Our Belated Take on the Golden Globe Nominations

The Golden Globes are not the most esteemed of the arts awards, but their nominations can sometimes be a sign of what films/people/TV shows will be nominated for Oscars and Emmys. If you are into that kind of thing, you probably already picked your favorites when the nominations were announced Thursday morning.

Our GG items of note:

• Penelope Cruz is up for best actress in a drama for Volver. We saw this film at a press screening a couple of weeks ago, and it will finally make it to the Austin market in mid-January. While the film is far from being one of Almodovar's best, Cruz is spectacular in this nuanced performance. Unfortunately for Ms. Cruz, Helen Mirren is the strong favorite to win for her performance in The Queen.
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio is up against himself in the drama category, and Clint Eastwood is up against himself in the director category.
  
• Newbie Jennifer Hudson is up for best supporting actress for her role in Dreamgirls. We have yet to see this film, but we have a hard time believing that Ms. Beyonce Knowles' performance (for best Actress) is nomination-worthy, given her wooden acting jobs in previous filmwork.
  
• Little Miss Sunshine is nominated for a few Globes (not enough in our HO). [Austinist review]
  
• Babel has the most nominations (seven). [Austinist review].