Golden Globes: What Scotsman critics had to say about the 2024 Golden Globe winners

With the 2024 Golden Globe winners now crowned and the Oscars looming, we take a look at what The Scotsman critics have had to say about films such as Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Matt Damon and Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer Image: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

From surprise wins to more likely candidates such as Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer[1], the quality of last year's releases will have undoubtedly made selecting winners a controversial task. For those who may not have seen some of the entertainment on offer - such as Poor Things[2] - we take a look back at what our critics , Alistair Harkness and The Scotsman's film podcast, (Not) Everyone's a Film Critic,[3] have said about this year's awards favourites and winners - including one 2-star review of Barbie.

Oppenheimer: 5-stars

Cillian Murphy took home the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his role in Oppenheimer. Image: Getty

He said: "Hard as it is not to despair at the ongoing desecration of cinema as mere content, Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's gargantuan, form-challenging biopic of the father of the atomic bomb, was a potent reminder of what can be achieved on the biggest of screens."

Meanwhile, The Scotsman's film podcast hosts debated if Oppenheimer was a "genuine masterpiece or merely very, very good" - though it was included in the pair's own roundup[4] of the year's best films.

The Boy and the Heron: 4-stars

The Boy and the Heron.

Before winning Best Motion Picture - Animated at the Golden Globes, Alistair Harkness praised[5] Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron. Supposedly the Studio Ghibli[6] director's final film, he was impressed with everything from its visuals to the "remarkable philosophical ending", giving The Boy and The Heron 4-stars.

Barbie: 2-stars

Musicians Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell pose with the award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture "What Was I Made For" from the movie "Barbie" in the press room during the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards.

Picture: Robyn Beck/Getty Images

While Barbie won two awards at the Golden Globes - Best Original Song and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, The Scotsman reviewers have been in two minds about it. One on hand, Alistair Harkness - perhaps controversially - awarded the film just 2-stars[7]. Finding it lacking in originality and "less a movie than a collection of meme-able moments", was disappointed by the lack of "bite" to the film.

Anatomy of a Fall: 3-stars

Anatomy of a Fall.

Image: Carole Bethuel

Up against foreign films such as Past Lives, Society of the Snow and The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall was up against stiff competition to take home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language as well as Best Screenplay.

Killers of the Flower Moon: 5-stars

Lily Gladstone and Killers of the Flower Moon director Martin Scorsese.

Image: Apple

Another film to be awarded 5-stars by Alistair Harkness[8] was Killers of the Flower Moon, which saw lead actress Lily Gladstone take home a Golden Globe for her role.

Directed by Martin Scorsese, Harkness described the film as " an incredible feat of virtuosic filmmaking from an artist who, at 80, is still pushing cinema's capabilities."

References

1. ^ Oppenheimer (www.scotsman.com)
2. ^ Poor Things (www.scotsman.com)
3. ^ (Not) Everyone's a Film Critic, (www.scotsman.com)
4. ^ in the pair's own roundup (www.scotsman.com)
5. ^ Alistair Harkness praised (www.scotsman.com)
6. ^ Studio Ghibli (www.scotsman.com)
7. ^ awarded the film just 2-stars (www.scotsman.com)
8. ^ 5-stars by Alistair Harkness (www.scotsman.com)