tyrannosaur
Kseniya Rappoport - The Double Hour
Saoirse Ronan - Hanna
Mia Wasikowska - Jane Eyre
Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids

Winner: Juliette Binoche - Certified Copy

Best Supporting Actor:
Michael Fassbender - Jane Eyre
Hunter McCracken - The Tree of Life
Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life
Christoph Waltz - Water for Elephants
Anton Yelchin - The Beaver

Winner: Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life

Best Supporting Actress:
Cate Blanchett - Hanna
Rose Byrne - Bridesmaids
Jessica Chastain - The Tree of Life
Melanie Lynskey - Win Win
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

Winner [TIE]: Cate Blanchett - Hanna/Jessica Chastain - The Tree of Life

Best Original Screenplay:
Bridesmaids
Certified Copy
The Double Hour
Midnight in Paris
Tyrannosaur

Winner: The Double Hour

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Incendies
Jane Eyre
X-Men: First Class
--
--

Winner: Jane Eyre

Best Editing:
The Beaver
The Double Hour
Hanna
Midnight in Paris
Tyrannosaur

Winner: Hanna

Best Cinematography:
13 Assassins
The Double Hour
Hanna
Jane Eyre
The Tree of Life

Winner: The Tree of Life

Best Art Direction:
Hanna
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
The Tree of Life
X-Men: First Class

Winner: The Tree of Life

Best Costume Design:
Hanna
Jane Eyre
Midnight in Paris
The Tree of Life
Water for Elephants

Winner: Water for Elephants

Best Animated Film: Rango [default]

Best Foreign Language Film:
13 Assassins [Japan]
Certified Copy [Belgium/France/Italy]
The Double Hour [Italy]
Incendies [Canada]
Of Gods and Men [France]

Winner: The Double Hour [Italy]

Best Original Score:
The Double Hour - Pasquale Catalano
Hanna - The Chemical Brothers
Jane Eyre - Dario Marianelli
Rango - Hans Zimmer
The Tree of Life - Alexandre Desplat

Winner: Hanna - The Chemical Brothers

Best Original Song: "Hanna's Theme" - Hanna [default]

Best Makeup:
13 Assassins
Hanna
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Super 8
X-Men: First Class

Winner: 13 Assassins

Best Visual Effects:
Fast Five
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Super 8
The Tree of Life
X-Men: First Class

Winner: The Tree of Life

Review: "Bachelorette"

Director: Leslye Headland
Runtime: 87 minutes

It would be easy to dismiss Leslye Headland's Bachelorette on the grounds that it is nothing more than a cheap cash-in on the R-rated lady comedy trend bolstered by last year's Bridesmaids. However, that's not quite the case. Headland's film is based on her own play. Even if Bridesmaids paved the way for something like Bachelorette, this particular film shouldn't be passed over just because of its timing. Why? Because there are so many legitimate reasons to ignore Headland's dumb, ugly, and unpleasant film.

Regan (Kirsten Dunst), Gena (Lizzy Caplan), and Katie (Isla Fisher), three best friends from high school, suddenly find themselves in the bridal party of Becky (Bridesmaids' Rebel Wilson), whom they used to make fun of. To the dismay of the trio (mostly Katie), Becky says that her bachelorette party will be a tame affair, consisting of little more than hanging out in a nice hotel room and eating ice cream. Desperate to spice things up, Regan, Gena, and Katie soon find themselves in over their heads when matrimonial disaster strikes in a moment of mean-spirited fun.

And by matrimonial disaster, I'm talking about the moment when Regan and Katie, squeezing both of their bodies into Becky's plus size wedding dress, tear it almost completely in half. As part of a larger tapestry of screw ups, this incident could lend itself to a wild ride of bridal party hijinks. But that's it. No, really. The driving force of the plot is the torn dress, and nothing more. The only other wild and crazy incident in the whole mess is that Gena and Katie both did cocaine earlier in the night. Can you handle the manufactured wackiness? Suffice it to say that there are more laughs in any one of Bridesmaids' comedic set pieces than in the entirety of this film.

Not helping matters is that Headland doesn't seem interested in making her characters interesting or multidimensional. This only becomes a bigger problem because they're not remotely likable. Regan is a type-A bitch, Gena is a sarcastic slacker, and Katie is just an over-the-top party girl. The roles do little to capitalize on the gifts of the talented women playing them, especially when it comes to Fisher's Katie, who's rendered little more than a shrill and cartoonish nuisance. Headland seems to be striving for (once again, mind the comparison's chronological faults) a mix of The Hangover and Bridesmaids by way of a Noah Baumbach film, and it flat out doesn't work. I'm usually not keen on much Mr. Baumbach's work, but at least he's capable of crafting insightful character portraits and drawing strong turns from his leads. If Headland possesses that talent, she's done nothing here to indicate that this is the case.

And so Bachelorette chugs along, throwing in three blank 'love' interests (Adam Scott, James Marsden, and Kyle Bornheimer) for our protagonists, and an over dose subplot that only drags the film further down the rabbit hole into tedium. Much could be forgiven if the writing had any punch to it, but it just feels blunt, dumb, and mean. The occasional line or gag registers, but the successes are still weighed down by the failures of the whole enterprise. Worse is that Headland tries to wrap things up in typical raunchy rom-com fashion, with a happy ending where everyone gets together with "the right one." It's that unfortunate sort of bad movie where not even the strengths of the cast members make it worth checking out.

Grade: D

The Month(s) in Review: April+May 2011

It's been a while (January) since I've been able to/remembered to do this series, but since May is the 1 year anniversary, I figured it's about time to give these posts a second life. Unfortunately, February and March will be left out, but I will expand this entry to cover April as well. As usual, the rule is one award per film:

Best Film (Theaters): The Double Hour (my review)

A tricky littler thriller, Giuseppe Capotondi's debut feature, while not for everyone, packs one hell of a punch thanks to some knockout twists. The drama may tend towards being lightweight, but solid performances, strong direction, and fantastic cinematography lift this Italian answer to Tell No One up enough that it becomes a memorable mix of love, grief, and deception.

Best Film (DVD): La Ceremonie

Ever the 'observer,' Claude Chabrol's hit 1996 domestic thriller throws you for a loop, in part because the director refuses to manipulate via heavy-handed foreshadowing or ominous music. The directness with which Chabrol and his excellent cast bring the story to life, from the banal early scenes, to the downright chilling finale, only further cements his status as one of the all-time masters of French cinema.

Best Direction: Andrei Tarkovsky - Solaris

As difficult as this sci-fi odyssey can be at first glimpse, Tarkovsky's guiding hand holds your attention, even as Solaris enters increasingly vague and unexplained territory. Tarkovsky is able to get good work out of his cast, while creating an quietly unnerving atmosphere amid an increasingly abstract plot. At three hours, Solaris isn't always an easy watch, but Tarkovsky compels you to pay attention, and to try and figure it all out for yourself, all while providing the details with an elegant sense of mystery.

Best Male Performance: Anton Yelchin - The Beaver (my review)

Mel Gibson may be the main talking point of Jodie Foster's latest outing as a director, but the show really belongs to Anton Yelchin as Gibson's estranged son. To be fair, the screenplay does give him a more complete (and gimmick-free) character to work with. However, all of that would be for naught if Yelchin wasn't able to convincing embody the role of a teenager desperate to be like anyone but his father.

Best Female Performance: Juliette Binoche - Certified Copy (my review)

No awards-giving body would be complete this year without at least some mention of Juliette Binoche. Originally released in 2010 (Binoche picked up the Best Actress award at Cannes last year), the film has finally made its way to American theaters (and Oscar eligibility) this year, and I'll be more than a little miffed if I don't hear her name thrown around at least once. This is truly first rate work. She's subtle, engaging, complex, and deeply human, and like the film around her, she becomes stronger with each new level of mystery added (or pulled away). Unless 2011 really decides to knock it out of the park in terms of leading ladies, the rest of the year has its work cut out for it to top Ms. Binoche's work here.

Best Ensemble Cast: Bridesmaids (my review)

Clearly out to reverse the outdated (and rather stupid) idea that women aren't funny, the cast of Bridesmaids delivers in spades. Whether it's the charming oddities of Kristen Wiig, the Mean-Girls-style bitchiness of Rose Byrne, or the gut-busting non-sequiturs courtesy of Melissa McCarthy, this is a film overflowing with female comedic talent. With the exception of one scene (which was, tellingly, suggested by a male producer), Bridesmaids presents genuinely laugh-out-loud scenarios that don't revolve around gross-out moments. Not only are these women funny, but they're actually *gasp* better at comedy than many of their male counterparts.

Best Screenplay: Guillaume Canet - Tell No One

The end of Tell No One, unfortunately, comes down to a rather massive expository monologue. It remains interesting, though, because of how much goodwill writer/director Guillaume Canet (aka Mr. Marion Cotillard) builds up over the majority of the film, by carefully parcelling out information instead of dropping blocks of dialogue on us. The story keeps moving as twists come together, some true, some red herrings, and it all happens with an understated sense of movement.

Best Cinematography: Alwin Kuchler - Hanna (my review)

Joe Wright's Hanna is an imperfect film, one that is elevated from a flawed script by strong performances, direction, and marvelous artistic and technical aspects. And one of the best (aside from The Chemical Brothers' pulsating score) is the cinematography, courtesy of Alwin Kuchler. In an age when so many movies seem auto-corrected with balances of orange and teal (read), Hanna actually has a range of color to it. Blues, whites, greys, reds, greens; they're all present in this gorgeously lit film. Kuchler captures all of the film's locations, from snowy forests to neon-lit bars, with tremendous artistry and skill, and gives this art-house thriller a real sense of visual style.

Special Mention: The Costumes and Art Direction of Orlando

Aside from Tilda Swinton's breakthrough performance, the other big draws to Sally Potter's 1992 gender-bender are the stunning sets and costumes. Potter's film richly captures four centuries of style, both in decoration and in clothes. It's one thing for a film to be pretty, but the design of Orlando helps emphasize the story's impressionistic journey through time, with remarkable use of color and detail. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the work here, by Sandy Powell (costumes) and the team of Ben van Os and Jan Roelfs (sets), is some of the most exquisitely beautiful ever put on the silver screen.

2011 SAG Nominees

I've more or less avoided commenting on the 2011-12 Awards Season so far, due to a number of factors. However, with this morning's unveiling of the Screen Actors Guild nominees and tomorrow's Golden Globe nominee announcement, I figured it was time to put in my 2 cents on the state of the race so far.

For a full list of the SAG nominees, click HERE.

Film:

Starting with Best Ensemble (the closest thing SAG has to a Best Picture award, even though it really isn't, and shouldn't be voted on as such), we've got a mix of the predictable and the surprising. For all of the awards love that I'm expecting The Artist to receive over the next few months, it never seemed like an ensemble piece. Dujardin and Bejo (both nominated) seemed like the only major players in the modern-day silent film. Clearly, SAG thought differently. Other mentions, however, like The Descendants, Midnight in Paris, and The Help seem rather obvious. And then (thankfully) there's Bridesmaids, which could prove to be the awards season party-crasher in a year where (FINALLY) nothing/no one seems like a "lock" to win. Remember last year when almost every critics group gave Best Actress to Natalie Portman? Yeah, not happening this year. We finally have a really interesting awards race, and Bridesmaids' pitch-perfect female ensemble is just icing on the cake. By the time the stardust has cleared and the champagne has stopped flowing at the end of February, I'm sure that more tradtional, "Oscar bait" films (War Horse) will have made there mark, but if ever there was a year for things to get crazy, this is it.

Next we go to Male Actor in a Leading Role and Female Actor in a Leading Role. Though response to J. Edgar has been pretty muted, I guess I shouldn't be that surprised that DiCaprio made it in here. SAG does love to reward actors in Eastwood films (part of me thought they might toss a nod to Judi Dench, who was, admittedly, the best thing about J. Edgar). At the same time, you'd think that a branch full of actors might have noticed the "we did it in one take!" nature of DiCaprio's performance (it shows). Then there's Demian Bichir for A Better Life, and I have to confess, I have no idea where this came from. If there was going to be a "surprise" here, I thought it would be Shame's Michael Fassbender or even Take Shelter's Michael Shannon (both wrongfully snubbed). "But where the hell are Fassbender and Shannon!?" - George Clooney, demanding answers.

Other than DiCaprio and Bichir, though, the male lineup is filled out by our three presumed front-runners: Dujardin, George Clooney (The Descendants), and Brad Pitt (Moneyball). I haven't been able to see The Artist, but between Clooney and Pitt, I hope this one goes to the former. As much as I like Pitt as an actor, he keeps getting recognized for his weaker performances (though Moneyball is a much better performance than Benjamin Button). And as for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy's Gary Oldman, well, better luck next time. "We're not so very different, you and I. We're both searching for a GODDAMN OSCAR!!!"

Much more interesting, however, is how the leading ladies are shaping up. It's an unusually contentious year, with veterans (Streep, Close) and newcomers (Elizabeth Olsen, snubbed) fighting it out for five spots. Michelle Williams, who has picked up two critics awards thus far, is starting to become more of a threat than I thought she would be. Then there's Tilda Swinton, who finally seems to be on her way to a second Oscar nomination. "Wait...I actually got in? Wha..."

The film may have barely any exposure (as of now, it's not scheduled to open anywhere in the US outside of New York and L.A., which seems ridiculous), but that doesn't have an bearing on awards bodies. With back-to-back snubs (09's Julia and 10's I am Love), Swinton's passionate fan base has finally expanded, and the build-up could be enough to push her through to second Oscar nomination (about time). Then there's the above-mentioned Olsen, along with Charlize Theron, who still stand as potential threats.

As far as the supporting categories go, the women seem to be taking shape, while the men seems as all-over-the-place as ever. Berenice Bejo, previously thought to be gone, has finally come back. More predictable are The Help's Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain (at which point I'll assume that this is the performance she'll be primarily rewarded for in the future). "White people, man. White people..." - Octavia Spencer.

Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids is a nice surprise, and it's good to see that the handful of critics awards she's picked up haven't been for nothing. All the same, it's too bad that co-star Kristen Wiig has been so thoroughly ignored. Hopefully the Globes will change that tomorrow morning. Finally, there's Janet McTeer from Albert Nobbs, who's been earning some of the film's strongest reviews. On the other hand, this looks like the end of the road for Coriolanus' Vanessa Redgrave.

As for the men, the category has some mild front-runners, but the other slots have always seemed like question marks. Beginners' Christopher Plummer could very well take this, although SAG might fall in love with Branagh's interpretation of Laurence Olivier. Nick Nolte (Warrior) was once brought up as a possibility, but the film's failure at the box office seemed to be the end of him until now. As far as Jonah Hill and Armie Hammer are concerned, though, they probably ought to be happy that they made it in here at all.

TV:

I won't cover this as extensively, but there's a few things that need to be said. I've come to expect Community being snubbed, but where on earth is Parks and Recreation in the comedy categories? "This is LITERALLY the most disappointing snub of the year."

That cast should be filling out any number of slots, especially Amy Poehler, Rob Lowe, Nick Offerman, and Adam Scott. Jumping over to drama, an even bigger issue: how on earth did SAG pass up Showtime's outstanding Homeland, far and away the best new show of the year? At the very least, you'd think they could throw Claire Danes and Damian Lewis nominations (the former of whom was absolutely incredible in the season's penultimate episode). Unless the show was (for whatever reason) ineligible, this borders on inexcusable, especially considering the fact that Dexter managed to make it in. Yes, season 6 is a step up from whatever the hell season 5 was, but there's a limit. Claire Danes after seeing that Dexter made it in over Homeland.

Another bone to pick with SAG, though, comes down to the structure of the awards: why on earth do the TV awards not have separate categories for lead and supporting roles? There are so many good performances on TV right now, and the current roster of categories leaves the categories prone to defaulting to lead performances (except in the comedy categories). Oh well, at the very least Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones are nominated, although Aaron Paul and Peter Dinklage have fallen victim to the limited acting categories. At least they didn't do something crazy like nominating Colin Hanks for Dexter. Yeesh. "Yo, Claire: u mad?" - Jessica Lange.

One nice surprise, however, is the inclusion of American Horror Story's Jessica Lange in drama. The role is clearly supporting, and the show is batshit-insane and messy as hell, but Lange is one of the most consistently compelling (and deliciously campy) aspects of that glorious train wreck (season 1, and Connie Britton is already about to give birth to the antichrist...seriously).

The SAG awards air on January 29th; here's hoping that the guild members at least make some inspired choices from their relatively uninspired choices.

2011/12 Oscar Nominee Predictions

It's that time again. We've been predicting for month, and we've certainly made our fair share of changes, but at last we come to it: Oscar nomination morning. Tomorrow, that is. Starting at 5:30 PST the Academy will unveil its nominees and confirm some front-runners, throw out some surprise nominations and snubs, and even a few left-field choices. Of all of the categories, Best Picture will be the most interesting, seeing as how, due to new rules, we could have 5 Best Picture nominees. Or 6. Or 7. Or 8. Or 9. Or 10. So even though that makes predicting the category a bit of a pain, it also leaves more room for the race to really get interesting. And since the Academy is the last-remaining major body to release its nominees, I figured I'd take a stab, and throw out my guesses for who/what will be called out on January 24th. Picks are in order of likelihood.

Best Picture

The Artist

The Descendants

Hugo

The Help

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

The Tree of Life

Best Director

Martin Scorcese - Hugo

Michel Hazanvicius - The Artist

Alexander Payne - The Descendants

Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

David Fincher - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Actor

George Clooney - The Descendants

Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar

Michael Fassbender - Shame

Best Actress

Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

Viola Davis - The Help

Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Albert Brooks - Drive

Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn

Jonah Hill - Moneyball

Brad Pitt - The Tree of Life

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer - The Help

Jessica Chastain - The Help

Berenice Bejo - The Artist

Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants

Hugo

Moneyball

The Help

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Original Screenplay

Midnight in Paris

The Artist

50/50

A Separation

Bridesmaids

Best Editing

The Artist

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Artist

Hugo

Moneyball

Best Cinematography

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Hugo

The Artist

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Art Direction

Hugo

The Artist

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

My Week with Marilyn

The Help

Best Costume Design

My Week with Marilyn

The Help

Hugo

The Artist

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (?????)

Best Original Score

The Artist

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

War Horse

Hugo

The Help

Best Original Song

"The Living Proof" - The Help

"Lay Your Head Down" - Albert Nobbs

"Life's a Happy Song" - The Muppets

"Pictures in My Head" - The Muppets

"Star Spangled Man" - Captain America

Best Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Hugo

Captain America

Best Make Up

J. Edgar

The Iron Lady

The Artist

Best Animated Film

The Adventures of Tintin

Rango

Puss in Boots

Arthur Christmas

Kung Fu Panda 2

Best Foreign Language Film

A Separation [Iran]

In Darkness [Poland]

Pina [Germany]

Footnote [Israel]

Bullhead [Belgium]

As for sound, documentary, and the short categories...let's just say I've probably made enough mistakes with what's already here...

Delayed Reactions to the 2011 Golden Globe Nominees

Whatever fame (or infamy) the Golden Globes may possess, there's no doubt that they can be one of the key indicators of how awards season will swing. And in a year where few nominations feel certain, this year's Globe roster is finally helping the race take shape, all while throwing in a few wild cards.

For the full list of nominees, click HERE.

As far as the Best Picture categories go, the HFPA hasn't been to shocking. Long-expected favorites like The Descendants (Drama) and The Artist (Musical/Comedy) are here, in addition to Spielberg's War Horse, which just about screams "Oscar-bait" at the top of its lungs. The inclusion of The Ides of March feels pretty lazy here, as there were certainly stronger and less traditional dramas. And as for Hugo, well, I'll just hold my tongue. The surprise here, though, is that Spielberg's film almost feels like an afterthought. There isn't even a Director nomination for Spielberg. Over in Musical/Comedy, we have another fairly expected lineup, though it's nice to see 50/50 get some recognition along with obvious choices like The Artist and Bridesmaids, though I'll admit that I'm a little surprised that they didn't toss nominations to Young Adult or Crazy, Stupid, Love.

In Best Actor we have another fairly expected lineup, although I'm super-excited that the otherwise ignored Shame managed to score a nod for Michael Fassbender's excellent work, though I suspect this category will come down to Clooney vs. Pitt. As for Musical/Comedy, the choices are very nice, although this is hands-down going to Dujardin.
For Best Actress, Drama will likely come down to either Meryl Streep or Viola Davis. Things could swing in Davis' favor, however, considering that there seems to be a lack of passion around the other aspects of The Iron Lady, whereas The Help has been a huge success. Still-trying-for-an-Oscar Glenn Close or surprising almost-a-sure-thing contender Tilda Swinton could surprise here, but it's highly doubtful. And as for Rooney Mara, she should be thanking her lucky stars that she's here. As well-received as Fincher's take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been received thus far, it's the sort of film that, like his other serial killer films (Se7en, Zodiac), will make little to no impact on the awards race (barring some tech nods). As far as comedy goes, it really comes down to three of the 5. Most likely is Michelle Williams, as the HFPA will likely go gaga over the fact that Williams played (mostly successfully) an icon. The only other threats here are Charlize Theron's super-unlikeable character from Young Adult, or Bridesmaids' leading lady Kristen Wiig. Foster and Winslet (Carnage), like Mara in Drama, should simply be thankful for the nominations.

Where the Globes will really prove to be telling, however, is in the Supporting categories, which aren't separated by Musical/Comedy and Drama. For Supporting Actor, there are three possibilities, none of whom come off as a clear front-runner. Yes, Albert Brooks made it in for Drive while everything else about the film was snubbed, but even with his other critics awards, something about this performance doesn't feel like a major threat. There's also Christopher Plummer's lovely turn in Beginners, a performance that has the unrewarded veteran factor on its side. Lastly, there's Kenneth Branagh, who, like Michelle Williams, could score for his lively portrayal of an acting icon.

In Supporting Actress, the HFPA's winner will provide more of an indicator. The Artist's Berenice Bejo could finally gain some traction, or one of the ladies from The Help (Chastain, Spencer) could take the lead. Chastain does have the one-hell-of-a-debut-year factor on her side, and with her work in The Help standing as her most noticeably emotional, it could become the means by which awards bodies reward her for an outstanding year all around. There is room for potential spoilers Janet McTeer (who's been stealing co-star Glenn Close's buzz) or The Descendants' Shailene Woodley, although her lack of experience could go against her.

The Run Down: The 84th Academy Awards

Oscar turned 84 last night, and celebrated by honoring the past. Not only were two movies about cinema's early years big winners (The Artist and Hugo), but Billy Crystal rose to host once again, and Christopher Plummer became the oldest acting winner in history at 82, making him just two years younger than the award he accepted. As with many of the recent Oscar ceremonies, surprises were few and far between, though there was certainly a major one (we'll get there later). And, as with any Oscar ceremony, there were moments worthy of applause, and moments worthy of total mockery, although thankfully nothing was as painful as James Franco's complete lack of effort last year.

The Good

The Artist reigns supreme: The Artist and Hugo earned 10 and 11 Oscar nominations respectively, but ultimately AMPAS went with Michel Hazanvicius' black and white silent film. Not that Hugo was shunned; Scorcese's tribute to cinema managed to pick up 5 trophies in the technical categories. In the end, though, The Artist came out on top, also winning 5 trophies, but in three of the top categories (Picture, Director, Actor), which was a welcome change of pace after the Hugo-dominated first half of the ceremony. To paraphrase one commenter last night, Hugo tells you why old cinema is important, but The Artist actually shows you why old cinema is important.

The Presentation: Despite some awkward attempts at comedy by the presenters (Downey Jr. and Paltrow's bit really didn't work), the show flowed incredibly well, handing out awards without much lag.

Except for this mess...

Even the totally superfluous Cirque du Soleil performance didn't slow the show down, which only ran about 5 minutes past its 3 hour time slot. Pretty damn good when you consider that some ceremonies have lasted upwards of 4.5 hours.

Clips: One of the strangest trends in recent Oscar ceremonies has been the omission of clips during the presentation of the acting nominees. Thankfully this year's ceremony corrected that, and gave the nominees strong clips to demonstrate their efforts (the clips for Viola Davis and Rooney Mara were particularly well-chosen).

The acting winners' acceptance speeches: I really hope the Oscars' Youtube page adds clips from last night soon, because I really can't wait to watch these speeches again. In short, they were both extremely humble (not to mention adorable) and well handled. And as much flack as Streep has taken for winning awards these past few months, she has remained a class act through all of it.

The Original Score Presentation: Instead of simply listing off the nominees and playing some brief samples, the show went in a surprisingly epic direction for the Original Score category by sending up a massive screen designed to look like a stand with sheet music. Making it even better was Crystal's priceless reaction to the spectacle, an unimpressed "eh..."

Baxter and Wall, 2 for 2: After scooping up an incredibly deserved Best Editing Oscar for The Social Network last year, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall scored again for their excellent work on David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was a welcome surprise in the tech categories, which were otherwise dominated by Hugo and The Artist.

Jim Rash mocks Angelina Jolie: Angelina Jolie's extreme slit on her dress was certainly eye-catching, though it was slightly confusing when the actress tried to make a big deal of it by flaunting her leg. Not missing a beat, Jim Rash, one of the three winning writers for The Descendants, struck his own pose during the trio's acceptance speech, and provided one of the best improvised laughs of the night.

Natalie Portman: The Swan Queen returned to present Best Actor, and looked damn good doing it.

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifiankis being ridiculous:

The cast of Bridesmaids' drinking game: Continuing a gag from the SAG awards last month, the ladies from Bridesmaids drank anytime the name Scorcese was mentioned. Even funnier was the fact that Scorcese was unaware of the joke; the director looked positively baffled during the moment.

This picture:

The In-Between

Billy Crystal: There's no doubt that Billy Crystal is one of the Oscars' best hosts, but last night won't go down as one of his better efforts. Some of the material felt stale, and even the opening sequence featuring the host inserted into the nominated films (a Crystal staple) fell flat in comparison to years past. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Hathaway and Franco did a better job stealing Crystal's schtick last year.

Meryl Streep wins her third Oscar: It's been a long time coming, but Queen Meryl finally won her third Oscar statue, providing the only surprising acting winner of the night. Most everyone thought Viola Davis had this locked up, and the shock was palpable.

Meanwhile, in the balcony: What on earth was with those commercial bumps featuring the band sitting up in the Kodak Theater's box seats?

Wait, didn't Nicole Kidman wear that 5 years ago?:

The Bad

Hugo wins Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects:

One day, Emmanuel...one day...

Comparing the efforts of Hugo to those of The Tree of Life and Rise of the Planet of the Apes only makes these two wins look like complete jokes. The cinematography win is particularly troubling, considering that Lubezki's work on Malick's opus is some of the best DP work in years.

Supporting Actors are special too: Why were the lead actor/actress nominees given individual tributes by the presenters while the supporting actors were presented just like every other award? Some of the greatest performances of all time are supporting roles, and it looks pretty condescending to treat the leading nominees as more important.

Harry Potter and the Oscarless Film Franchise: The mega-successful film series' last film went home empty handed, leaving the massive 8-film franchise completely devoid of Oscar wins. They couldn't even throw an award to Stuart Craig's mind-blowing art direction, even after all of these years of bringing J.K. Rowling's world so beautifully to life. For shame.