Second, and more substantially, here are my reactions:
WHOA!WOW!HOLYSHIT!IDON'TBELIEVEIT!AREYOUKIDDINGME!
In a phase 1 as condensed and crazy as this, we could be forgiven for hoping the Academy would throw us a few surprises, and they certainly didn't disappoint. Best Picture was stuffed, boasting nine nominees. Seven of them I anticipated -- Argo, Django, Les Mis, Life of Pi, Lincoln, SLP, and ZDT -- but the two I didn't predict have made me a very happy man; Beasts of the Southern Wild and Amour (along with the aforementioned Argo), represent the three best movies of the year in my opinion, and it's a thrill to see all of them up for the big prize. And I thought I wouldn't have any movies to root for!
Best Director offered up even bigger surprises, with Beasts and Amour helmers Benh Zeitlin and Michael Haneke replacing DGA nominees Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow. While I do feel bad for Affleck, whose snub is a rather hard pill to swallow and may have effectively killed Argo's Best Picture chances, I am super stoked for Zeitlin. Even Haneke was a threat to get in here, but I don't think anyone (least of all me) could have seen youngster Zeitlin sneak in for his tiny but powerful indie drama. Well done to you two gentlemen (who join Spielberg, Russell, and Lee), and well done to the Academy's directors branch!
In Best Actor, there were only six names in real contention. The only question was, who loses out. Sadly, it was John Hawkes for his terrific performance in The Sessions, but it's hard to complain too much about this lineup: Cooper, Day-Lewis, Jackman, Phoenix, and Washington. Seriously, this category is STACKED!
Best Actress also rewarded me with nods for two of the best performances of the year in Emmanuelle Riva (now the oldest Best Actress nominee) and Quvenzhane Wallis (now the youngest Best Actress nominee ever). They join presumed frontrunners Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence along with Naomi Watts, whose film I still need to see.
Best Supporting Actor features an entire lineup of past winners: Arkin, De Niro, Hoffman, Jones, and Waltz. This category went more or less according to plan.
Best Supporting Actress had one major surprise: Jackie Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook. Colour me confused, I guess. Just didn't seem like the script gave her much to do besides look worried all the time. The other four -- Adams, Field, Hathaway, and Hunt -- can hardly be seen as a surprise.
The Screenplay categories are where I predicted with the most accuracy, going 9/10 and only missing Flight which replaced The Master.
I also did well in Foreign Film, going 4/5, but the one I missed is the one I thought would win the whole thing: The Intouchables from France. I guess this is Amour's Oscar after all.
Over in Animated Feature, none of the GKIDS foreign films found room, while of the studio fare, I was shocked to see The Pirates rally back from a quiet, early release during which it was critically dismissed. I didn't hate the film completely, but it really does seem like the odd one out in an otherwise decent lineup which includes Wreck-It Ralph, Frankenweeenie, Brave, and ParaNorman.
Once we get to the craft categories, there are fewer shocks. I even managed to go a respectable 3/5 in all three short categories (none too shabby, I think). Best Original Song, however, is always ripe for unexpected turn-ups. A fun and ironic moment during the announcement occurred when Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone (who had some enjoyable banter during the proceedings) revealed that MacFarlane himself was a nominee for the song "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from Ted. MacFarlane quipped, "I guess I get to go to the Oscars after all!" One a side note: I think the decision to have MacFarlane announce the nominees was a smart way to drum up some anticipation for the show. I know I'm looking forward to it! Another surprising song was "Before My Time" from the documentary Chasing Ice, written by J. Ralph. This was pleasing for me because just last year I gave him my own award for the song he wrote from Hell and Back Again. See that, Academy! I liked him before you did (neener-neener)!
In Costume Design, both Snow White films got in, making one last posthumous nomination for the late, great Eiko Ishioka. I guess I'll have to see those films now.
Some of the less uplifting surprises include The Dark Knight Rises being shut out completely (ouch!), the Makeup snub for Lincoln (seriously?), and that Skyfall got nominated in Cinematography, Sound Mixing, and Score. Let me explain why that last one is disappointing: it means Roger Deakins, Greg P. Russell, and Thomas Newman, who are a combined 0/32 at the Oscars, are all going to lose yet again on the same night for the same film! I'll need some painkillers to get me through those categories.
And those are my main takeaways from the nominations. Despite minor quibbles I have here and there, the nominees are strong, strong, strong, across the board. Quite indicative of how great a year it's been. It looks like Lincoln is in the driver's seat with Life of Pi and SLP close behind, but I'll get into the individual categories eventually.
P.S: Overall, I went 85/122 (or 69.7%), which I think is respectable, especially considering that I predicted the short categories while most pundits do not.
