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  

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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"

How to Train Your Dragon 2 sequel worth the wait

Movie Title:  How to Train Your Dragon 2

PG, 1 hour 45 minutes

Grade:  A-

In a Nutshell:  Everyone in the family will enjoy this adorable DreamWorks sequel by Dean DeBlois.  It impresses with FANTASTIC textures and surfaces: fur, leather, hair, metal, wrinkles on skin, dragon scales, tears, chin hairs, etc.  It’s simply amazing how far animation has come.  I didn’t even see it in 3D!

The narrator begins “With Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger.”  And so it is.  A good sequel builds upon the solid foundation of its original movie, adding new layers and fun surprises.  This movie does just that.  The audience has grown up since the 2010 original, and this sequel has too, developing a rich story that provides substance to the silliness.

Uplifting theme:  There is an environmental message about caring for animals against evil human predators.  Just so you know, no dragons were harmed in the making of this film. Family and forgiveness are also addressed, as well as courage and love.

Things I liked:

• There are several running gags that weave throughout the movie.  One features  Ruffnut, the Viking twin sister of Tuffnut, as she falls in love with Erit, a new Viking with bulging biceps.  She's not the least bit feminine and is always fighting with her twin brother, so to see her swoon is unexpected and delightful. She is voiced by the talented Kristen Wiig.  T.J. Miller voices her twin brother, who also plays the comic relief in the newest installment in the Transformers movie franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction .    
  
• Another running gag features adorable sheep who are used for a dragon version of Harry Potter’s Quidditch.  Hilarious.
• I love movies that take time to provide random and humorous details.  Icicles on mustaches.  Freckles.  Beards braided with leather bows.
• I want a pair of Astrid’s cute, fuzzy boots.
• The many air scenes will seriously make you want to fly.
• “The Dancing and the Dreaming” song with lyrics by Shane MacGowan and music by Jon Thor Birgisson and John Powell is very sweet and feels like a believable song of Viking ancestry.
• I adore Cate Blanchett.  Other voice talents in the film are Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Craig Ferguson, and Kit Harington.
• Sure, the flick is fairly predictable, but it's still a fun ride.

Things I didn’t like:

• Who names their baby “Hiccup”?  A Viking, I guess.
• SPOILER ALERT:  As awesome as dragons are, I would never leave my baby boy to go live with dragons instead. 
• Drago.  Really?  They couldn’t think of a more creative name?

Did you know?

• Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois were not the original directors, but were later hired to create a movie that would appeal to the rug rats AND their parents.
• Did you know these “Dragon” movies were inspired by a 2003 novel?  Astrid (played by America Ferrara) is a character created just for the movie, as she wasn’t even in the original novel.
• The character voice of “Toothless” was created by mixing sounds from horses, elephants, tigers, and even the voice of the Sound Designer, Randy Thom.
• A lot of the scenery is based on real places in Iceland and the Pacific Coast.

Interesting lines:

• “Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with.”  - Stoick
• “You have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon.”  - Valka

Funny lines:

• “Soil my britches!”  - Erit
• “Me likey!” – Ruffnut when she sees Erit for the first time.
• Ruffnut says “Erit was the man of my dreams.”  Gobber says “But Baby, I grew facial hair for you!”
• Astrid:  “That’s your mother?”

Hiccup: “Now you know where I get my dramatic flair!”

Tips for parents:  There is some fighting and a few scary dragons, but otherwise, even young children should enjoy watching this film.

For your family's collection: