Golden Globes

No real surprises. I was hoping to see The Departed beat out Babel, but it still might at next month's Oscars (of course Dreamgirls could end up beating both of them).

The situation, for me, with Babel is similar to Gladiator in 2000. I thought Gladiator was a very good movie, but found Almost Famous far more enjoyable. So, even though I liked Gladiator I was forced to argue against it during awards season. Both Gladiator and Almost Famous took home best picture Golden Globes, though Almost Famous was denied an Oscar nom, much to my indignation. Likewise, while Babel was a good movie, it was not near as good, in my humble opinion, as The Departed.

A couple things to consider: Typically, the Oscar winner for best pic also wins one of the two GG best pic awards, BUT the last two years have both broke that trend, with Brokeback Mountain winning the GG and Crash winning the Oscar last year and Scorsese's The Aviator winning the GG in 2004, but losing the Oscar to Million Dollar Baby. So, I'm hoping this reversal continues this year.

Also, I need to remember that the awards voters do give a lot of weight to level of production. Titanic, Gladiator, Chicago, Return of the King. These were big productions. Babel is definately the big production amoung this year's contenders. I guess it just boils down to what you like. If The Departed fails to win the Oscar, it won't mean I enjoy it any less.