2021 Golden Globes Preview

 

Television

Best Limited/Anthology Series or TV Movie

"Normal People"

"The Queen's Gambit"

"Small Axe"

"The Undoing"

"Unorthodox"

This seems like an easy choice. Maybe "Unorthodox" pulls off an upset, but all the hype is going with The Queen's Gambit.

Best Actress, Supporting

Gillian Anderson "The Crown"

Helena Bonham Carter "The Crown"

Julia Garner "Ozark"

Annie Murphy "Schitt's Creek"

Cynthia Nixon "Ratched"

Those two actresses for "The Crown" could be contenders, but I'm going with Annie Murphy.

Best Actor, Supporting

John Boyega "Small Axe"

Brendan Gleeson "The Comey Rule"

Dan Levy "Schitt's Creek"

Jim Parsons "Hollywood"

Donald Sutherland "The Undoing"

This seems more straightforward, with Dan Levy

Best Actress, Limited Series/TV Movie

Cate Blanchett "Mrs. America"

Daisy Edgar-Jones "Normal People"

Shira Haas "Unorthodox"

Nicole Kidman "The Undoing"

Anya Taylor-Joy "The Queen's Gambit"

You can never count out with Nicole Kidman, but with "The Queen's Gambit" being such a force this past year, this should be going to Anya Taylor-Joy.

Best Actor, Limited Series/TV Movie

Bryan Cranston "Your Honor"

Jeff Daniels "The Comey Rule"

Hugh Grant "The Undoing"

Ethan Hawke "The Good Lord Bird"

Mark Ruffalo "I Know This Much Is True"

Ethan Hawke could take this, with the critically acclaimed "The Good Lord Bird", but I think "The Undoing" is going to take home some award, so Hugh Grant gets this award.

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy

Lily Collins "Emily In Paris"

Kaley Cuoco "The Flight Attendant"

Elle Fanning "The Great"

Jane Levy "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist"

Catherine O'Hara "Schitt's Creek"

Kaley Cuoco may be a dark horse here, but much like the Emmy's, I see something resembling something like a "Schitt's Creek" sweep, so Catherine O'Hara takes this home.

Best Actress, Drama

Olivia Coleman "The Crown"

Jodie Comer "Killing Eve"

Emma Corrin "The Crown"

Laura Linney "Ozark"

Sarah Paulson "Ratched"

Nothing seems quite set in stone here. With that being said, I'm leaning towards Olivia Coleman.

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy

Don Cheadle "Black Monday"

Nicholas Hoult "The Great"

Eugene Levy "Schitt's Creek"

Jason Sudeikis "Ted Lasso"

Ramy Youssef "Ramy"

I'm hedging my bets a bit. Eugene Levy in all likelihood will get this, but I'm going with a bit of an upset with Jason Sudeikis. It may take a 2nd season for "Ted Lasso" to start its awards haul, but I wouldn't be surprised with this result.

Best Actor, Drama

Jason Bateman "Ozark"

Josh O'Connor "The Crown"

Bob Odenkirk "Better Call Saul"

Al Pacino "Hunters"

Matthew Rhys "Perry Mason"

This pick is probably more  along the lines of my own personal preferences, but I'm going out on a limb with Matthew Rhys.

Best TV Series, Musical Or Comedy

"Emily In Paris"

"The Flight Attendant"

"The Great"

"Schitt's Creek"

"Ted Lasso"

As stone cold lock of a pick as you can get, Schitt's Creek

Best TV Series, Drama

"The Crown"

"Lovecraft Country"

"The Mandalorian"

"Ozark"

"Ratched"

I'm going the safe route here with The Crown.

Films

Best Music, Original Song

"Fight For You" ("Judas and the Black Messiah")

"Hear My Voice" ("The Trial of the Chicago 7")

"Io Si (Seen)" ("The Life Ahead")

"Speak Now" ("One Night In Miami")

"Tigress & Tweed" ("The United States vs. Billie Holiday")

A strong contender based on this awards season is "Io Si (Seen)", but I'm leaning towards "Fight For You" by H.E.R.

Best Music, Original Score

Alexandre Desplat ("The Midnight Sky")

Ludwig Goransson ("Tenet")

James Newton Howard ("News of the World")

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross ("Mank")

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste ("Soul")

I'm going with Soul here. The score from Reznor, Ross & Batiste was just spectacular.

Best Actress, Supporting

Glenn Close "Hillbilly Elegy"

Olivia Colman "The Father"

Jodie Foster "The Mauritanian"

Amanda Seyfried "Mank"

Helena Zengel "News of the World"

Despite the film being an absolute mess, this is probably going to Glenn Close.

Best Actor, Supporting

Sacha Baron Cohen "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

Daniel Kaluuya "Judas and the Black Messiah"

Jared Leto "The Little Things"

Bill Murray "On the Rocks"

Leslie Odom Jr. "One Night in Miami"

Daniel Kaluuya is a strong contender, but I'm leaning with Leslie Odom Jr.

Best Animated Feature

"The Croods: A New Age"

"Onward"

"Over the Moon"

"Soul"

"Wolfwalkers"

"Wolfwalkers" could be a contender, but I'm going with "Soul".

Best Actress, Musical or Comedy

Maria Bakalova "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"

Kate Hudson "Music"

Michelle Pfeiffer "French Exit"

Rosamund Pike "I Care a Lot"

Anya Taylor-Joy "Emma"

Maria Bakalova really deserves this for her breakout role in Borat.

Best Actress, Drama

Viola Davis "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

Andra Day "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"

Vanessa Kirby "Pieces of a Woman"

Frances McDormand "Nomadland"

Carey Mulligan "Promising Young Woman"

Carey Mulligan could easily take these, but I'm slightly leaning towards Frances McDormand.

Best Actor, Musical or Comedy

Sacha Baron Cohen "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"

James Corden "The Prom"

Lin-Manuel Miranda "Hamilton"

Dev Patel "The Personal History of David Copperfield"

Andy Samberg "Palm Springs"

I don't know if the Globes are going to reward "Hamilton" years after the fact. With that set aside, I'm going with Sacha Baron Cohen.

Best Actor, Drama

Riz Ahmed "Sound of Metal"

Chadwick Boseman "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"

Anthony Hopkins "The Father"

Gary Oldman "Mank"

Tahar Rahim "The Mauritanian"

Chadick Boseman should posthumously get this award. 

Best Foreign Language Film

"Another Round" (Denmark)

"La Llorna" (Guatemala/France)

"The Life Ahead" (Italy)

"Minari" (USA)

"Two of Us" (France/USA)

Minari probably should have gotten a Best Picture nomination, but it should take this award.

Best Screenplay

Emerald Fennell "Promising Young Woman"

Jack Fincher "Mank"

Aaron Sorkin "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton "The Father"

Chloe Zhao "Nomadland"

A number of ways this could go. Emerald Fennell is in the running, but I'm going with Chloe Zhao.

Best Director

Emerald Fennell "Promising Young Woman"

David Fincher "Mank"

Regina King "One Night in Miami"

Aaron Sorkin "The Trial of the Chicago 7"

Chloe Zhao "Nomadland"

Just like with screenplay, I have Chloe Zhao taking this.

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy

"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"

"Hamilton"

"Music"

"Palm Springs"

"The Prom"

"Hamilton" is a strong contender, but as I said before I'm not sure how the Globes will judge a recorded stage production, so I'm going with "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"

Best Picture. Drama

"The Father"

"Mank"

"Nomadland"

"Promising Young Woman"

"The Trial of the Chicago 7"

With this past year, its going to be tough to gauge who is the Oscar favorite. As for this field, "Mank" would be a disappointing safe pick. I think the hype right now is with "Nomadland".

 

Grammy's Album of The Year Review: "Djesse Vol. 3" - Jacob Collier

 

With the Grammy nominations out, its time for my "album of the year" reviews.  I score each track on whether it stands out, is merely okay, or is a miss. The final score will be out of a high of 100.

"Djesse Vol. 3" - Jacob Collier

(All Rights To Hajanga Records)

1) "Clarity"

This serves as a brief introductory track.

2) "Count The People" ft/ Jessie Reyez & T-Pain

This track features some "speed poetry"; "Typically, animosity is never gonna set you free like that". The instrumental in the bridge really gives this track a kick.

3) "In My Bones" ft/ Kimbra & Tank and The Bangas

You could sense the inspiration Jacob gains from the likes of Prince and Michael Jackson. The track gets a bit busy.

4) "Time Alone With You" ft/ Daniel Caesar

There's a nice half-time groove feel to this. Caesar's verses and the overall track have a nice flow to them; "It's a beautiful Sunday evening/ And when you see that little moon/ You know I'm gonna let it shine on you/ Open up the sky, and let the groove fall down" 

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5) "All I Need" ft/ Mahalia & Ty Dolla Sign

There's a bit of a latin dance feel to this track. The lyrics really flow; "I love all the illumination you bring to all the ordinary things I found".

6) "In Too Deep" ft/ Kiana Lede

This track deals with asking what's going wrong in a relationship; "Did I forget to feel?/ Everything is falling down/ Baby, this old world is nothing without you". Kiana brings something extra to this.

7) "Butterflies"

This track deals with connections; "So take me to your open skies/ I just wanna feel alive". Overall "Butterflies" feels really disjointed, and just doesn't come together.

8) "Sleeping On My Dreams" 

This is about a relationship that has run its course; " 'Cause I've been sleeping on my dreams/ And I can't remember what I mean to you".

9) "Running Outta Love" ft/ Tori Kelly

In this track about misconnecting, the backing instrumentals doesn't always compliment the vocals.  

10) "Light It Up On Me"

This track seems like an experiment that just didn't play out.

11) "He Won't Hold You" ft/ Rhapsody

This track deals with exploring loneliness; "Things rearrange, we miss what is not the same". There are dragging issues, lyrically the chorus is "meh" at best, but Rhapsody's verses really excel.

12) "To Sleep"

A nice tranquil conclusion to the album.

Jacob Collier certainly likes to explore with harmonies. While not every experiment works out, the ones that do are worth a listen. I get the sense that Collier is a required taste, but his music is definitely something you aren't likely to have heard before, lets just put it at that. (60)

Taylor Swift - "Folklore" (100)

Dua Lipa - "Future Nostalgia" (95)

Black Pumas - "Black Pumas (Deluxe)" (91)

Haim - "Women In Music - Pt. III" (85)

Jhene Aiko - "Chilombo" (78)

Jacob Collier - "Djessie Vol. 3" (60)

Post Malone - "Hollywood's Bleeding" (30)

The Weeknd - Top 10

 Top 10 of The Weeknd

With The Weeknd performing at the Super Bowl Halftime show this year, here are my personal top 10 tracks. Reply with your own personal favorites.

(All Rights to XO/Republic Records)

10) "Starboy" ft/ Daft Punk ('Starboy' - 2016)

9) "Love Me Harder" w/ Ariana Grande ('My Everything' {Ariana Grande} - 2014)

8) "Earned It" ('Fifty Shades Of Grey: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' - 2014)

7) "In the Night" ('Beauty Behind The Madness' - 2015)

6) "The Hills" ('Beauty Behind The Madness' - 2015)

5) "Pray For Me" w/ Kendrick Lamar ('Black Panther: The Album' - 2018)

4) "Save Your Tears" ('After Hours' - 2020)

3) "In Your Eyes" ('After Hours' - 2020)

2) "Can't Feel My Face" ('Beauty Behind The Madness' - 2015)

1) "Blinding Lights" ('After Hours' - 2019)