75th Golden Globe Awards showcased glamorous winners and gracious losers

The 75th annual Golden Globe awards showcased glamorous winners and gracious losers, many of whom were dressed in black to symbolize their protest against sexual harassment.  

Here are the big winners of the evening.  Do you agree or disagree with the prize winners?  Do you think we'll see repeats at the Academy Awards?

Cecil B. DeMille award

Oprah Winfrey

MOVIES

Best motion picture, drama

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best motion picture, musical or comedy

"Lady Bird"  

Best actress in a motion picture, drama

Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best actor in a motion picture, drama

Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

Best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy

James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

Best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy

Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"

Best supporting actor, any motion picture

Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri" 

Best supporting actress, any motion picture

Allison Janney, "I, Tonya" 

Best director

Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Best original score

Alexandre Desplat, "The Shape of Water"

Best original song

"This Is Me" (from "The Greatest Showman")

Best screenplay

Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" 

Best foreign language film

"In the Fade"

TELEVISION

Best television series, drama

"The Handmaid's Tale"

Best television series, musical or comedy

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

Best limited series or motion picture made for television

"Big Little Lies"

Best actress in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television   

Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies"

Best actor in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television

Ewan McGregor, "Fargo"

Best actress in a television series, drama

Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale"

Best actor in a television series, drama

Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us"

Best actress in a television series, musical or comedy

Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

Best actor in a television series, musical or comedy

Aziz Ansari, "Master of None"

Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television

Alexander Skarsgård, "Big Little Lies"

Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television

Laura Dern, "Big Little Lies"

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri surprises you in every scene

Movie Title:      Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Grade:  A

Rating: R,  115 minutes

In a Nutshell:  From the minute Francis McDormand appears on the screen and starts chewing her fingernails in contemplation, you know you’re seeing an award-winning performance. 

To date, she has been nominated for Best Actress in a dramatic role by the Golden Globes, surely with an Oscar nod to follow.   

Director Martin McDonagh has also been nominated for a Golden Globe and the movie is on the short list for Best Picture.  This movie is that well done.  The movie balances dark humor with tenderness, racism, revenge, and rage, sometimes all in the same scene.

What makes this movie especially impressive to me is its unpredictability.  I see a LOT of movies and can usually guess what’s going to happen.  Not with this film.  Characters made surprising choices and scenes unfolded in ways I never would have imagined.  For me, that’s a delight and why I love movies so much.

                                                           

Tips for parents: 

• TONS of profanity.  Soooo many F-bombs.
• Use of the “N” word and lots of other racial slurs.
• Disrespectful talk of homosexuality 
• Talk of civil rights
• Talk of rape and abuse
• Robbie talks so disrespectfully to his mom all the time and uses extremely ugly language about her.
• Someone commits suicide.
• Lowest body count (2) in a Martin McDonagh film.
• Very strong, tough female lead. She basically stands up alone for what she believes against an entire town.

Uplifting theme: 

• Life, death, and everything in between
• Parenting decisions, family
• Choices and consequences
• “Hate never solved nothing.” – Woody
• “Anger begets greater anger.” – ex husband
• Hope
• Justice, revenge

                                                     

Things I liked:

• Francis McDormand is amazing as always.  She thought she was too old for the role and initially declined, but her husband said, “Shut up and do it.”   
• Entertaining conversations.
• Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell are extremely entertaining, as always, and the entire cast knocks it out of the park.
• While the movie title suggests that it was filmed in Ebbing, Missouri, the location was actually Sylva, North Caroline, where my mother was born!  I read that the production staff welcomed the locals in Sylva to watch the filming.  After a scene was shot, the actors would sign autographs.  Woody Harrelson gave an impromptu guitar performance.
• Pay attention to books people read and TV shows that people watch.  They actually have meaning to what the characters’ motivations are.  I love that
• Many of the characters have arc, which is what you want to see in a movie.  There is personal growth and understanding, which gives the film depth and meaning.
• I first noticed Zeljko Ivanek in the popular TV show Madam Secretary: Season 1 and have liked him ever since.

Things I didn’t like:

• I couldn’t quite figure out what kind of accent Abbie Cornish was going for.
• The excessive profanity is tiresome (for me), although appropriate for the film.
• The ignorant racism towards African Americans and bullying of a gay man is jolting.

Funny lines:

• “I don’t know what the compensation scheme is before you throw a guy out a window, Ma. I guess I shoulda looked into that beforehand.  I should Google it.” – Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell)
• “Do you think I care about dentists?  Nobody cares about dentists.” – Sheriff Bill Wiloughby (Woody Harrelson)

Interesting lines:

• “You aren’t trying to get me to believe in reincarnation or something are you, cuz you’re pretty, but you ain’t her.” – Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand)

                                              @trinaboice 

The Greatest Showman features joyful dancing and infectious songs

Movie Title:    The Greatest Showman

Grade:  A

Rating:  PG, 105 minutes

In a Nutshell: Critics seem to be ripping this musical movie to shreds, so it makes me wonder if I saw the same film they did!  I really loved it!  In fact, the audience I watched the movie with on opening day applauded and cheered at the end of the movie.  They loved it too!  So do the Golden Globes, having recently nominated it as Best Picture in the Musical/Comedy category.     

Directed by Michael Gracey, this movie has been a passionate pet project of Hugh Jackman for quite awhile.  I adore him.  He can do it all: sing, dance, act.  He is a true showman and was also nominated by the Golden Globes for Best Performance by an actor in the same Musical/Comedy category.  I hear he is also a genuinely nice guy.  Don’t tell my husband I’m in love with him. I thought he was absolutely incredible in Les Miserables (2012)

                             

Tips for parents: 

• A father slapped his son on the face so hard that you could hear an audible "OH!!" from parents in the audience.
• No profanity.
• There is an element in the movie that teaches there is no right or wrong and that everything is ok.  That may bother some parents who teach their children that there IS a difference between right and wrong in this world.
• Lots of alcohol and drinking
• Violent bullying

Uplifting theme: 

• "The noblest art is that of making others happy." - P.T. Barnum
• Everyone of us is special and no one is like us.  That’s the point of my show.” – P. T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman)
• “No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” – P. T. Barnum
• “We can live in a world we design.”  - song lyric
• “A man’s station is limited only to his imagination.” – Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson)
• “Make no apologies.  I am who I’m meant to be.” – song lyric
• Small-minded people vs. accepting others for who they are
• “Dream with your eyes wide open.” – song lyric

                                       

Things I liked:

• One critic said the 11 original songs are not even memorable.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  In fact, I'm completely obsessed with the soundtrack and have listened to it at least a dozen times already. The songs were fantastic and I can’t wait to watch the movie again.  This Is Me was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.  Keala Settle sings the triumphant anthem.  I’m so happy for her to make her film debut.  She plays the Beared Woman.  She is new to most of us, although she has been performing on Broadway for 30 years.  I think The Greatest Showman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is going to be very popular.
• The talented cast includes Zac Efron (He does a fantastic bar scene with Hugh Jackman), Michelle Williams (lovely solo), Rebecca Ferguson (she is truly stunning in this movie), and the popular pre-teen idol Zendaya.
• The dance numbers were joyful, infectious, and energizing.  Dance tutorials are already popping up on YouTube. 
• Some of the transitions were really clever.
• While the movie is a period piece, the songs sound more like today’s pop radio hits.  Critics claim that the songs should match the time, but audiences will love the songs because the lyrics are inspiring and the music feels relevant to today.  The  award-winning lyricists from La La Land wrote for this movie.  Critics fell all over themselves for La La Land, but I liked THE GREATEST SHOWMAN more.  
• It felt like a carefully crafted stage production, something that Barnum would have actually created. 
• I thought Rebecca Ferguson was amazing in the movie and looked gorgeous.  Then I learned that her singing voice wasn't hers, but actually Loren Allred's.  The song was beautiful.  It was actually written with Anne Hathaway in mind, but she didn't end up in the movie.

Things I didn’t like:

• The biggest complaint movie critics have is that the script is weak and clunky.  Again, I disagree.  I loved it all. 
• I would have liked learning more about some of the characters, like the Bearded Lady. It would have been a 3 hour movie to include back stories on some of the circus performers though!
• There are some basic historic facts that the movie got wrong, but it really didn't bother me.  In reality, P.T. Barnum was not a very nice guy and cared more about money than people.  He didn't have a romantic relationship with Jenny Lind.  She really did leave the tour early, but it was because she had been donating all of her earnings to charity and was getting tired of being on the road for so long.

Interesting lines:

• “People are fascinated with the exotic and the macabre.  That’s why we stare at it.”  - P.T. Barnum
• “You don’t need everyone to love you, Phin, just a few good people.” – Charity Barnum (Michelle Williams)
• “Men suffer from believing too little than too much.” – P. T. Barnum
• “Comfort is the enemy of progress.” – P.T. Barnum
• “Nothing draws a crowd quite like a crowd.” - P.T. Barnum
• “People come to my show for the pleasure of being hoodwinked.  Just once I’d like to give them something real.” – P.T. Barnum
• “When you’re careless with other people, it will bring ruin on yourself.” – Jenny Lind
• “I wanted to be more than I was.” – P. T. Barnum

Funny lines:

• “Don’t turn sensible on us now.” – Beared Lady (Keala Settle)
• "Real estate in Manhatten is a terrible investment." - P. T. Barnum   haha
• 
  

If you're obsessed with this movie, check out some of these must-have items:

           

                                                @trinaboice 

Lion will break your heart and then warm it

Movie Title:    Lion

Grade:  A-

Rating:   PG-13

In a Nutshell:  Adapted from the book A Long Way Home: A Memoir , this inspiring true story will break your heart and then warm it.  

Most people missed this film when it came to theaters (including me), but now that it has received 6 Academy Award nominations, everyone is talking about it (including me)!

Uplifting theme: 

• What incredibly selfless love people give when they adopt children, especially the street children from poor countries.  Over 80,000 children go missing in India each year.  You can learn more about the movement that has started because of this movie at www.lionmovie.com
• Determination, love, courage, home, family, blood, bonds, heritage, adoption

Things I liked:

• Beautiful cinematography.  Greig Fraser (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Zero Dark Thirty) uses a child’s perspective to film surrounding areas and provide a sense of wonder.
• Three cheers for Google Earth!
• The love of Sue (Nicole Kidman) and John (David Wenham) for their adopted children was so sweet.  I got teary eyed almost every time Sue was with her sons.
• You don’t learn the touching reason why the movie is called Lion until the very end of the movie.
• Dev Patel plays the grown-up Saroo with the absolutely adorable Sunny Pawar playing the young Saroo.
• What makes the movie even more powerful is knowing that it’s a true story.  You get to see real footage of when Sue meets Saroo’s biological mother just three years ago in 2014.
• As an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College, I thought it was fascinating that it was food that suddenly brought memories back to Saroo about his childhood.
• I enjoyed learning more about India and its culture. We also get to visit Australia in the movie.

Things I didn’t like:

• SPOILER:  It made me so sad that no one would help Saroo in the train station.  Poor thing.  I just wanted to hug him tightly and give him something to eat.
• The beginning and end were really great, but it starts to drag in the middle when Saroo grows up and gets depressed and mopey before taking action.
• Some of the editing was choppy.
• When you first see Nicole Kidman in that wig, you think, “What the heck?”, but then, when you see the real Sue at the end of the movie, you think, “Oh, Ok.”

Interesting lines:

• “You weren’t just adopting us, but our past as well.” – Saroo
• ‘I really hope she’s there.  She needs to see how beautiful you are.” – Sue 

Tips for parents: 

• There are subtitles in the first half of the movie and again in the end.
• Pre-marital relations.
• Your children will see some extreme poverty and, hopefully, be grateful for what they have.

@trinaboice 

2016 Academy Award Winners

Hollywood's biggest night presented the following list of Oscar winners at the 88th Academy Awards:

• Best Picture – Spotlight

• Best Actress – Brie Larson, Room

• Best Actor – Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

• Directing  – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant

• Best Supporting Actress – Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

• Best Supporting Actor – Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

• Animated Feature Film – Inside Out

• Documentary Feature – Amy

• Foreign Language Film – Son of Saul, Hungary

• Adapted Screenplay – Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short

• Original Screenplay – Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

• Original Score – Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight

• Original Song – “The Writing’s on the Wall” by Sam Smith

• Film Editing – Mad Max: Fury Road

• Production Design – Mad Max: Fury Road

• Sound Editing – Mad Max: Fury Road

• Sound Mixing – Mad Max: Fury Road

• Visual Effects – Ex Machina

• Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant

• Costume Design – Mad Max: Fury Road

• Makeup and Hairstyling – Mad Max: Fury Road

• Animated Short Film – Bear Story

• Live Action Short Film – Stutterer

• Documentary Short Subject – A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

2015 Oscar nominations announced

The star-studded movie award season has begun with Hollywood's biggest night just around the corner.  The nominations for the 2015 Oscars have just been announced.  Here they are:

Best Picture

“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers

Actor
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”

Supporting Actor

Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Actress
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Animated Feature
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Adapted Screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle

Original Screenplay
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy

Cinematography
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins

Costume Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran

Director
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum

Documentary Feature
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Documentary Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen

Film Editing
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross

Foreign Language Film
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina

Makeup and Hairstyling
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Original Score
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson

Original Song
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Production Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts

Animated Short Film
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins

Live Action Short Film
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

Sound Editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro

Sound Mixing
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Visual Effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer