Award season starts

The Golden Globe nominations came out this week and as always, some of the nominations were predictable and others were a little bit of a shock.

Some of the movies nominated haven't been out more than a week - and at least one hasn't even opened to the public yet. "Avatar," which opens this Friday, is nominated for multiple categories including best motion picture - drama.

I've seen some of the movies or TV shows that garnered nominations and here are a few thoughts on them.

Best motion picture - drama
I haven't seen any of these movies, though I plan to see "Avatar" this weekend. I have contemplated seeing "Up In the Air," but I'll wait for the DVD for "Precious," "The Hurt Locker" and "Inglorious Basterds."

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture - drama
The only nominee I saw was Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side." It's the only Sandra Bullock movie I've ever seen where I forgot I was watching Sandra Bullock so she deserves a nod.

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture - drama
A few of the movies in this category are on my list to see, especially "A Single Man" with Colin Firth and "Invictus" with Morgan Freeman. The only movie I've seen yet was "Brothers" and Tobey Maguire does a bang up job as a soldier who returns home to his family broken.

Best motion picture - musical or comedy
It's a pet peeve of mine that the Globes group musical and comedy together since they aren't really the same thing. But of the movies nominated that I've seen, which include "The Hangover" and "Julie and Julia," I have to give the edge to "The Hangover, which made me laugh my ass off. It will never win, though, and "Nine," the musical, is my prediction to take it.

Best performance by an actress in a motion picture - musical or comedy
I've only seen "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock, and while I enjoyed the movie I don't think it was Bullock's best work. Marion Cotillard, in "Nine" and Meryl Streep in "Julie and Julia" are my picks to win (though I haven't seen "Nine," given it hasn't actually been released yet.)

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture -musical or comedy
I haven't seen any of the movies nominated in this category so my vote goes for Daniel Day-Lewis since he is amazing in most everything he's done.

Best animated feature film
I've only seen two of the five movies nominated so far and of "Coraline" or "Up", "Up" gets my vote. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me want to fall in love and spend my life with someone even if it means losing them and starting over all alone.

Best original song
Do I even need to say that U2 should win for best original song for "Winter" from the movie "Brothers?" No, I haven't heard any of the other songs, but what could be better than U2?

Best television series - drama
I watch four of the five series nominated, and after watching the season finale last week, "Dexter" gets my vote. The writers threw me for a loop all season, and somehow managed to make my entire family root for a serial killer. I can't count how many times we said we wished Rita would just give Dexter a break (so he could go out and kill someone) - if only we'd known where the season finale would land us, we may have been nicer about Rita. Michael C. Hall also gets my nod for best performance by an actor in a television series for taking Dexter out of his comfort zone this year. John Lithgow also deserves his nomination for guest star on "Dexter," though he was really more of a regular this season as the Trinity killer.

Best television series - musical or comedy
I watch four of the five series nominated, and I have to admit I am a little bit torn about which I would want to win. I guess I would go with "Modern Family" because it is a new series which makes me laugh like crazy and a win could cement it for another year.

Best performance by an actress in a television series - musical or comedy
I do love Liz Lemon on "30 Rock" and Rachel on "Glee." I guess I have a thing for the dorky over-achiever girls - they remind me of me. I'm still waiting for my book deal and for a football player to fall in love with me, though.

Best performance by an actor in a television series - musical or comedy
Alec Baldwin takes the cake for his performance as Jack on "30 Rock." He gets better every season.

There are other categories and all the nominees can be seen online here. The awards will be televised Jan. 17, so I'll have my take on the actual winners then.