Every year, I always love trying to pick the winners at both the Globes and the Oscars. Most years I do ok. Specifically for the Golden Globes, I have always done much better on the film side than the TV side. It got to a point where I just started to ignore the TV side. This year’s nominations are led by Barbie with 9. Oppenheimer follows with 8, while Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things both received 7. That isn’t too surprising though. Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Flower Moon are the three front runners at the Oscars right now, so when those noms come out, expect them to lead the nominations the too. On to the picks.

Picture (Comedy/Musical) – Poor Things – I’d say this is between Barbie and Poor Things. American Fiction did win the People’s Choice at TIFF, so I don’t think that can be ignored easily. Really not in the running for me though is Air and May December. Those are two films are good, but I don’t even think they will be there at the Oscars. Holdovers could be a possibility, but Payne was left out for Director, so it makes it hard to see it taking the big prize. It really seems like coin flip to me on who wins this. I’ll go with the more recent to be released. Poor Things also has the festival circuit as an advantage, so that is why I’m taking it here.

Picture (Drama) – Oppenheimer – This comes down to Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon I think. If you saw my Top 10 on Monday, you should know what my pick is here. Oppenheimer is just two different films in one, and they both are excellent. With Flower Moon, there were a few places where I thought it was long just because it could be. Much like the Irishman.

Director – Nolan – How Nolan has never won Best Director is a mystery to me. I might be thinking that because I’m a Nolan homer, but I can only be me. Do I think any other director could come up with an Oppenheimer film equal to his? I’m not sure of that. In a good day Oppenheimer is the film I would pick for his best if it isn’t Inception.

Actor (Drama) – Murphy – This seems to be between Murphy and Cooper. Cooper does do a solid job as Bernstein, and he may get some bonus points as the director of the film too. His part is definitely more showy, which also matters in the equation. Murphy though just commands your attention in a much quieter way from the start of the movie. His character just becomes more haunted as the film moves on after the bombing takes place. So I’ll go with him for the win here.

Actress (Drama) – Gladstone – Of the noms here, I really want to go with Hüller. She was fantastic in Anatomy of a Fall. However, I don’t see her getting past Gladstone or Mulligan here. Mulligan was great in Maestro as Felicia Montealegre, but there just wasn’t as much for her to do in the film compared to Gladstone’s Molly Kyle in Killers of the Flower Moon. That film really runs through her character, and she is put through so much. After I left the theater in October when the film ended, I was sure that was a Best Actress performance. I still think that now.

Actor (Comedy/Musical) – Wright – If we want to get weird, it’s Cage for the win. However, I think this down to Giamatti and Wright. I look at it this way. In The Holdovers, Giamatti is not the first one I think of. I think Randolph and Sessa stand out a little more. In American Fiction though, Wright is the main show. His incredulous mood as his attempts continue to succeed despite him not wanting to works so week in that film. So I will take him as my winner.

Actress (Comedy/Musical) – Stone – Of the acting categories, this seems like the one already locked up. None of the other nominees here did anything close to what Stone did in Poor Things. Her portraying a character with the growing brain of a newborn is fascinating to watch. To see her mentally growing up as the film goes on is really an impressive feat by Stone. I would be floored if she doesn’t win Best Actress here, as well at the Oscars in March.

Supporting Actor – Downey Jr. – This thunderdome of category is the one we are all looking at for the Oscars in March, but we do get a good preview here. It will be interesting when those nominations come out to see which of the 6 nominated here will be left out. As for the Globes, I’m still sticking with what I said in July. This is RDJ’s to lose. All six nominations here are fantastic, I just thought Downey Jr. nailed it as Strauss, and it was one of the best roles I have seen him in. I can’t make that argument with the others, Melton aside. He just hasn’t had that long of a resume to make that case.

Supporting Actress – Randolph – Holdovers only really has three characters. Giamatti is great as the grump, and Sessa probably have been nominated for Best Supporting in any other year than this one. However, it’s Randolph that steals the show. To watch her pop in and out and seeing her deal with the grief of losing her son is sad to downright heartbreaking at one point. Seeing what she had in the hatbox that Payne kept hinting at was such a nice ending for her story line that Randolph sold so well.

International – Anatomy of a Fall – This one comes down to Anatomy of a Fall, Past Lives, and Zone of Interest. If the Globes took place last June, Past Lives wins it. As time has moved on, it feels like the narrative for that one has faded. In its place, we have the Sandra Hüller double play. Between those two, I would say Fall has more of a push behind it.

Animated – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – We can rule out Elemental, Wish, and Super Mario right off the bat. They were good, but they are clearly not on the same level as the others in the category. I would have switched out Wish for TMNT is I had my way. Suzume also doesn’t seem to be real threat. I think this comes down to Spidey and Miyazaki. While both are great animated films, I have only seen one of them in discussions for the big prize of Best Picture. That is why I am going with the Web Head.

Screenplay – Barbie – There really isn’t a bad option here. Anatomy of a Fall did a great job telling gripping courtroom drama, and if I went with my heart, I would go with that. I just think Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon had better screenplays. Gerwig and Baumbach did such a great job of taking Barbie and making such a great film that was more than just product placement.

Score – Göransson – The most unique option here is Jerskin Fendrix’s work on Poor Things. That film has a Score that I haven’t really heard before. It was interesting. Oppenheimer, however, had a score that grabs you from the start and never lets go for three hours. Others might not have liked it as much as I did, but I’m going with Göransson.

Song – I’m Just Ken – Three songs here from Barbie might cancel each other out, but I still am going with Ken for the win. Darkhorse here is Peaches, as that song kind of took over pop culture in the Spring.

Box Office Achievement – Barbie – I really want to pick two winners here, so if there is a tie, I’m taking the point here. The biggest event of the year in film was Barbenheimer. How do you possibly honor one half of that sensation without the other. So it really should go to both Barbie and Oppenheimer. The only other real threat to this is Taylor Swift. However, that was just a month long weekend-only moment in time. Barbenheimer was the event that will have lasting effects, because if we know one thing about Hollywood, it’s if it worked once, then beat it to death trying to do it again. On an unrelated note: I am just guessing that is the point of the award. What is this award? Who thought it was a good idea?