On Sunday, Jan. 11 Hollywood celebrated its 83rd Golden Globe Awards, celebrating the best in film and TV. With over 28 categories, this night was full of speeches, hilarious jokes, well deserved awards and, of course, snubs.
The first award of the night was “Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture,” which went to Teyana Taylor. Teyana was in “One Battle After Another,” released in Sept., which received nine Golden Globe nominations. We believe this award was fairly given, as her character had to navigate through feeling unseen and post-partum depression. Critics have praised her performance, with many complimenting her emotional depth.
“Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy” was a category stacked with incredible actors including Ethan Hawke, Leonardo Dicaprio, George Clooney, Lee Byung-hun and, the winner, Timothee Chalemet. Timothee Chalamet starred in “Marty Supreme,” and received his first ever Golden Globe. We find that he was incredibly deserving as he practiced ping pong for around six years to prepare for the role.
The “Best Motion Picture Drama” is considered one of the most prestigious awards at the Golden Globes. The nominees included: “Frankenstein,” “Sentimental Value,” “It Was Just an Accident,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sinners” and the winner “Hamnet.” “Hamnet,” based on a historical fiction novel, reimagines Shakespears life through the perspective of his wife, Agnes. While this movie was emotionally devastating and had great performances, we believe “Sinners” got snubbed. “Sinners” is set in 1930s Jim Crow Mississippi, and used vampires to explore themes of racism and Black identity. The vampires represent white supremacy and feed off of Black culture, such as music and spirituality. It argues that in order for someone to be truly free, they must embrace their spiritual and cultural heritage. We believe that this movie’s central idea of paving one’s own path and anti-racist messages are extremely important for today’s audience.
Continuing with “Sinners” getting snubbed, the movie lost in “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” to Wagner Moura in “The Secret Agent.” Michael B. Jordan plays two twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, that he worked extremely hard on to make them feel like two different people. He displays impressive emotional range as both characters struggle against systematic and supernatural forces. In interviews he mentioned honoring his own family history while acting, further deepening his performance. We believe that this is a snub because Michael B. Jordan was able to portray, unlike any movie nominated for the category. We find it incredible that a story as deep as this could be told skilfully through vampires.
However even with all of the Snubs, “Sinners” still rightfully received two awards. They won “Cinematic and Box Office Achievement” because they received almost $400 million dollars worldwide and had strong critical reviews. Many people saw the movie more than once, proving people’s desire to see unique films. In addition the movie’s composer, Ludwig Göransson, won “Best Original Score – Motion Picture”. We believe this was well deserved, as he was able to create the movie’s foreboding and mysterious atmosphere and tone.
Netflix’s original “KPop Demon Hunters” had a successful night. “Golden” by Huntrix won best original song from the movie. “Golden” surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, and quickly became an extremely popular staple in many children’s and adults’ playlists. The movie itself won “Best Animated Feature Film” and has over 500 million views. The movie was trending for several months, with people even dressing up as the main characters for Halloween. There are not many children’s movies focusing on Korean culture, so we were happy to see this movie and song win and are looking forward to a potential sequel.
“Adolescence” won “Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television”. This psychological crime TV show brought out an impressive performance from actor Owen Cooper, who became the youngest person to win a Grammy for “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television” at 16 years old. Owen’s stirring speech left the crowd there and at home emotional and inspired. We think the jarring, iconic show definitely deserved this award and we can’t wait to see the future of Owen Cooper’s career.
Our final snub of the night was in “Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama”, which went to Wagner Moura for his role in “The Secret Agent.” We believe that Jacob Elordi deserved the award for “Frankenstein” because his performance brought feelings of vulnerability and rawness to the iconic character Frankenstein. However, we were not too upset by this, because Wagner Moura marked the first Brazilian actor to win in this category.
The audience of stars braced themselves as the second-time Golden Globes host, Nikki Glaser, walked out onto the stage. She cracked funny, gentle jokes at every part of Hollywood. Some examples include poking at Leonardo Dicaprio and his girlfriends, Wicked’s cash grab and Kevin Hart’s height. Although Nikki is known for her savage roasts, she made sure not to bother Julia Roberts. After Julia’s fanbase attacked Nikki for making a fierce joke the year before, Nikki said that she would make sure not to make the same mistake again. Nikki Glaser makes hilarious jokes, whether the crowd likes them or not, making her an iconic host of the Golden Globes for more years to come.
Although there were some disappointing snubs, we think that overall the nominations and winners were well deserved. With jokes from Nikki Glaser and inspiring acceptance speeches, we believe that the 2026 Golden Globes are a must watch every year.
