Golden Globes 2015 winners announced

I really, really love watching movies.  I even love watching award shows about movies!   

So, here are this year's winners from the:

2015 Golden Globes  

MOTION PICTURES

Best Drama

• WINNER: "Boyhood"
• "Foxcatcher"
• "The Imitation Game"
• "Selma"
• "The Theory of Everything"

Best Comedy

• "Birdman"
• WINNER: "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• "Into the Woods"
• "Pride"
• "St. Vincent"

Best Director

• Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Ava Duvernay, "Selma"
• David Fincher, "Gone Girl"
• Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
• WINNER: Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Best Actress in a Drama

• Jennifer Aniston, "Cake"
• Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"
• WINNER: Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"
• Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"
• Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"

Best Actor in a Drama

• Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
• Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
• Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"
• David Oyelowo, "Selma"
• WINNER: Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy

• Ralph Fiennes, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• WINNER: Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
• Bill Murray, "St. Vincent"
• Joaquin Phoenix, "Inherent Vice"
• Christoph Waltz, "Big Eyes"

Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy

• WINNER: Amy Adams, "Big Eyes"
• Emily Blunt, "Into the Woods"
• Helen Mirren, "The Hundred-Foot Journey"
• Julianne Moore, "Map to the Stars"
• Quvenzhané Wallis, "Annie"

Best Supporting Actress

• WINNER: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
• Jessica Chastain, "A Most Violent Year"
• Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
• Emma Stone, "Birdman"
• Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"

Best Supporting Actor

• Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
• Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
• Edward Norton, "Birdman"
• Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
• WINNER: J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Best Screenplay

• Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
• Gillian Flynn, "Gone Girl"
• WINNER: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo, "Birdman"
• Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
• Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

Best Foreign Language Film

• "Force Majeure Turist," Sweden
• "Gett: The Trial of Viviane Ansalem Gett," Israel
• "Ida," Poland/Denmark
• WINNER: "Leviathan," Russia
• "Tangerines Mandariinid," Estonia

Best Animated Feature

• "Big Hero 6"
• "The Book of Life"
• "The Boxtrolls"
• WINNER: "How to Train Your Dragon 2"
• "The Lego Movie"

Best Original Song

• "Big Eyes" from "Big Eyes" music and lyrics by Lana Del Rey
• WINNER: "Glory" from "Selma," Music and lyrics by John Legend and Common
• "Mercy Is" from "Noah," Music and lyrics by Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye
• "Opportunity" from "Annie," Music and lyrics by Greg Kurstin, Sia Furler, Will Gluck
• "Yellow Flicker Beat" from "The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1," Music and lyrics by Lorde

Best Score

• "The Imitation Game"
• WINNER: "The Theory of Everything"
• "Gone Girl"
• "Birdman"
• "Interstellar"

TELEVISION

Best TV Comedy or Musical

• "Girls"
• "Jane the Virgin"
• "Orange Is the New Black"
• "Silicon Valley"
• WINNER: "Transparent"

Best TV Drama

• WINNER: "The Affair"
• "Downton Abbey"
• "Game of Thrones"
• "The Good Wife"
• "House of Cards"

Best Actress in a TV Drama

• Claire Danes, "Homeland"
• Viola Davis, "How to Get Away with Murder"
• Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
• WINNER: Ruth Wilson, "The Affair"
• Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

Best Actor in a TV Drama

• Clive Owen, "The Knick"
• Liev Schreiber, "Ray Donovan"
• WINNER: Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"
• James Spader, "The Blacklist"
• Dominic West, "The Affair"
Best Actress in a TV Comedy
• Lena Dunham, "Girls"
• Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"
• WINNER: Gina Rodriguez, "Jane the Virgin"
• Taylor Schilling, "Orange Is the New Black"
Best Actor in a TV Comedy
• Louis CK, "Louie"
• Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"
• Ricky Gervais, "Derek"
• William H. Macy, "Shameless"
• WINNER: Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"
Best Miniseries or TV Movie
• WINNER: "Fargo"
• "The Missing"
• "The Normal Heart"
• "Olive Kitteridge"
• "True Detective"
Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie
• WINNER: Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Honorable Woman"
• Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show"
• Frances McDormand, "Olive Kitteridge"
• Frances O'Connor, "The Missing"
• Allison Tolman, "Fargo"
Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie
• Martin Freeman, "Fargo"
• Woody Harrelson, "True Detective"
• Matthew McConaughey, "True Detective"
• Mark Ruffalo, "The Normal Heart"
• WINNER: Billy Bob Thornton, "Fargo"
Best Supporting Actress in a TV Show, Miniseries or TV Movie
• Uzo Aduba, "Orange Is the New Black"
• Kathy Bates, "American Horror Story: Freak Show"
• WINNER: Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"
• Allison Janney, "Mom"
• Michelle Monaghan, "True Detective"
Best Supporting Actor in a TV Show, Miniseries or TV Movie
• WINNER: Matt Bomer, "The Normal Heart"
• Alan Cumming, "The Good Wife"
• Colin Hanks, "Fargo"
• Bill Murray, "Olive Kitteridge"
• Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"

Big Eyes gets my big applause

Big Eyes

PG-13, 1 hour 46 minutes

Grade:  A-

In a Nutshell:   Big Eyes is an EYE OPENING biopic about the pop art of Margaret Keane, as well as a social commentary of the male dominance of the 50’s and 60’s. 

Christopher Waltz plays the charismatic Walter Keane so well that you can’t tell if he’s simply a deluded and hopeful salesman or a manipulative monster. Amy Adams uses her innocent charm to portray the talented, subdued artist Margaret Keane.

I don’t normally like director Tim Burton’s dark style, but this film is more conventional, while still including his somewhat magical, warped flair, similar in taste to his earlier film Big Fish .

Uplifting Theme:

·         Honesty, integrity, talent, self-assurance, self-expression

Things I liked:

·         I’ve always liked Amy Adams.  She is fantastic in this.  I love the picture at the end of the movie with her and the real Margaret Keane, who is still alive!

·         It was fun seeing North Beach in San Francisco in the 60’s.

·         As a non-fiction author of 21 books, I completed related to the artists’ struggle to get work “out there” and have people appreciate it.

·         Krysten Ritter was perfectly cast as Margaret’s big-eyed best friend, DeeAnn

·         Margaret’s evolving hairdo’s reminded me of my own mother’s during that time period.

·         I thought Lana Del Rey’s theme song was perfect for the tone of the film.  “With your big eyes and your big lies.”

Things I didn’t like:

·         Margaret is portrayed as being forced into the fraud, but she definitely agreed to allow it to happen.  Yes, Margaret was conflicted, but the sting of dishonesty seemed to be somewhat mellowed with money.   Funny how that works.

·         It’s interesting how Walter was criticized for not having the real talent, but his marketing abilities were extraordinary, especially for the time.  He brought art to the masses at an affordable price and was a genius at merchandising.

Funny lines:

·         “I make things up for a living.  I’m a reporter.”  - Dick Nolan (played by Danny Huston)

·          “Expresso?  What’s that?  Is that like Reefer?”  - Margaret

·         “Walter Keane was not a subtle man.  Subtle doesn’t sell.” – Dick Nolan

·         “Quiet.  I’ll have you whacked. If you tell anyone, I’ll have you taken out.  I know people.  Remember Ben Ducci’s cousin, the liquor wholesaler?” – Walter

·         “Life imitating art…a crying Keane.” - Walter

Interesting lines:

·         “So, what’s that with the crazy, big eyes?” - Walter

“Well, I believe that you can see things in the eyes.  Eyes are the window to the soul.  Eyes are how I express my emotions.” –  Margaret

·         “When you look at me like that, I could fall hard.” – Walter

·         “Jane, don’t bother Mr. Keane.  You know creativity comes from within.” – Margaret

·         ‘You’re right!  It’s paradise!  Only God could create these colors!” – Margaret on her honeymoon in Hawaii

·         “I think people buy art because it touches them.” – Margaret

“Yeah, you are living in Fairy land.  People don’t get to discover anything.  They buy art because it’s in the right place at the right time.” – Walter

·         “It’s like a mirage….From a distance, you look like a painter, but up close there’s just not much there.” – Margaret

·         “The more you lie, the smaller you seem.” - Margaret

Tips for Parents:

·         Some profanity, including 1 F-Bomb.

·         There isn’t a lot of action, so some children will get bored.

Margaret and Walter lie to their daughter to protect the ruse.

 To learn more about their fascinating story, check these out: