Editor’s Note: Freeline Media’s movie critic, Mike Fried, has his predictions and selections for the upcoming Golden Globes awards.
By MIKE FRIED
GOLDEN GLOBES – 2026
Well, I am going to do what no other movie critic has ever done – try and predict who will win the Golden Globes for film this year (that was a joke). The only difference is that those “professional” critics allegedly have seen all of the nominated movies and performances. I say allegedly because, well, who knows?
Now, with me you get the real deal – I am an underachiever and have been all of my life. I lazed my way through high school and graduated with an 87% average, not because of any lack of smarts but because of an innate inborn sense of laziness. And it has carried through to the rest of my life. Hell, even my family knows that my motto is 87% is good enough. So, who the hell cares whether or not I have seen all of the performances or movie – it’s not necessary because you just need to know how the voters think. And this is a subject I will not address here because it could go on for volumes.
So here goes.
Best Film Drama
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- It Was Just an Accident
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
These are all good movies but the choices really boil down to two viable candidates: Hamnet and Sinners – these are the two films that have the most mojo.
Hamnet is a weepy tearjerker about Shakespeare and his wife and the effect the death of their son has on them. It is a sweeping drama of the middle ages. Sinners is a weepy Blues movie about a pair of twins and the effect that the appearance of vampires has on them. It is a sweeping drama of the Deep South.
Well, for me, Hamnet is an emotional drama which immediately crosses it off the list – but the voters love a good cry. I prefer blues music. Although the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has always shown itself to be a diverse organization (I am only kidding here folks) so Sinners could snag the prize.
WILL WIN: Hamnet SHOULD WIN: Sinners
Best Film Drama Actress
- Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
- Jennifer Lawrence, Die My Love
- Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
- Julia Roberts, After the Hunt
- Tessa Thompson, Hedda
- Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Ok, for this one we have to do some bashing. I have absolutely no idea why Julia Roberts is nominated in this category. Her performance in After the Hunt was good but not Awards good and the movie itself stunk on ice. There are many other contenders that could have taken her spot. Jennifer Lawrence has already won three of these little dildo-like (or if you’re a clean person Daily Planet-like) statuettes and I don’t see another one in her future, especially for a film with a limited release and which is now streaming on Mubi, a service most of us normals don’t have. And Renate Reinsve was good in her role but most people cannot spell her name. That leaves Tessa Thompason, Jessie Buckley and Eva Victor.
The HFPA is unlikely to award the statue to Thompson because she was good but, again, not awards good. The HFPA likes anguish and therefore the choice comes down to veteran Buckley and newcomer Victor. Buckley gives a powerhouse performance but it is Victor who gives the better performance as a sexual abuse victim – and she also wrote and directed it.
WILL WIN: Buckley SHOULD WIN: Victor
Best Film Drama Actor
- Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
- Oscar Isaac, Frankenstein
- Dwayne Johnson, The Smashing Machine
- Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
- Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
- Jeremy Allen White, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Without a doubt an impressive line-up of talent except for the guy who played Springsteen – this is another one of those categories where they didn’t have a 5th so they threw him in. Kudos to Dwayne Johnson for the Smashing Machine and being taken seriously but he is not going to win it. The same happens with Wagner Moura who was terrific in Civil War and is supposedly great in The Secret Agent. This is going to come down to Edgerton and Jordan and both delivered world class award-worthy performance but Jordan delivered TWO of them in ONE movie
WILL WIN: Jordan SHOULD WIN: Jordan
Best Film Comedy/Musical
- Blue Moon
- Bugonia
- Marty Supreme
- No Other Choice
- One Battle After Another
- Nouvelle Vague
Ok, so first of all, Nouvelle vague, Blue Moon, Bugonia and No Other Choice don’t even deserve to be in this category. Why? Because I said so. (I am writing this and you’re not!)
Marty Supreme was an okay film but with a great lead performance but this year belongs to One Battle After Another
SHOULD WIN: OBAA WILL WIN: OBAA
Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress
- Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
- Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: For Good
- Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue
- Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
- Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee
- Emma Stone, Bugonia
To me there is only one actress in this bunch who deserves the award and that is Chase Infinti who, in her debut role as Willa Ferguson in One Battle After another thoroughly dominated the film. Amanda Seyfried was good in the Testament of Ann Lee but I have a visceral dislike of her so, well, there you go. Rose Byrne could challenge as she is a veteran actress and gives a terrific performance in Legs. Emma Stone? Come on – she was just good and was overshadowed by Jesse Plemons. Also, no Wicked for me – ever.
SHOULD WIN: Infiniti WILL WIN: Infiniti
Best Film Comedy/Musical Actor
- Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
- George Clooney, Jay Kelly
- Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
- Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
- Lee Byung Hun, No Other Choice
- Jesse Plemons, Bugonia
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one – people were up in arms about Chalamet not winning best actor last year for his impersonation of Dylan, which was pure mimicry and they are going to give him the award this year. But he’s not as deserving as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jesse Plemons. Forget about Hawke and Clooney – they have no traction and people have no idea who Lee Byung Hun is.
SHOULD WIN: DiCaprio or Plemons WILL WIN: Chalamet
Best Film Supporting Actress
- Emily Blunt, The Smashing Machine
- Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
- Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
- Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
It’s nice to see The Smashing Machine get some acting love this year but the nominations are as far as it goes. Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas were great in Sentimental Value. Again, no wicked for me
To me this is a toss-up between Amy Madigan’s creepy turn as Aunt Gladys in weapons, a huge and well-done role by a veteran actress and Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia Beverly Hills Motherfucker in One Battle After Another, a much smaller but equally deserving performance.
But I have to put my nickel down, don’t I?
SHOULD WIN: Madigan WILL WIN: Madigan
Best Film Supporting Actor
- Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
- Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
- Paul Mescal, Hamnet
- Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
- Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
- Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value
Again, I am not going to bore you with how great all of the nominees are in this category – they are all great and if it wasn’t for one thing I would say this was Sandler’s year to grab an award; however …..
This year is dominated by Sean Penn. His Colonel Lockjaw is not only one of his best performances it is one of the most dynamic supporting performances in recent years. He owns the movie and makes it as great as it is.
SHOULD WIN: Penn WILL WIN: Penn
Best Film Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
- Ryan Coogler, Sinners
- Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
- Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
- Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
- Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
I won’t sugarcoat it – I think that One Battle After Another is the best film of the year without any hesitation. And PTA is such a veteran director that he deserves his statue for this his most magnificent of efforts. If PTA was not in the equation, I think it would be a mud-wrestling match between Ryan Coogler and Chloe Zhao.
SHOULD WIN – PTA WILL WIN: PTA
Best Film Screenplay
- Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
- Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
- Ryan Coogler, Sinners
- Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
- Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
- Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt, Sentimental Value
Again, I think OBAA will dominate this year – its closest competition is Hamnet and while that could pluck a pity vote, I don’t think it will.
SHOULD WIN – OBAA WILL WIN- OBAA
Best Score
- Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
- Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
- Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
- Max Richter, Hamnet
- Hans Zimmer, F1: The Movie
This is normally a category I wouldn’t even comment upon since all of the scores are great; however, since Jonny Greenwood deserved an award for There Will Be Blood and his minimalist piano-tinkling score just gave an undercurrent of urgency to everything in One Battle After Another, I would like to see this win.
WILL WIN – Who Knows? SHOULD WIN – Greenwood, OBAA
To conclude, as you can see that my earlier picks had more verbiage and discussion and my later picks had little analysis. Also, I was not consistent in my ordering of Should win/Will Win, was I?
This is my 87% rule in action.
It’s not that I do not know how to write but I’d rather be watching a movie than write about them.
So have fun watching the Globes – I will not be – I haven’t watched an awards show in over two decades.
They are a farce.
As is me making picks: Hee Hee and Cheers!!!!
Michael Fried has no formal training in movies, except having watched over 26,000+ movies — if not more — in his 60-plus years on this planet, starting with Goldfinger as his first cinema experience. He knows what he likes and he knows what he doesn’t like, and it’s quite often different from the conventional wisdom. He knows that the best franchise is Godzilla and he loves action movies and comedies. He has not been nominated for any awards except some boring insurance awards which has no applicability to movies (with the possible exceptions of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and John Cassavettes’ Big Trouble). He is part of a team that won the 1980 SUNY Albany Trivia content by correctly guessing the question, “Who played the president of Klopstockia in Million Dollar Legs?” So he has that going for him, which is nice.
Contact Mike at moviemike3@yahoo.com and mike.fried@yahoo.com.
