‘Inglourious Basterds,’ Julia Roberts top surprises of Golden Globes nominations

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‘Inglourious Basterds’ tops Globes surprises

NEW YORK — The Golden Globes nominations didn’t include any fall-out-of-your-seat shockers, but they did — as always — feature some surprises and the inevitable snubs.

Though the Globes bestowed six nominations on one of the awards season favorite’s, Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” they also spread the love around — especially to a few favorite stars.

— GLORIOUS “INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS”: Quentin Tarantino’s re-imagined WWII revenge tale won an unexpected four nominations: best film (drama), best supporting actor for the roundly acclaimed Christophe Waltz and best director and best screenplay for Tarantino. “Basterds” isn’t expected to roll to as many Oscar nominations, but it was particularly suited to the Globes. It premiered at Cannes and takes place in Europe, making it more appealing to the Hollywood Foreign Press (which last year bestowed several awards on “In Bruges,” another grisly, darkly comic film set in Europe). Though Tarantino has only won one Globe (for directing “Pulp Fiction”), his films have been well-received by the Globes. “Kill Bill Vol. 1,” ”Kill Bill Vol. 2″ and “Jackie Brown” all earned acting nominations.

— JULIA ROBERTS’ STAR WATTAGE: From out of left field was the Globes best actress (comedy or musical) nomination of Roberts for her performance in the corporate spy thriller “Duplicity.” The Globes have long been known for cowing to A-listers to lure them to their televised award show, and Roberts’ win (deserved or not) seems a prime example of that. She’s now been nominated seven times, with three wins.

— THE ROAD ENDS HERE? The awards prospects for both “The Road” and “The Lovely Bones” took substantial hits Tuesday. Neither has received great reviews, but Viggo Mortensen (”The Road”) was a strong possibility for best actor. “The Lovely Bones,” which is planning a wider release for January, at least earned a nomination for Stanley Tucci’s supporting performance.

— NO REST FOR THE HANGOVER: The runaway hit of the summer, “The Hangover,” earned a best picture (comedy or musical) nomination. It’s perhaps less surprising considering how popular the movie was. The Globes, apparently warming to broad male comedies, last year gave nominations to “Pineapple Express” and “Tropic Thunder,” too.

— OH, BROTHER: Tobey Maguire’s performance as a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder in “Brothers” has earned some good reviews, but neither the performance nor the film has had much traction. A cynical awards-watcher might say Maguire was a beneficiary of some glad-handing with the Hollywood Foreign Press. It’s the first nomination for Maguire.

— THE HURT LOCK: Jeremy Renner wasn’t quite a lock for a best actor (drama) nomination, but his absence was unexpected. “The Hurt Locker,” in which Renner plays a bomb technician in Iraq, is widely considered an Oscar favorite and has recently been picking up awards from critics groups. His spot in the category, though, likely went to Maguire.

— TWO FOR BULLOCK: It’s one of the best stories of the year: Nobody in Hollywood is hotter than Sandra Bullock. Though middle-aged women (Bullock is 45) have long had a tough road in the movies, Bullock is not only ruling the box office, she’s garnering adoration from critics. She was nominated for best actress in both drama (”The Blind Side”) and comedy or musical (”The Proposal”).

— IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE: Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” and the British coming-of-age drama “An Education” are both forecast by insiders to reap Oscar nominations for best picture (which is now a field of 10 nominees). Neither, though, won a best picture (drama) nom from the Globes despite success in other categories: Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon for “Invictus,” and Carey Mulligan for “An Education.”