Oscar Nominations Reactions

It's almost as if the Academy heard us.  After an interesting start to this awards season, things had started to settle into a fairly predictable pattern.  The Artist.  Meryl Streep.  George Clooney.  Yes, these front-runners are all accounted for in today's Oscar nominations, but the races are also full of surprises, making one wonder if things are all as settled as they seem.

Even in the Best Picture race, which is usually one of the easiest to predict (I went ten for ten last year), things didn't pan out as everyone expected.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo proved perhaps a bit too dark for the Academy's taste (though David Fincher's crime thriller made it into plenty of other races, including Best Actress), while The Tree of Life and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close made it in.  This is especially surprising for El&IC, which has garnered middling to harsh reviews and hasn't had much of an awards presence, save for popping up at the Broadcast Film Critics Awards.  It's a similar surprise to when director Stephen Daldry's The Reader broke into the race, slapping all of The Dark Knight's fans squarely in the face.

Personally, I'm glad the not 9/11 drama made it in.  It's a touching story well-told and well-acted, so I'm equally delighted to see Max Von Sydow's silent role garner him a Best Supporting Actor nod.

The Tree of Life's inclusion is even more exciting, and more explicable, as well.  The film benefitted from the Academy's new rules.  It's clear that the film has some major support, as director Terrence Malick also received a nomination.  The Best Director race is one of the most interesting this year.  Each of the five nominees has a viable shot for one reason or another, but I'll be pulling for Malick to win for the incredible feat which is The Tree of Life.

Other than the Best Supporting Actress lineup (which sadly left out Shailene Woodley in favor of Janet McTeer), the acting categories each had a surprise, too.  Michael Fassbender, who gave the year's best performance in Shame, was left out in favor of SAG nominee Demian Bichir for his work in A Better Life.  Bichir is great in the film but nowhere near Fassbender's level.  Gary Oldman's inclusion is a worthier nominee (and one that I predicted, to boot).

In the Best Actress lineup, Rooney Mara edged out Tilda Swinton, representing one of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's major nominations (it was also recognized in some of the tech categories, including Editing and Cinematography).  That whacky Best Supporting Actor race got a little whackier by leaving out Albert Brooks (a move I support) and including Von Sydow and Nick Nolte for Warrior.  Aside from Jonah Hill, it's quite the aged category.

J.C. Chandor's fantastic script for Margin Call edged out Will Reiser's 50/50, a disappointing substitution, but it's hard to begrudge Chandor, as his film was so wonderfully written.  The Adapted Screenplay race is more interesting, with The Ides of March and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy snagging noms while The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was left out.  Considering EL&IC's nominations, I'm surprised Eric Roth didn't manage to sneak into the race, but it's a crowded one.

The Best Original Song category continues to be a travesty.  The Academy needs to figure out some new rules, because having only two nominees (one of which is from the terribly misguided Rio) is ridiculous in a year so full of great songs.  Even Best Picture nominees like The Help and Hugo didn't manage to snag nods for their respective songs, and great entries from The Muppets (which got the other slot), Winnie the Pooh, and happythankyoumoreplease were left in the dust.  Hopefully there will be decent enough outcry for the Academy to figure out a better system for this category.

One of the strangest omissions comes in the Best Documentary race, where presumed frontrunner Project Nim is absent, just as Waiting for Superman was last year.  Bill Cunningham New York also missed the cut, meaning I've yet to see any of the nominees, although at least Pina is coming soon to a theater near me.

As far as overall lineups go, Best Animated Feature is rather odd.  Usually, one slot is reserved for a smaller, perhaps foreign entry, such as The Secret of Kells or Persepolis.  This year, both A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita made it into the race, meaning great mainstream fare like Arthur Christmas and Winnie the Pooh were left out, as well as The Adventures of Tintin, which I thought would be jostling with Rango for the win.

All in all, while there are some disappointing omissions (Shailene Woodley, Michael Fassbender, 50/50), this year's Oscar nominees represent one of the most interesting groups in recent memory.  By the time February 26 rolls around, we'll probably have it all figured out - we probably already do - but for now, it's fun to at least entertain the possibility that things might not always be as they seem.  Maybe, even as they announce the winners, there's a chance we'll be surprised.

Probably not.  But a movie lover can hope.