JOY: Jennifer Lawrence Overcomes Everything, Including Her Own Director (Review)

Since 2010, director David O. Russell has reinvented himself into an Oscar frontrunner, making prestigious ensemble comedies/dramas. He's attracted big stars like Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. His earlier films, including I Heart Huckabees and Flirting with Disaster, were oddball, quirky comedies--a lot weirder than his recent Oscar fare. With Joy, his fourth film in five years, Russell tries to bring some of those surreal elements into his prestige new phase, with mixed results.

Starring Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence, Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Isabellla Rossellini, Virginia Madsen, Diane Ladd, and Bradley Cooper, Joy tells the story of creative, independent Joy and her attempts to break out of her crazy, dysfunctional upbringing. The script was written by David O. Russell, from a story by Russell and Oscar nominee Annie Mumolo. The film is loosely based on inventor Joy Magano. Rather than be a straight biopic, it focuses more on the idea of woman inventors and the struggles of the working mother.

2016 Golden Globes Predictions

So now that the Oscar race is fully underway, let's take a look at the 73rd Golden Globe nominations and predict the winners! As I've said before, the governing body behind the Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association or HFPA, are not that credible since they love stars. But it's always interesting to see what and who wins.

Spotlight

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Carol (could win)
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight (will/should win)
Not only is the Boston journalism drama my top film of 2015, Spotlight is also the frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar. So I think a victory at the Globes is almost a sure thing. Carol is probably the 2nd likely winner, but each of the nominees (though I haven't seen The Revenant yet) seems like it could be a surprise win. Seeing MM:FR here is great.
What's missing? Brooklyn, Ex Machina, Creed--all worthy films.

Brie Larson, Room

Best Actress - Drama
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room (will win, should win)
Rooney Mara, Carol (could win)
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn (should win)
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
I find this category hard to predict. My gut says Brie Larson, but I have a feeling that the Globes might go for the more simple period romances Brooklyn or Carol. Having the two Carol stars in the leading category feels appropriate for their screen time (they're both leads) but might cause a split vote. So for now I'm going to say Larson since she had the more complicated role.
Who's missing? Charlize Theron for Mad Max: Fury Road.

Predicting the Best Actress/Supporting Actress Oscars (What a Mess!)

2015 was a really interesting year for films. The Oscars are shaping up to be a fascinating competition. Sure we have some frontrunners, and some vague ideas about what could/should win. This year, the Academy Award for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories are chaos. We have two examples of possible category fraud, two frontrunners, and a whole bunch of wild cards. Prepare yourself for a looooong post, kids!

The curious case of Rooney Mara & Alicia Vikander
Rooney Mara stars in the acclaimed romance Carol, along with Cate Blanchett. If this film were about a heterosexual romance, both actors would be campaigning for Best Actor/Actress. However, since the film stars two women, the Weinstein Company, which is distributing the film, doesn't want its two stars to cancel each other out. So they made the decision to campaign Rooney Mara as Supporting (probably because Blanchett is the title character).