1. For some insane reason, the Golden Globes were not being shown live on the west coast – why watch when I can just get the results online before the show even starts?
2. 24 started at the same time. And yes, I do have DVR.

So, now that everyone else has written about the Golden Globes, I figured I’d finally get around to commenting on them. After all, I like to be fashionably late. Here are my random thoughts:

•  Slumdog Millionaire won Best Drama. Even though I liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button more, Slumdog Millionaire is the most ambitious of the nominated pictures and perhaps most deserving. Still, the movie is a bit overrated and in other years would be considered an outside chance at best. If you look at the nominees for Best Picture, it’s a rather sorry bunch: all good, but none amazing.
• Kate Winslet won acting awards for both The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Good for her. She’s a great actress and deserving of recognition. Still, I’d probably say Anne Hathaway had a more breakout role in Rachel Getting Married and Meryl Streep was more commanding in Doubt, but Winslet was probably most overdue.
• Mickey Rourke won for Best Actor in a Drama. Good for him, and what a comeback. I’m still 50/50 between Rourke and Penn, and generally lean toward Penn – but then again, we expect greatness from Penn. I must note that having watched Revolutionary Road, Leonardo DiCaprio has once again turned in an amazing performance.
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona won for Best Comedy/Musical. This once again shows the prestige that Woody Allen still carries among foreign critics and Hollywood in general. I just received the film on DVD and have yet to see it, but I’ve heard very mixed things about it. Then again, Allen should be awarded just for getting Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz to make out. In Bruges is by far the best comedy on the list, though I never expected that one to win.
• Sally Hawkins won for Happy Go-Lucky. I haven’t seen it, so I can’t comment. All that I can say is that there should only be one acting category – not separate ones for drama and comedy. Whereas I understand the reason to split comedies and dramas into two awards, a good performance is a good performance, regardless of the genre. It’s good to see Colin Farrell actually win for something.
• Heath Ledger won for The Dark Knight. Of course. Would the venue had been burned down if he hadn’t won, and would the winner have had the balls to go on stage?
• Wall-E won for Best Animated Picture. Of course.
• Despite my reservations for Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle deservedly won for Best Director. I still don’t understand why Ron Howard was nominated in this category.
• I won’t comment on the TV awards as much, other than that I am currently watching John Adams (HBO) and can understand why it raked in the dough. The series isn’t perfect, but for a TV mini-series it is quite impressive. The actors who won certainly deserved it (though I haven’t seen many of the competing shows).