Emmy 2011 Predictions

The Emmys air on FOX this Sunday evening.  I'm looking forward to the fashions and, of course, the awards themselves.  While I can't wait to watch, the Emmy's are actually my least favorite awards show of the major awards.  But, alas, I always get sucked in and so here are my predictions...

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Apparently I don't like comedies seems as how the only show I've seen that has been nominated is 30 Rock.  I guess I'm just a super serious person. So I'm going with Liz Lemon.  I mean Tina Fey.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Again, the only one I watch is 30 Rock.  I mean, yes, I've watched a few episodes of The Office, and I didn't find it funny.  (On a side note, Zombie just came on. Gotta love the 90s.) I am voting for Alec Baldwin, who I would have voted for anyways even if I did watch the other shows.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: The Modern Family characters.  They are both so great.  Maybe I should just flip a coin.  Heads: Julie Bowen.  Tails: Sofia Vergara.  Tails.  Sofia is my prediction.  But can I just add that I love that Kristen Wiig has been nominated for "various characters"?

(Brandon Flowers - Right Behind You.  Love, love, love).

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Oh wow.  All four of the men on Modern Family have been nominated.  All are great.  Although Mitchell drives me insane sometimes.  So that narrows it down to three.  This poses a problem (Lenny Kravitz - Rock and Roll is Dead).  Don't be confused.  I don't mean that Lenny Kravitz poses a problem.  I mean that I have three options, but a coin only has two sides.  So I guess I will just have to choose.  Umm.  We'll go with Phil.  Whose real name is Ty Burrell.

Outstanding Comedy Series: Modern Family

Outstanding Lead Actress is a Drama Series: (The Killers - Losing Touch).  This is hard.  I love many of the actresses on this list while at the same time have a love/hate relationship with their characters.  Peggy from Mad Men - I love that she doesn't take crap from the chauvinist pigs of the 1960s, but at the same time, why does she have to be so annoying.  And get a better haircut, please.  Mrs. Coach from FNL.  I love her y'alls and the fact that she wants to try to get the kids out of the hell hole that is Dillon, TX.  And now that I'm writing this, I realize that she doesn't really bother me that much.  She didn't back down when crazy Luke's e-van mom came after her, and she didn't put up with Coach's crap.  (Elvis Presley - Wooden Heart.  We may have hit a snag in the playlist).  Alicia Florrick - The Good Wife.  It's great that you went back to work after being the homemaker and going through your husband's sex scandal.  But seriously, Alicia.  Make up your mind.  Either give Peter a chance or divorce him.  And am I crazy to be on Peter's side for their last fight? So Kalinda slept with Peter.  Like Peter said, she wasn't Alicia's best friend when he slept with her.  I'm just saying.  I don't really know why the chick from The Killing was nominated, but she is giving gingers a voice, so I guess that is good.  After typing all of this out, I guess I'm going to have to go with Connie Britton, although I know she's not going to win it.  It will come down to Peggy or Alicia.  (Bruce - No Surrender.  Thanks Bruce, for coming through and saving the day).

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Here I am, scrolling through the nominees list and saying, Jon Hamm for sure.  Then what happens? I scroll down a bit more and see Timothy Olyphant for Justified.  I'm still going with Jon Hamm, but Olyphant is really fantastic as well.  And you never know if that really weird looking guy will come out of no where (and by really weird looking guy, I mean the oddly hilarious Steve Buscemi).

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: (Edgy cover of Who Wants to Live Forever).  Christina Hendricks.  CHRISTINA HENDRICKS!!!! Gingers of the world Unite! Christina, Christina, would you like to play the single mother to an angst-ridden, pre-adolescent ginger?

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: I was thinking to myself that I really want the guy that plays Jesse in Breaking Bad to win, and then I realized that Breaking Bad hasn't been nominated in any of the categories.  I then remembered that they were not eligible for any awards for some reason.  It's a shame really.  And now I've looked at the nominees.  WTF? How am I supposed to choose? I thought the Lead Actress/Drama was a hard decision.  I feel like you could just pull any one of these guys' name out of a hat, and that would be a fair assessment of the talent.  Okay.  Let's get serious.  John Slattery.  Obviously love him.  Don't know much about Andre Braugher.  Wolton Goggings - Gimmick guy from Justified! Who would have known that a criminal could be so charming.  Peter Dinklage looks like a midget, so he's bound to be funny.  Josh Charles.  I think he's fabulous.  He is just one part of a great love triangle on The Good Wife.  And then you have Alan Cumming, who plays the brilliant Eli Gold.  I'm narrowing it down to John Slattery and Alan Cumming, with my final vote to John Slattery.

And Finally (Because I don't care about mini-series/made for TV) Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men.

A Dog Returning to its Vomit...

I know I've been MIA for the summer.  I know I promised that I would review the movies I saw.  But guess what...I don't actually like to blog.  But rather than giving up, I like to keep telling myself that it will get better, so here it goes.  A quick rundown of both movies and books from the summer...

Something Borrowed: I liked it.  It wasn't as good as the book, but it was still entertaining. And I hate to say it, but I like John Krasinski now.  He was the one character that I loved, though that doesn't surprise me, as in the movie his character is a mashup of my two favs from the book. But I won't bore you with that.

Harry Potter: 7 Part 2 or whatever it's called.  I'm glad that the series is finally over, but seriously, the movie sucked.  It was incredibly anti-climatic.  Even the gimmick 3D glasses couldn't make up for it.

Sarah's Key: I saw this at what my kid brother likes to call the "edgy movie theatre." I don't think Shirlington qualifies as edgy, but to each his own I guess.  This was the first movie of two that I would see during the annual GJWHF held each August before I head back to school.  I hadn't seen previews for this movie until the week before it came out.  I was excited that they were making it into a movie.  I had read the book and remember liking it, but I really couldn't remember what happened in the story.  The movie was good.  It wasn't anything earth shattering, but it was a nice change of pace from the movies I had seen around the same time.  And any movie where French is the dominant language spoken is always a good decision.  After watching French movies I always wonder why I didn't keep up with my French classes.  It's such a beautiful language, even if I can't get the freaking accent down.  But back to the movie...I find Aidan Quinn attractive.  Enough said.

Midnight in Paris: LOVE LOVE LOVE! This was such a great movie. I may or may not have been the youngest person in the audience, but don't let that make you shy away from this movie.  Owen Wilson was back to his hilarious self.  The guy that always plays Tony Blair played a role that wasn't Tony Blair.  It was great to see many of the places that I visited when I went to Paris.  And although Owen Wilson was fantastic, I think the guy that played Hemingway stole the show.  I honestly can't say anything bad about this movie.  You need to see this the first chance that you get.  By far the best movie I saw this summer.

Now to books: Book Club didn't go as planned.  Me and the bros just couldn't take the ball-breaking that is Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask.  I only made it through about one-third of the book before giving up.  And we consulted the trusty 1001 Books to Read Before You Die to find out that it wasn't even in the book! So I had to go back through and revise the book list - at least for myself.  I ended up reading the following:

Slaughterhouse Five: This was my second Vonnegut, and it was pretty entertaining.  The thing I love most about Vonnegut's novels are that they are short and they are funny.

The Plague: This was pretty much an early 20th century version of Outbreak/The Hot Zone.  It was really interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.  This is my second Camus novel that I've read (The Stranger), and I have enjoyed them both.  I guess I should check out more of his work.  And it doesn't hurt that the artwork on the books is fantastic.

Far From the Madding Crowd: Poor Gabriel Oak.  The poor guy has to deal with such douches while he tries to win his woman's heart.  The guy just wants to be a simple farmer.  He wants his dirty woman, and he wants to tend to his sheep.  Instead, he has to deal with a creeper old man, and a British, 19th Century version of a Bachelorette contestant (thanks, Steve, for that great comparison).  Of course I loved this book.  This is my fifth Thomas Hardy, and I have loved everyone that I've read.  He just does such a great job of describing the human condition and all of the experiences and emotions that that may entail.  And spoiler: this one doesn't end in the tragic, downward spiral that is characteristic of Hardy novels.

In the Pond: This was the first book I've read that deals with Chinese culture.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  This book had very similar tones to 1984.

And finally...Brothers Karamozov: Talk about ball-breaking.  Talk about a masterpiece.  How is it that I could be so into something that is simultaneously killing me softly? I wasn't sure that I was going to finish it by the time that I left for school, but thanks to a few power outages, I was able to pull it off.  Russian literature really makes you step back and think about people and relationships.  And there is something just so enticing about snow and fur hats.

And there you have it.  The movies I saw in the theatre proper this summer and the debrief of the Christensen Summer Book Club.  I could say that I am going to continue writing reviews of movies and books as I see them, but I don't want to set myself up for another failure.  I will say, however, that the book I am currently reading is fantastic.  Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's is a great read.  I'm only one chapter in, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it.

Christensen Book Club Finalized List

Each summer, my brothers and I choose a handful of books to read. We don't ever really discuss the book like a traditional book club would; we just read the books. All of these books are pretty intense, so who knows if we will actually read them all. I will most definitely be reading other books that are easier to get through, but I like to check off a few of the books found in 1001 Books to Read Before You Die every year, and this is a way to do that.

This year, we originally started out with three books: one from Britian, one from the US, and one from Russia. However, one of my brothers suggested that we add a French and Chinese novel to complete the gimmick of a trip through the security council. Here's the book club list for 2011:

The Man in the Iron Mask

The Brothers Karamozov

Far from the Madding Crowd

This Side of Paradise

In the Pond

The Horse Whisperer

The other night, I had a dilemma. Coverage of the Royal Wedding was set to start at 3am EST. I had planned on staying up through the night to watch all the coverage, but at the same time, I wanted to take a nap, knowing that I would fall asleep during the coverage if I didn't. My brother and I decided that we would watch a movie before the coverage started, and if we happened to fall asleep during it, I set an alarm for 3 to make sure we were up for the wedding. I suggested The Horse Whisperer. Looking back, I should have suggested something that I could fall asleep during and not care. I didn't end up taking a nap, and I did end up falling asleep during the wedding. But more on that later.

Quick rundown of the movie: Scarlett Johansson plays a young, teenage girl (Grace) who loves horse riding. One snowy day, she is out riding with a friend when something goes tragically wrong. Grace and her horse are badly injured and Grace goes into a deep depression. Grace's mother Annie (played by Kristin Scott Thomas) is a type-A, micromanaging mother that enlists the help of Tom Booker (Robert Redford) to heal her daughter's horse, and in a way, Grace as well. This city-girl is very much out of place in the rugged Montana landscape. However, as Annie sees Tom work his magic on the horse, she stops worrying so much about her problems (a strained marriage, being fired from her job, etc.) and begins to enjoy life.

I love this movie. It had been years since I had seen it (probably since 1998 when it first came out) and I thought about it a few months ago as I was writing a paper for my Urban Sociology class. Then when I found out Robert Redford was in it (not to mention directed it), I just had to watch it. Like a friend of mine said, "Bobby R + Horses = Perfection." If I could sum up the movie into an equation, that would be it. If you were to peel back all of my complex layers of a cosmopolitan life, at my core you would find a country girl. Some of you may be laughing right now, thinking, "Jenny getting dirty? Country Girl? She HATES country music and any place that doesn't have a Barnes and Noble." True. But growing up in SoJo requires you to have a love for a bit of country. I would love to have a care-free life up in a cabin in the mountains (as long as I could still have my TV and the occasional trip into a city for a shopping spree for clothes and books.) Although I never really got into becoming an equestrian and can count the number of times I have ridden a horse on one hand, I have always had a soft spot for horses. This movie hit that soft spot just right.

Anyways, back to the review...Scarlett Jo does a great job of playing the moodie teenager. Yes, she just went through a traumatic experience, but she still acts like a privileged brat for quite a bit of the movie. The landscape of Montana is gorgeous. The story itself is entertaining. And of course you have Robert Redford. He's quite good-looking and looks even better up on a horse. He's a great actor, and he is in his traditional role of a character sticking it to the man. (Challenge: name me a movie where RR doesn't stick it to the man.) If you can get past the rather graphic accident at the beginning of the movie, then you will enjoy it. (During the accident, my brother yelled at me, "This is horrible! Why are you making me watch this?!" Don't worry though; he ended up loving the movie.) Warning though (besides the graphic accident): It's your traditional open-ended Robert Redford ending, so don't expect to have any closure.

The Lion King

My brother and I decided to watch a movie yesterday to really check out the new sound system. A few weeks earlier, we had discussed with our kid brother the movies we believed that everyone should have their own copy of. We came up with: Spy Game, Top Gun, Legends of the Fall, and The Lion King. After this discussion, I really wanted to watch TLK again. It had been years since my last viewing, but TLK has always had a special place in my heart. It's one of the movies from my childhood that is actually a normal kids movie. (My other favorites as a kid included Beetlejuice, Raising Arizona, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.) As much as I love Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast, I have to say that TLK is the best Disney movie ever made. I challenge you to come up with a movie that is better.

Where to even begin about what I love about TLK. First, it's a great storyline. Anything that is loosely based on Hamlet is bound to be fantastic. The plot is very simple and yet so intriguing and inspiring at the same time. I always cry when Mufasa dies. (Uhh, I guess I should have mentioned spoiler alerts, but if you haven't seen TLK yet as a 20-something year old individual, then I think you have bigger problems.) I always thought that I was in the minority that I would always cry during this scene no matter what, but after talking to other individuals, I learned that I'm not the only one that sobs when the King dies. The story just makes me want to be a better person.

Second, TLK contains fantastic music. I love Elton John. As strange as he is, he can make some damn good music. The opening of the movie starting right off with Circle of Life is wonderful. I found myself throughout all of the songs singing along in my head, remembering all of the words even after all of these years. And the filler music is composed by Hans Zimmer, composer extraordinaire. Basically Elton John + Hans Zimmer = Perfection.

Finally, the all-star cast. I have to admit that knowing that adult Nala is voiced by the same person that plays Lucas' mom in One Tree Hill really ruined Nala for me. However, Nala is a nagging chick - (Don't be confused - I'm using slang. I don't mean that Nala is a baby chicken. She's a lionness.) - anyways, so I guess it's fitting to have a person I picture as nagging being the voice of a nagging character. So Moira Kelly is annoying, but she is counterbalanced by so many great people: James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, and even Rowan Atkinson. And of course, there is Jeremy Irons as Scar. If you don't know this already, I have a strange obsession with Jeremy Irons' voice. It's just so sexy. So obviously, it's a huge plus that he is a voice, even if it is for a creepy character.

So the moral of the story is: The Lion King is the best Disney movie ever made, and if you haven't seen it, then you need to find a copy ASAP to fill a huge void that you may not know you even have.

Let the Summer Begin!

The awards season has come and gone this year, but does that mean that entertainment has gone with it? Of course not! We are just about to start the mindless summer movies, which are usually bound to be entertaining on the least possible level. All anyone really wants in the summer is to be in an air-conditioned theatre where they can watch a movie with a simple plot and escape from their lives for a few hours. I love going to the movies during the summer, but sadly movie ticket prices are ridiculously high back East and it seems like a waste to go to the actual theatre when you can have the DVD just a few weeks later for about the same price as two tickets and you can watch it however many times you want. Last year, my brothers and I decided that we could go to a maximum of three movies in the theatre. (My choices were Robin Hood, Salt, Knight and Day.) I don't know if that will still hold true this summer or if it was just a one summer only gimmick. Anyways, what I'm saying in a roundabout way is that I will be doing movie reviews this summer to fill the void until the next round of awards shows. In addition to newly released movies, I will also be reviewing movies that I just watch at home. My mom got a new Bose surround sound system - finally making my dad relinquish his hold on his 30-year old box speakers - and it's amazing. Movie watching has reached a new level.

So be sure to check in every now and then to read my thoughts on various movies AND - wait for it....BOOK REVIEWS! And I'm not talking your easy beach read either. I mean classic lit. The Christensen book club will commence in a few short weeks, so you will have the honor of also reading book reviews. I know; it's an odd combination. Popular block-buster movies with classic lit. But that's just who I am. Trashy and Classy - although I hope I'm more classy than trashy.

And a note. I realize that I spell theatre the wrong way instead of theater. But it's something that I carried over from my time across the pond, and it's something that I haven't really tried to get over. So no, I'm not stupid. I'm just stubborn.

Predictions Addendum

I am switching my vote in two categories:

Best Director: David Fincher

Best Editing: 127 Hours

May I also add that all of these are just predictions and what I think will win. There are many categories where I would rather see someone else win, but in the words of the Philospher Jagger: You can't always get what you want.

Oscar Predictions

That time of year is here at last. I bought some Junior Mints and put them in the freezer so they are all ready to go for tomorrow night. I'm excited to see who takes home the awards. I am, of course, pulling for a big night for The King's Speech. What can I say? I love the Brits. I haven't seen any of the documentaries, so that was all guessing. Here are the predictions:

Best Picture: The King's Speech (Can I just take the time to express my annoyance with how the academy decided to broaden this field to 10 possible winners? It seems like a complete joke. I hope that they go back to 5 in the coming years.)

Best Actor: Colin Firth

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale

Best Actress: Natalie Portman

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (although Amy Adams' performance in The Fighter was incredible as well).

Best Animated Film: I would like to see The Illusionist win, but I know the award will go to Toy Story 3.

Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland

Best Cinematography: True Grit

Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland

Best Director: Tom Hooper

Best Documentary: Waste Land

Best Documentary Short: The Warriors of Qiugang

Best Editing: Black Swan

Best Foreign Language Film: Biutiful

Best Makeup: Barney's Version

Best Score: The King's Speech

Best Song: "If I Rise," 127 Hours

Best Animated Short: Day & Night

Best Live-Action Short: The Crush

Best Sound Editing: Inception

Best Sound Mixing: The King's Speech

Best Visual Effects: Inception

Best Original Screenplay: The King's Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network

And there you have it.

Golden Globes - And the Winner is...

8:52pm - Oh good. A standing ovation for Michael D.

8:54pm - Lol. Michael Douglas cracking jokes about cancer. "There's gotta be an easier way to get a standing ovation." Drum roll please...

8:55pm - Social Network. Wow. Again, I am surprised. I guess this really means that I need to see it. I mean, I know that it has 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it has definitely met the 15/85 test.

Golden Globes Segment 13

8:46pm - YAY!!! I really love Colin Firth. He's absolutely brilliant and fantastic.

8:48pm - Woah! Guy Pearce! He would play the Nazi-sympathizing brother to King George.

8:49pm - Colin Firth's wife is gorgeous in person. She had the most incredible hat on when I saw her.

8:50pm - The final stretch. After this, I have to watch some Chuck.

Golden Globes Segment 12

8:32pm - Where is Leo? Why isn't he introducing Inception? Although I have to say that this guy has come a long way since 10 Things I Hate About You.

8:33pm - Natalie Portman. I'm happy for her. Could they have put her in a worse spot though? Poor her having to squeeze through all those seats with her baby bump. I'm not a fan of the dress. Lol. She's insane. Making jokes about her boyfriend (fiance?).

8:37pm - Ricky's back. I really can't tell if Hollywood likes him or loathes him. Maybe they like him until he crosses them.

8:39pm - The Kids Are All Right. It's got a great cast. Mark Ruffalo. He's got great hair. And I will never forget his great performance in Zodiac.

Golden Globes Segment 11

I skipped Segment 10 and did Segment 9 twice. My bad...

8:24pm - Will Johnny Depp win? and if so, for which movie?

8:25pm - Paul Giammatti. Gimmick. I still need to see Fred Claus. Godiva chocolates! What is he even rambling about?

Golden Globes Segment 9

8:14pm - The Social Network. That was a surprise. But I'm quite thrilled that Christopher Nolan didn't win.

8:16pm - January Jones! Talk about the ultimate cleavage triangle.

8:17pm - AHHHHH! WHY? A little bit of me just died. I don't even know what to say.

Golden Globes Segment 9

7:47pm - White Collar's Matt Bomer! I can't wait for it to come back on this week. And he is just so beautiful.

7:48pm - Oh good. I was concerned when the announcer couldn't even get the name out she was so excited that it would be pepperface from Glee. The Big Bang Theory. Can anyone tell me anything about it?

7:49pm - The stars look bored to tears. And Jon Hamm is so gorgeous. I'd be one of Don Draper's mistresses.

7:49pm - JEREMY IRONS!!!! He really has such a sexy voice. I stayed in Westminster Abbey for at least an hour longer just to hear him narrate. Apparently I'm not the only person who thinks Jeremy Irons is wonderful.

Golden Globes Segment 8

7:36pm - In a Better World. Denmark just decided to sneak in there and take it.

7:38pm - The King's Speech. I really can't wait to see it. And I love the Brits.

7:40pm - Yes. Crazy Rachel doesn't win.

Golden Globes Segment 7

7:23pm - Kenneth. He's so stupid.

7:25pm - The Social Network. I guess I need to go see it. I mean, if it's the movie of a generation, I don't want to feel left out.

7:28pm - "Elite is not a bad word!"

7:29pm - That's not Julia Stiles. Jane Lynch? Seriously? Am I the only person out there that doesn't like Glee? Am I the weird one? Because if liking Glee equates to being cool, then I guess I don't want to be cool. Lea Michelle really needs to get a hold of herself. I need to watch the Arrested Development episodes where Jane Lynch is Pop-Pop's love interest.

Golden Globes Segment 6

*My mom just emailed me wondering why I hadn't posted during the last half hour, so I will go back to posting the individual segments.

7:09pm - Who will be the Hollywood icon? Stalone. Ok. I can see that.

7:10pm - The Fighter. I'm sure it's fantastic while having the potential of being over-the-top serious.

7:11pm - Could this chick be any more dramatic? "THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH!" Al Pacino is the winner. Gimmick.

7:15pm - Again with the drama - The Pillars of the EARTH. Clare Daines. Congratulations. My eyes are burning from how bright her dress is. But that doesn't mean I don't like it.

Golden Globes Segments 3, 4, 5

6:30pm - Helena Bonham Carter! That was some hairdo.

6:33pm - Kevin Bacon's a midget. Or else the chick is a giant. Steve Buschemi. I should have know. Sidenote - he was great in Fargo.

6:35pm - Table 114. Martin Scrocese. I definitely need to check this out.

6:36pm - Boardwalk Empire! I knew it would sneak in and take the win. Why do I feel the need to be loyal to SterlingCooperDraperPryce?

6:38pm - "Holy effing crap!" Scrocese in London producing a movie? Intriguing.

6:39pm - Angelina fixing Brad's tie. Tender.

SEGMENT 4

6:44pm - Steve: You need a haircut chick! (In reference to Tangled).

6:47pm YES!! My first correct prediction. You Haven't Seen the Last of Me! I knew I couldn't go wrong with Cher.

6:48pm - Christina A has really porked out in the last few years.

6:49pm - Social Network - Original Score.

SEGMENT 5

6:55pm - Justin Bieber. I wonder what will happen when his balls drop and he no longer has his famous voice.

6:55pm - The Illusionist looks fantastic! Why haven't I heard of it before now?

6:56pm - Toy Story 3 - I'm glad to see that Tom Hanks has gone back to his roots and become a comedian again. Hopefully this decade he won't take super serious roles and bore us all to tears.

6:57pm - Brad and Angie - they just look so happy.

6:59pm - RDJ. I really love him.

7:01pm - Annette Bening! Yay! She's so great. I love that everyone gave her a standing ovation. And I love her dress. It's really gimmicky and age appropriate. Mark Ruffalo! Annette Bening and Warren Beaty are still together! there is hope for Hollywood marriages!

Golden Globes Segment 2

6:16pm - I'm starting to get bored "tweeting" this.

6:17pm - Carlos. Again, I've lost. But Carlos looks fantastic. I need to look into seeing it.

6:20pm - Ashton Kutcher's dad. That's funny.

6:22pm - I should have seen Red.

6:22pm - What is that dress? Leighton Meester. What were you thinking?

6:23pm - Should I start watching Hawaii Five-O? ahh. Glee. I'm not sure what to think. At least it is the one character that I like. So I suppose I should take comfort in that. The co-stars are more emotional then he is! Get a hold of yourselves!

UPDATE

Christian Bale is British! I had no idea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_bale

Golden Globes Segment 1

I really love the Golden Globes. It just looks like such a party.

6:00pm - Ricky Gervais. I know that some people just don't think he's funny, but I think he's hilarious. I'm happy to see that they still have the same gimmick music. Charlie Sheen - Breakfast.

6:01pm - Rubbish. It's a funny word.

6:03pm - He drops truth bombs. And I can feel the tension in the room. Steve Buschemi is really weird looking, but a great actor.

6:04pm - Mel Gibson jokes. Still funny and not too soon apparently.

6:06pm - Christian Bale is the winner. I failed. Maybe I should do a double feature of The King's Speech and The Fighter tomorrow. And now that I know Christian Bale is actually British, I'm much more impressed with his Batman voice. Strange bromance between CB and Mark Wahlberg.

6:08pm - He's still going. "Stop censoring me!!"

6:09pm - Claire from Modern Family - I like her dress. Katie Segal. I lost once again. I clearly am not doing well at all. Although I have to say I wish they would show a little clip of whatever they are nominated for.

6:12pm - The music means you're supposed to stop talking.

6:13pm - Commercial Break

Pre-Show Red Carpet Interviews

5:30pm - I love Amy Adams' dress. Justin Bieber is a douche. And I wonder how long this red carpet pre-show has been going on...

5:31pm - Robert Pattinson is a bigger douche than Justin Bieber - just with a funny voice. Cheers!

5:33pm - COLIN FIRTH!! He really is so gorgeous. "Mr. Firth..."

5:34pm - Kevin Spacey is an American treasure. He did a great job in the stage play I saw in London.

5:35pm - Kevin, you're boring me to tears.

Sidenote - I can't wait to get the US Weekly this Friday to see all of the dresses. It's always interesting to see if I like the same ones as the majority of the population. I will be sure to post my Top 5 (or 10) dresses of the night...along with the worst.

5:40pm - I'm so happy that Michael Douglas is doing better. His voice does sound a little different though.

5:42pm - Jennifer Love Hewitt's dress is horrid! She's still stuck in the 90s.

5:43pm - Woah woah woah...why is Christian Bale talking in an accent? Am I missing something here? Is he staying in a role or does he actually have an accent?

5:44pm - Michelle Williams - epic fail on the dress. I realize you like to be indie and all, but that dress just does not work.

5:45pm - Who's the biggest douche of the last decade? Carson Daly? I think yes.

5:49pm - Anne Hathaway. She's so annoying. And it looks like she's lost quite a lot of weight. I'm not feeling the dress. The shoulderpads are a little odd.

5:50pm - I'm happy that RDJ pulled his life together and stopped being a junkie.

5:51pm - Jimmy Fallon. He's not actually funny, but at the same time he's hilarious.

5:53pm - Technical Difficulties. For NBC, not me.

5:55pm - Whatever this strange lizard animation movie with Johnny Depp and Isla Fisher is, I'm strangely intrigued.

5:56pm - Rango. Thant's the movie.

5:57pm - We are so close! I can't wait. January Jones - "Banging body."

Golden Globe Awards Predictions

I feel like a total fish out of water because I have only seen four or five of the movies that are up for nomination, and there are a few new TV shows that I haven't gotten around to watching yet, but I am still going to make some predictions for tonight.

Best Motion Picture - Drama

I've got to go with The King's Speech to support my man Colin Firth. The only one of the movies up for nomination that I have seen is Inception, and I hope beyond hope that it doesn't win. Sure, it was an entertaining movie, but it was purely a summer escape movie. Even though I haven't seen the other movies, I can guarantee that at least one of them is better than Inception. (FYI - I am seeing The King's Speech tomorrow seems as how it has finally been released in my local area.)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

I'm going to narrow it down to Natalie Portman in Black Swan and Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole. I've heard that both Portman and Kidman's performances are among their best, but I'm going with Natalie Portman for the win.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

James Franco's portrayal of Aron Ralston getting stranded in the middle of Utah was one of the most disturbing performances I have ever seen. It just goes to show that Franco is incredibly talented in that he can be playing the funniest drug dealer of the decade one moment and then switch to sawing his own arm off and making it seem realistic the next. Not to mention his stint on General Hospital as a serial killer named Franco. With that said, I have to go with my man Colin Firth. I will forever be under his magic spell since seeing him in London.

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

It's embarrassing that I've seen more movies in this category than in the Drama category seems as how I'm a super serious individual. I saw Alice in Wonderland - which was entertaining, but a little disappointing - and The Tourist - which was a pleasant surprise. To those of you that didn't like The Tourist, let me just ask you this one question: Did you go into the movie expecting a serious spy action film, or did you realize that it was a comedy? If you went in thinking it was going to be an action film, then of course you would be disappointed. As for the winner tonight, I'm going with The Kids Are All Right. I wanted to see this, but I just never got around to it.

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

Even though I didn't see it, Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right. Please don't let it be Googly-Eyed Anne Hathaway.

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

Johnny Depp - Alice in Wonderland. He and Tim Burton have such great chemistry and I always look forward to any collaborations between the two. And Depp's depiction of the Mad Hatter was one of the highlights of the movie.

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

Amy Adams - The Fighter. I want the Ginger to win. And I'll have you know that my brother and I spontaneously decided to go to The Fighter one Friday, but ended up not going when we realized that the next show was in three hours. That wouldn't have been very spontaneous and would have lost all gimmick value.

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

This is a tough one. The field is full of great actors. The only performance I saw was Jeremy Renner in The Town (fabulous film BTW), but I doubt he will win. I would say Christian Bale for The Fighter or Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech, but I wouldn't be surprised if Michael Douglas got the award after beating his throat cancer. Final prediction: Geoffrey Rush.

Best Animated Feature Film

I didn't see any of these seems as how I don't have any children, but I heard everyone rave over Toy Story 3, so I'll go with that.

Best Foreign Language Film

Russia's The Edge

Best Director - Motion Picture

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan. If Christopher Nolan wins, I am going to be beyond disappointed in the Hollywood Foreign Press. The guy relies way too much on dramatic music to create tension.

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

I'm narrowing it down to Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman, with the final prediction Danny Elfman.

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

hmmmm... You Haven't Seen the Last of Me sounds promising.

TV NOMINATIONS!!! Finally (to all that don't know, I'm a TV junkie).

Best Television Series - Drama

I love Dexter, Mad Men and The Good Wife. The only reason I'm hesitating on predicting Mad Men is that I have heard some praise for Boardwalk Empire and I could see that sneaking in at the last moment. In the end, I'm rooting for my peeps at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama

I love me my Jon Hamm. However, I'm going with Brian Cranston for Breaking Bad.

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical

Modern Family. It's disturbing how much the Dunfey's remind me of my own family. And if Glee wins, I might go insane. I hate to break it to all you Glee lovers, but the show isn't actually good, and the renditions are mediocre at best. Finn looks like he walks around with a stick up his butt, and he is a horrible singer. Rachel is absolutely insane. The only character that I really like is Kurt, and I think it's more because he reminds me of a friend from high school. So the lesson is, if you like Glee, reach deep down into your soul and ask yourself if you actually think it's good. When you watch it, does that hour fly by or does the time never seem to pass? And 30 Rock, sadly, is not nearly as funny as it has been in seasons past. Where is Tracy Jordan saying, "Would you like some grenadine or some fried rice?"?

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

Even after me just dissing 30 Rock in the above prediction, I have to go with Tina Fey.

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

Alec Baldwin. He's a genius.

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

I'm going to say The Pacific. From the sounds of it, it's an edgy version of Band of Brothers. And it was the hot Christmas gift for Dads this year.

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

Jennifer Love Hewitt. She's making a comeback!

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

Dennis Quaid for The Special Relationship. My dad raves about this movie, so I can't wait to see Dennis Quaid portray Bill Clinton. My only question is: where is the guy that always plays Tony Blair? I feel like he should be rewarded sooner or later for what seems to be like a lifetime of portraying Tony Blair in various productions.

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

Sofia Vergara - Modern Family

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

Chris Noth - The Good Wife. You can't go wrong with a veteran of the industry.

Twitter is Out to Get Me!

I've always loved watching the awards shows. I think I really loved it as a kid to see the dresses and the glitz and glamour, but in the recent years, as I've actually watched many of the movies nominated, it has been great to watch the best actors and actresses of our day get rewarded for their talent. Within the last year or so, I would always have my computer out and do facebook status updates with certain things I was happy or surprised about during the evening of the show. I would have at least twenty status updates in the span of three hours, and I'm sure it drove many of my "friends" crazy, leading them to hide me from their newsfeeds. Steve joked that I should get a Twitter account to use just for awards season, and I would laugh and say that's a stupid idea. However, the idea began to grow on me. It would be a complete gimmick, and we all know that I love a good gimmick.

Earlier this week, as I was doing the daily rounds of reading online news, I saw that the Golden Globes are this Sunday. I was beyond excited and decided that I would indeed start a Twitter account in celebration of the season. Now I just had to come up with an account name. I needed it to be unique, but not so off the wall that I would regret it down the road. It took me back to the '90s and early '00s when email began to take off. You would come up with a great gimmick name, only to regret it years down the road when you wanted to be taken more seriously - aka MissVieve. So I enlisted the help of my family. Steve came up with jenny7. Way too boring. He then countered with crazychick1123. That had some potential. My mom came up with mylifehasbeenreducedtotwitteringaboutawardsshows. Hmmm... Steve came up with a few more: goldenglobetweeter, globetweeter. JC even chimed in with a few. I have to say, I was excited for what JC would come up with. He is really good at coming up with user names. However, this is what he had to offer this time: globetweeter1123, goldenticket1123, majoraward7, gleeaward7 (I have no idea why this was a suggestion seems as how I loathe Glee), and appalachaward. (That last one was pretty clever.) Steve mocked him by saying, "Usually there are not wrong answers in brainstorming, but we are getting close to an exception." JC came back with trailerparktweet and doublewide7. I have to admit that trailerparktweet was a good one.

Now that I had some ideas, I went to Twitter.com to see if any of these were available. Obviously mylifehasbeenreducedtotwitteringaboutawardsshows had no chance of being taken, but I was worried about a character limit. Sure enough, I could only get to mylifehasbeenre. Complete disaster. My next try: globetweeter. Already taken. Trailerparktweets. Still too long. I started to get frustrated. What kind of a site has a 15 character limit? I couldn't even use my full name if I wanted to. I didn't want to settle for some stupid name because the more I thought about mylifehasbeenreducedtotwitteringaboutawardsshow, the more the name grew on me. It really sums up my life in a nutshell. So, I decided to start a blog instead, and "A Day in the Life of an Awards Show Junkie" was born. Be sure to check in on award show nights to see what I have to say. And who knows - maybe I will end up blogging more than just award shows. Maybe I'll end up doing book reviews...