69th Golden Globes: Won vs. Predicted

No report for this show. Mildly boring, Ricky didn't deliver as much as we were hoping. Here's how I faired:

Best Supporting Mini-Series or TV Movie Actor:

Won and Predicted: Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones

Best Supporting Mini-Series or TV Movie Actress:

Predicted: Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)

Won: Jessica Lange - American Horror Story

Best Mini-Series or TV Movie Actor

Won and Predicted: Idris Elba - Luther

Best Mini-Series or TV Movie Actress

Won and Predicted: Kate Winslet - Mildred Pierce

Best Mini-Series or TV Movie

Won and Predicted: Downton Abbey

Best TV Actor - Comedy or Musical

Predicted: Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock

Won: Matt LeBlanc - Episodes

Best TV Actress - Comedy or Musical

Predicted: Zooey Deschanel - New Girl

Won: Laura Dern - Enlightened

Best TV Show - Comedy or Musical

Won and Predicted: Modern Family

Best TV Actor - Drama

Predicted: Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad

Won: Kelsey Grammer - Boss

Best TV Actress - Drama

Won and Predicted: Claire Danes - Homeland

Best TV Show - Drama

Predicted: Game of Thrones

Won: Homeland

Best Original Song

Predicted: "The Living Proof" - The Help

Won: "Masterpiece" - W.E.

Best Original Score

Predicted: Hugo

Won: The Artist

Best Screenplay

Predicted: Moneyball

Won: Midnight in Paris

Best Director

Predicted: The Artist

Won: Hugo

Best Supporting Actor

Won and Predicted: Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Best Supporting Actress

Predicted: Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Won: Octavia Spencer - The Help

Best Foreign Language Film

Won and Predicted: A Separation

Best Animated Film

Predicted: Rango

Won: The Adventures of Tintin

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy

Won and Predicted: Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy

Predicted: Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids

Won: Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

Best Picture - Musical or Comedy

Won and Predicted: The Artist

Best Actor - Drama

Won and Predicted: George Clooney - The Descendants

Best Actress - Drama

Predicted: Rooney Mara - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Won: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

Best Picture - Drama

Predicted: Hugo

Won: The Descendants

Overall: 11/25. So fail. Oh well, I'll have better luck in February.

69th Golden Globes Predictions

Ah, here we are, again. It seems the one thing I do consistently is make predictions on what will win at awards shows. And as customary, its my warm-up round, with the Golden Globes! Usually I do horrible (especially in the television section), though last year I nearly aced the film category. We'll see. Nevertheless, here are the nominations, along with my predictions!

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Televsion

Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones

Paul Giamatti - Too Big To Fail

Guy Pearce - Mildred Pierce

Tim Robbins - Cinema Vertie

Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jessica Lange - American Horror Story

Kelly MacDonald - Boardwalk Empire

Maggie Smith - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)

Sofia Vergara - Modern Family

Evan Rachel Wood - Mildred Pierce

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Hugh Bonneville - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)

Idris Elba - Luther

William Hurt - Too Big To Fail

Billy Nighy - Page Eight

Dominic West - The Hour

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Romola Garai - The Hour

Diane Lane - Cinema Verite

Elizabeth McGovern - Downton Abbey (Masterpiece)

Emily Watson - Appropriate Adult

Kate Winslet - Mildred Pierce

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Cinema Verite (HBO)

Downton Abbey (Masterpiece) (PBS)

The Hour (BBC America)

Mildred Pierce (HBO)

Too Big to Fail (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical

Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock

David Duchovny - Californication

Johnny Galecki - The Big Bang Theory

Thomas Jane - Hung

Matt LeBlanc - Episodes

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical

Laura Dern - Enlightened

Zooey Deschanel - New Girl

Tina Fey - 30 Rock

Laura Linney - The Big C

Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical

Enlightened (HBO)

Episodes (Showtime)

Glee (Fox)

Modern Family (ABC)

New Girl (Fox)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

Steve Buscemi - Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad

Kelsey Grammar - Boss

Jeremy Irons - The Borgias

Damian Lewis - Homeland

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Claire Danes - Homeland

Mireille Enos - The Killing

Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Madeleine Stowe - Revenge

Callie Thorne - Necessary Roughness

Best Television Series - Drama

American Horror Story (FX)

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

Boss (Starz)

Game of Thrones (HBO)

Homeland (Showtime)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"Hello Hello" - Gnomeo & Juliet

"The Keeper" - Machine Gun Preacher

"Lay Your Head Down" - Albert Nobbs

"The Living Proof" - The Help

"Masterpiece" - W.E.

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

Ludovic Bource - The Artist

Abel Korzeniowski - W.E.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Howard Shore - Hugo

John Williams - War Horse

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne, Jim Rash - The Descendants

George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides of March

Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

Stan Chervin, Aaaron Sorkin, Steve Zaillian - Moneyball

Best Director - Motion Picture

Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

George Clooney - The Ides of March

Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

Alexander Payne - The Descendants

Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn

Albert Brooks - Drive

Jonah Hill - Moneyball

Viggo Mortensen - A Dangerous Method

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Berenice Bejo - The Artist

Jessica Chastain - The Help

Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer - The Help

Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Best Foreign Language Film

The Flowers of War (China)

In the Land of Blood and Honey (US)

The Kid with a Bike (Belgium)

A Separation (Iran)

The Skin I Live In (Spain)

Best Animated Feature Film

The Adventures of Tintin

Arthur Christmas

Cars 2

Puss in Boots

Rango

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Brendan Gleeson - The Guard

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50

Ryan Gosling - Crazy, Stupid, Love

Owen Wilson - Midnight in Paris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

Jodie Foster - Carnage

Charlize Theron - Young Adult

Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids

Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

Kate Winslet - Carnage

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

50/50

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Midnight in Paris

My Week With Marilyn

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

George Clooney - The Descendants

Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar

Michael Fassbender - Shame

Ryan Gosling - The Ides of March

Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis - The Help

Rooney Mara - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Maryl Streep - Iron Lady

Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Descendants

The Help

Hugo

The Ides of March

Moneyball

War Horse

After the show I'll post how I did!

Troll 2 (1990)

I am in no way a connoisseur of terrible cinema. Sure I've beheld the cinematic atrocity that is Plan 9 From Outer Space because one simply kind of has to. I focus on seeing films that are supposed to be good or sound good, but I have to admit it is refreshing to see an awful film every once in awhile, if only to remind me why those other films actually are so good. If excellence is the norm then you quickly become hard to impress, until you witness something so horrible that you run back into the arms of Tokyo Story because now you feel it is a masterpiece compared to what you just saw.

But here's the thing about most "bad" movies: they are unforgivably boring. MST3K has remedied this problem by adding their uneven though often funny commentary to the lowest budget films in existence. But these films, if viewed without all the smart assery, would bore you to tears and you would more then likely switch them off after half an hour. The truly best of the worst actually somehow manage to entertain you on some perverse level, and keep you entertained throughout the entire thing.

Think about it. The worst films you've ever seen are films that made you angry and are films you would never consider watching again. They are usually films that upset you on some level, or just simply bore you to tears, or rape your senses. You don't think of the worst film ever with pleasure, you think of it with disdain, you try and erase it from your memory.

Troll 2 is certainly nowhere near the worst film ever made. But it is the best worst film I have ever seen. The acting is awful, the plot pathetic, the dialogue dreadful, and the effects abominable. All these elements come together to create a film you truly have to see to believe it exists. It's so bad, its actually enjoyable somehow.

And I think one of the key elements to Troll 2's success is that the plot actually moves. Scenes are not drawn out, there are a variety of characters to keep the film from dragging (especially when the protagonist is so vexing). The film makes up the rules as it goes, and while normally I would be offended by this, here I was fascinated.

I don't really want to get into the specifics of the plot, or point out the characters, or anything like that. I'm actually somewhat disappointed in myself for watching Best Worst Movie, the documentary made by Troll 2's child star about the cult following the film has developed, because it spoiled some of the delights the film contained (though certainly not all). Best Worst Movie and Troll 2 make a good double feature, and which one you watch first is irrelevant; though the film does show some of the best scenes, it leaves one of the most over-the-top characters off screen for you to discover for yourself. But make sure you watch the films together. They make a good companion piece.