Greetings again from the darkness. Announcement Day for the Oscars is always fun! Arguing about who got a nom that they didn’t deserve? Who was snubbed? Were politics involved? (Yes, always). Pleasant Surprises? Disappointments? All that makes for indigestion-inducing lunchtime banter … and the ceremony (the 83rd) is still 33 days away! So below are just a few of my observations and reactions to today’s announcements … these are NOT my predictions. At the end, there are two links. One to my Best of 2010 list, and the other to a full list of nominations.
1. BEST PICTURE: thrilled to see Winter’s Bone get a nom (4 in total). It’s a 
shame more people didn’t see this little film (box office less than $7 million) during it’s theatrical run. It’s very compelling and features two of the best performances of the year. Toy Story 3 (my favorite film of the year) got nominated for both Best Picture and Best Animated Feature … and it deserves both. Other than that, I just don’t have much to say about this category as it was pretty easy to predict (except for Winter’s Bone vs. The Town). Not a year for great movies, but there were plenty of good ones!
2. DIRECTOR: OK, this one actually bothers me. How does Christopher Nolan 
(pictured) get snubbed AGAIN? I certainly understand how some people don’t like his movie Inception, but it was nominated for Best Picture and it, more than any other film on the list, is clearly a director’s film. Mr. Nolan is an amazing filmmaker who has somehow ended up on the “naughty” list for Academy voters. With ten Best Pic nominees and only five Best Director nominees, there will always be some terrific directors who are left out. Nolan should not have been one. If you ask me who should have been left off for Nolan, my answer is David O. Russell for The Fighter. It is a terrific movie, but we all know this has been Mark Wahlberg’s pet project for almost a decade.
3. LEAD ACTOR: Two rarities here: a Lead Actor nomination for a non-English 
speaking role (Javier Bardem) and back-to-back years (Jeff Bridges). Bardem’s film Biutiful will just start gaining release this upcoming weekend, and Bridges was terrific in the Rooster Cogburn role that won John Wayne his only Oscar. While this is not a list of my predictions, it seems pretty clear that Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) is the lead horse in this race. I had hoped Robert Duvall (Get Low) might sneak in, but the buzz of The Social Network got Jesse Eisenberg some recognition. It will also be interesting to see how they handle James Franco’s (127 Hours) nomination since he is also one of this year’s co-hosts!
4. LEAD ACTRESS: Was relieved that Julianne Moore did not get a nomination. 
I thought both she and Annette Bening overacted in their roles as lesbian parents in The Kids Are All Right. Ms. Bening did get a nom and may get the win (vs Natalie Portman) since she has been wrongfully overlooked in the past. The other three nominees were all fantastic, but in movies very few people actually saw. Jennifer Lawrence (pictured, Winter’s Bone) is my breakout star of the year.
5. SUPPORTING ACTOR AND ACTRESS: Along with Jennifer Lawrence, three 
of my six favorite performances this year all belong to women in this category – Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), and Jacki Weaver (pictured Animal Kingdom). My other two favorite performances are also noted in this category for the men – Christian Bale (The Fighter) and John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone). I would not have picked Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), but it is her best work since A Room with a View.
6. FILM EDITING. I know … you don’t realy care about this category, but I must mention the major snub of Inception (Lee Smith). Whether you like the film or not, there is no argument to how well it is edited. Not only should have been nominated, but should have been the clear front runner. Bah.
7. SCREENPLAY : only oddity is that Black Swan was not nominated, and in it’s place was Mike Leigh’s Another Year. The rest of the nominations followed the Best Picture list.
8. DOCUMENTARY: some will argue that Waiting for Superman should have been nominated. I believe that argument is based on the importance of the topic, rather than the quality of the film. Very cool that Exit Through the Gift Shop scored a nomination. Banksy.
9. VISUAL EFFECTS: the third biggest snub belongs to Tron: Legacy. The tidal 
wave opening scene in Hereafter was amazing, but the entire Tron film was a study in spectacular special effects. I believe the Academy voters took it’s brilliant production for granted.
Sure there are some minor quibbles, but for the most part, this year’s nominations were pretty easy to predict. That said, the eventual winners might not be so clear cut. I will post my Oscar predictions as we get closer to the ceremony. In the meantime, let me know what you think. Did your favorite get snubbed? Did one you hated get nominated? This is much more fun to complain about than your job!!
Oscar Nominations: http://oscar.go.com/nominations
Best of 2010: https://moviereviewsfromthedark.wordpress.com/annual-bests-2/best-of-2010/
Movie Reviews from the Dark 