The Golden Globes Awards “are just like the Oscars but without all that esteem,” host Ricky Gervais said during last night’s Golden Globes telecast, his third stint hosting the annual show. The ceremony—featuring awards handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press—includes some nice surprises as well as great disappointments.

Here’s a look at the big winners and losers of the evening.

Oscar Contenders

Winners: “The Artist” and The Descendants”
Both films are likely to be major Oscar contenders, and both left the Globes with renewed momentum. “The Artist” collected awards for best comedy or musical, best actor (Jean Dujardin) and best score. Meanwhile, “The Descendants” collected two awards: best actor in a drama (George Clooney) and best drama. Their wins likely foreshadow their future success at the Academy Awards and could lead to more moviegoers checking out these two smaller films.

Losers: “Moneyball” and “The Ides of March”
Despite the fact that it was nominated for four awards, “Moneyball” walked home with zero awards. Even Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”), Steve Zaillian (“Schindler’s List”) and Stan Chervin didn’t win for their brilliant screenplay. Woody Allen took home the award for best screenplay for his wonderful comedy, “Midnight in Paris.” “Ides of March,” the political thriller directed and co-written by George Clooney, also went 0-4 during the evening but Clooney didn’t leave the show empty-handed (see winners).

Acceptance Speeches:

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Movie lovers rarely agree on anything, but we’re pretty sure 99 percent of Academy Awards watchers hated James Franco’s performance as Oscar co-host last year.

Fellow actor Seth Rogen is sticking up for his “Pineapple Express” co-star, albeit belatedly.

Rogen, most recently seen in “50/50,” contends it’s the producers’ fault when an Oscar host stumbles. And, in the case of Franco’s ill-fated pairing with Anne Hathaway last year, no one could have saved the show from itself, according to comments from Rogen published at MovieLine:

I think when you agree to do something like that, you put a certain amount of faith in the institution, hoping that they’ll take care of you, and I feel like they didn’t [take care of him]. Why hire James Franco and then give him Billy Crystal’s monologue? It was like, “Oh, we’ll hire these young hosts and then we’ll just do the same sh*t we do every f*cking year.” Which to me was really odd. I think they just approached it wrong. They didn’t think it through, and they were way underprepared. I think they hung him out to dry. So I wouldn’t do it unless they hired some better writers [laughs].

Rogen deserves credit for sticking up for a pal, but his logic is ultimately flawed.

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Will Reiser beat the odds to triumph over a rare but potentially fatal form of cancer.

Now, can the movie inspired by his brush with death pull off an Oscar upset?

“50/50,” the serio-comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role inspired by Reiser, didn’t obliterate the box office competition following its Sept. 2011 debut. To date, it’s rake in a modest $34 million, not too shabby for a film revolving around cancer but hardly blockbuster material. And the film’s 93 percent “fresh” rating at RottenTomatoes.com also bodes well for its awards season chances.

But the movie doesn’t have that Oscar feel, and while that’s no critique on the film itself it could matter when it comes time to tally up votes.

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A perfect blend of hilarious one-liners and tear jerking moments makes ‘50/50’ every moviegoer’s dream dramedy.

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a 27-year-old who lives a healthy lifestyle and has his whole life ahead of him. He enjoys his job as a writer for radio programs and is working towards taking the next step with his girlfriend. When Adam starts to have back problems, he does the right thing and gets it checked out. Adam’s world is completely turned upside down when an unsympathetic doctor tells him he has a rare form of spinal cancer and even after surgery, only has a small chance of survival. The rest of the film takes the audience through Adam’s struggle to fight cancer.

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This movie could have been just a sad, slow-moving story if it weren’t for its star and supporting cast. Seth Rogen successfully plays joking, but well-intentioned best friend, Kyle, who interjects the most hilarious and witty one-liners throughout the film. Anna Kendrick tops her performance from ‘Up in the Air’ taking on the role as the young, awkward, but cute therapist, Katie. Katie is working on getting her doctorate by ‘practicing’ patient therapy and Adam is one of her first patients. Bryce Dallas Howard nails the manipulative but sexy girlfriend, Rachael, and Angelica Huston plays the lovable, worried mother who is scared to death for her son’s life.

**Some Spoilers Ahead**

Since Adam can’t drive, he has to rely on the people around him to get to his treatments. Rachael agrees to help him through everything, although quickly we see she isn’t up for it and their relationship falls to pieces. Kyle tries to cheer him up by getting Adam to concentrate on two things: sex and smoking pot. Things turn sour when Adam’s condition worsens and everyone realizes he could die during surgery.

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Despite their many differences, the new film “50/50” reminded me of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s previous movie, “(500) Days of Summer.” A gentleness and innocence pervades both of these two films. Both films focus on a young man (played by Gordon-Levitt) facing a major crisis in his life and coming to grips with it. While “Summer” found Gordon-Levitt stressing about his relationship with his girlfriend, “50/50” finds him worrying about something far more serious: cancer.

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As the story begins, Adam (Gordon-Levitt) spends his days working for a public radio station. Adam’s best friend is the immature but likeable Kyle (Seth Rogen) and he’s dating a beautiful girl named Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard). Everything is going well for the young idealist until he visits his doctor and complains about the back pain and the night sweats that he’s been experiencing.

The routine visit becomes something more when the doctor tells Adam that he has cancer. The scene where Adam is informed of the illness shows the way Adam faces his diagnosis. The world around him becomes blurry and he can barely hear the doctor talking to him anymore. He shouldn’t have cancer, he thinks. He’s too young.

His chances of survival, as the title suggests, are 50/50.

From then on, the film is driven by his crew of supporting characters. There is a gentleness in the way the story handles them and their personal flaws. Rachael, for instance, is presented as a fully-dimensional character despite the predictable mistakes that she makes as the girlfriend of a cancer patient.

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“RUNAWAY SLAVE” NEEDS YOUR HELP–

How’s that for a headline!

The folks behind “Tea Party: The Documentary Film” have started a new project with C.L. Bryant, a one-time NAACP leader who saw the light and moved to the right. The concept sounds fascinating:

Follow C.L. as he traces the footsteps of runaway slaves through the Underground Railroad.  He travels into the heart of Black communities across the US  from the slave ports of New Orleans to Chicago’s Cabrini Green to Martin Luther King’s birthplace, Atlanta, on to Jefferson’s Monticello; the film explores how 95% support of the Democratic Party has impacted the Black community.

You can learn more about the film, see the trailer, and choose to support the film here. Well worth a look.

–MICHAEL RAPAPORT TO STAR IN NEW HBO COMEDY–

For my money, Michael Rapaport is one of the most under-used and under-appreciated actors out there. He’s loaded with a personality that pops off the screen, has his own comedic sensibility, and is a very good actor.

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DreamWorks’ “Kung Fu Panda 2” is a spectacle of explosions and roundhouse kicks, a kid-friendly, energetic thrill-ride that’s a worthy sequel to the first KFP. Jack Black’s panda Po, the Dragon Warrior, is back in all his glorious ridiculousness, and the Furious Five are now his steadfast friends and allies. Since defeating Tai Lung, a new villain has arisen in China: Gary Oldman-voiced Lord Shen, a wily, cunning peacock with a flair for the explosive and an army of skulking wolves at his back. Shen hopes to conquer China. To beat him, Po must journey inside himself, to discover the truth of his past and unlock the strength and skills he needs to defeat this technologically-advanced enemy. 

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Screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger are back from KFP, and bring audiences a fun story with a similar flow to the first. KFP 2 is a natural progression in the life and times of Po, and Jennifer Yuh, the head of story and supervisor of action sequences from the first film, was the natural choice to take the series to the next level. She does so with more action, and solid backstory, while keeping the film as light-hearted as the original. 

There’s even more play on the characters’ animal nature in KFP 2, from a hilarious “revelation” scene when the panda Po finds out that – surprise – his goose father adopted him, to the Soothsayer goat (Michelle Yeoh) stereotypically trying to eat Lord Shen’s cloak and Mantis (Seth Rogen) waxing eloquent about his hopes for a future when he can settle down with a praying mantis wife who will ultimately eat his head off. 

The vocal performances in KFP 2 are all solid, with Jack Black’s Po leading the way, supported by a strong Gary Oldman as Lord Shen and Angelina Jolie as Tigress. Martial arts experts play many of the supporting roles, packing the film with a great conglomeration of action and Kung Fu film stars, including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Yeoh. 

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James Franco, who recently earned an Oscar nomination for his role in “127 Hours,” briefly appears near the beginning of the new movie “The Green Hornet.” He plays a goofy but ego-maniacal villain who doesn’t realize whose turf he’s stepped on. Unfortunately, Franco’s appearance is the highlight of this otherwise forgettable film about a wannabe crime fighter.

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“The Green Hornet” tells the story of Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), a young playboy whose father James (Tom Wilkinson) runs a major newspaper. “Trying doesn’t matter when you always fail,” James advises Britt early in the story, so Britt stops trying and starts wasting his life. While James spends his time trying to fight corruption in his newspaper’s editorials, Britt spends his time partying and sleeping with beautiful women.

As the story continues, James dies suddenly and Britt decides to vandalize the statue erected for his father. He enlists the assistance of Kato (Jay Chou), a former employee of his father who has a knack for making a delicious cup of coffee. Kato is Britt’s seemingly only friend and the two work together to destroy the statue. Afterward, they witness a crime occurring and they confront a group of thieves. Kato starts fighting all of the members of the group and quickly knocks them to the ground.   (more…)

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If you’re going to criticize the trailer, please watch your words carefully. Jay Chou co-stars as Kato, which means Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman might brand you a racist for not gushing over “The Green Hornet.”

Weighed down by a depressing premise made all too apparent by the theatrical trailer and advance publicity which made the film’s title too obviously sarcastic, Jud Apatow’s Funny People opened relatively poorly at the U.S. box office, taking in only $23.4 million. That was good enough to finish at the top of the heap for the weekend, but was the lowest number one opener since Yes Man last year.

Funny People showed much less audience draw than the great majority of Apatow’s and actor Adam Sandler’s previous efforts, and its failure to connect big with audiences cannot be blamed on any recent disappointments. Apatow’s Knocked Up and Sandler’s Bedtime Stories were both excellent films that did very well at the box office.

The magnitude of the disappointment for the Funny People writer-director and its star was summed up well by Reuters: (more…)

Never in a million years did I think Judd Apatow was capable of making something as sharp and penetrating as “Funny People.” Never. Since the director first started dabbling in film, I’ve been a harsh critic of everything he’s touched, labeling it as over-rated, overlong, self-indulgent and as forgettable as last week’s “National Enquirer.” Well, past is the past. “Funny People” is proof that this was a director working towards something, earning his chops and feeling his way to bigger things. And it was worth the wait. “Funny People” is kinda brilliant — an insightful, touching and intelligent dramedy…  James L. Brooks at his best but with a whole lot of dick jokes.

Adam Sandler is George Simmons, a comedian/movie star as wealthy and popular as Sandler, but having turned his back on his family and cheated on his one true love, Laura (Leslie Mann), he’s now left with only “show-biz friends,” which means he has no friends at all. In-between making films like “Merman” (“Splash” with a guy mermaid) and private-jetting to corporate standup gigs that pay $300k, this desolate 40 year-old haunts a Malibu mansion and looks to fill his emptiness with willing groupies and everything money can buy. (more…)

Rebooting Bond with Daniel Craig was Bold. Christopher Nolan’s Reinvention of Batman was genius. But some thought it was overly-ambitious, even audacious, to attempt to restart the Star Trek franchise. It has begun to pay off already for Paramount Pictures, and there will dividends for years to come.

A shiny new Enterprise is luring in a new generation of STAR TREK fans

J.J. Abrams is officially the Lazarus of movie directors as his all-new Star Trek has gone “Boldly Gone Where No Star Trek Movie has Gone Before.” With a cast of relative unknowns, the 42-year-old has resurrected a franchise that had been killed by insular “nerdyness” and timid imagination. The Gene Rodenberry creation didn’t so much bomb as it died slowly over a period of years. First, the 2002 movie Star Trek: Nemesis starring the Next Generation cast disappointed with a meager $43.3M domestic. Then, the final TV series Enterprise, which starred Scott Bakula, was not embraced by core fans or broader audiences and was canceled after four seasons, ending May 13, 2005.

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Several sources at competing studios have told me that J.J. Abrams’ all-new reboot of Star Trek (Paramount), which debuted last night at 7pm at many of its 3,849 locations, may have grossed as much as $6.5M-$7.5M. Studio honchos are “locked down tight” about actual numbers, but that is in the same ballpark as Transformers (Dreamworks/Paramount), which grabbed $8.8M in its previews starting at 8pm on Monday, July 2 during the summer of 2007. (What portion of ticket sales fall into Thursday and what percentage fall into Friday will likely be an open question even after final numbers are in.)

William Shatner (left) with Captain Kirk 2.0 Chris Pine

Keep in mind that Paramount never changed its Star Trek marketing to promote the 7pm Thursday start, so the opening night audience was likely heavy on Trekkers or Trekkies (not sure which term is “politically correct” anymore). So this was a “soft” opening and what amounts to a night of word-of-mouth screenings. Keep in mind that Transformers premiered during the summer when kids are more available while Star Trek has made its premiere during the school year.

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The all-new J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek (Paramount) will win the second weekend of the Hollywood Summer Box Office season by at least a couple of light years over Fox’s fast-fading X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but some of the astronomical numbers I’ve seen floating around in the blogosphere are very over-heated. Make no mistake, this movie will open extraordinarily well, but it’s not going to play out as a typical front-loaded blockbuster. Moviegoers need time to shake off the disappointment of the final TV series Enterprise (starring Scott Bakula and canceled after four seasons) and the disastrous 2002 final film Star Trek: Nemesis ($43.3M domestic). It will take time for a new generation of fans to discover the magic of Gene Rodenberry’s vision of the future through Abrams’ magical lens.

As of Wednesday night, Star Trek is cruising with 94% Fresh (positive) reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics are slinging some seriously glowing hyperbole.

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In my Final Weekend Tracking column posted on Wednesday, I predicted that X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) would reach $92M on opening weekend, despite soft reviews (now only 38% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). My first fearless forecast of the 2009 summer blockbuster season appears to be close to dead-on (missed by only 5%).

Star-turned-producer Hugh Jackman has scored his second-biggest opening ever and, easily, his biggest as a solo star. Wolverine has mauled the competition with a massive $34.75M opening day (including $5M or so in Thursday midnight sales). That could translate to a 3-day of $86.8M, getting Hollywood’s most lucrative season off to a spectacular start.

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The great thing about a sequel is that it has a built-in audience. The problem with sequels is that, as the numbers after the title go up, so does the production budget. Very hard to know for sure, but sources have told me that the production budget for X-Men was in the $75M range. X-2: X-Men United may have had a budget of about $110M, while the cost of X-Men: The Last Stand was, in all likelihood, as much as $210M. Why doesn’t it make sense to just churn out X-Men 4?

Look at these numbers.

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Recording superstar Beyonce Knowles is building a bankable resume for herself as an actress with Sony Screen Gems’ Obsessed as the latest title burnishing her resume. Co-starring the excellent Idris Elba (The Wire), this low budget, PG-13 genre pic has scored a far-above-expectations $11M on Friday, and it will likely reach $27.5M for the weekend. That is the best opening yet for the former Destiny’s Child lead vocalist as an above-the-title star, topping 2003’s The Fighting Temptations and Cadillac Records from late 2008.

Beyonce does battle with the sexy Ali Larter (HEROES) in OBSESSED

OPENINGS FOR BEYONCE MOVIES
1. Austin Powers: Goldmember – $70.3M opening
2. Obsessed – $27.5M opening (projected)
3. Pink Panther (2006) – $20.2M opening
4. Dreamgirls – $14.1M wide break (after a platform start)
5. The Fighting Temptations – $11.7M opening
6. Cadillac Records – $3.4M opening

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The final weekend of April has never been Hollywood’s favorite release date. In fact, it is generally considered to be among the worst release dates on the calendar. Whatever opens on the final weekend of April gets absolutely crushed by the official start of the summer blockbuster season on the first weekend of May.

The 4 new wide releases and 1 major specialty release set to debut this weekend will face an onslaught of mega-hits over the next month. How can Obsessed (Sony), Earth (Disney), The Soloist, (Dreamworks/Paramount), Fighting (Rogue) and The Informers (Senator) possibly find an audience with X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Fox) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (Warner Bros) arriving next weekend followed by, in successive weeks, Star Trek (Paramount), Angels & Demons (Sony), the combo of Night at the Museum 2 (Fox) and Terminator: Salvation (Fox) and Disney/Pixar’s Up?

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Seth Rogen’s appeal baffles me, at least as a leading man in romantic comedies, albeit raunchy ones. There’s nothing warm about the guy and no matter how sincere he tries to be an undercurrent of sullen hostility never leaves his voice. Rogen may look like a cute little teddy bear, but there’s nothing cuddly about him. There’s talent there to be sure, and he’s watchable enough, but connecting and rooting for his characters never comes easy, if at all.

No matter how crude or wild things got, Adam Sandler, Chevy Chase, John Candy, John Belushi, and Bill Murray have all managed to capture our sympathy in a single scene. Rogen lacks that gift, which makes him the perfect choice to play a deluded, territorial mall cop in “Observe and Report.”

Ronnie (Rogen) wants to be a hero and leader of men, and he’ll be damned if he’ll let anything get in the way, including his own limitations and station in life. Overweight, not terribly bright and suffering from psychological problems serious enough to require medication, Ronnie’s positioned himself as the Supercop of the Forest Ridge Mall, and with a team of three other mall cops made up of overweight twins and the sycophant Dennis (Michael Pena - finally breaking out of the sensitive-Hispanic typecasting ghetto), skateboarders, suspicious Middle Easterners and anyone foolish enough to make Ronnie’s day had best beware this Hall Monitor from Hell. (more…)