Now that I've had a chance to mull things over a bit, it's time for me to decide where I stand when it comes to this year's slate of Academy Award nominees. All said and done, things went more or less according to plan, so it's easiest to discuss my observations on an individual basis.
-The first thing that strikes me is how much the overall nominations were hogged by all the Best Picture nominees. Only four non-Best-Picture nominees (Biutiful, Alice, Harry Potter, Dragon) received multiple nominations. Beyond a smattering of single-nominated films, all the nominations went to Best Picture contenders. Each one as at least 4 nominations.
-With twelve noms to The King's Speech including Sound Mixing, I think it's safe to say it's the frontrunner.
-The most glaring surprise is the omission of Christopher Nolan in Best Director... again. Frustrating more than shocking. I might be a little more surprised if they hadn't done the exact same thing with Memento and The Dark Knight.
FAIL
-So sad that Ryan Gosling couldn't manage a nod for his astonishing work in Blue Valentine (FAIL), but so happy for Javier Bardem breaking through with his challenging and terrific performance in Biutiful (WIN). Other than that, no real surprises in the acting categories.
-More egregious than Christopher Nolan's snub in Best Director is Lee Smith's snub in Film Editing. How the editors branch failed to call Inception one of the five best edited films of the year is beyond me!
FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!
-I Am Love's nom in Costume Design came out of nowhere, but it's a smart contemporary nomination and a pleasant surprise.
WIN
-Relieved to see How to Train Your Dragon make it in for Original Score.
WIN
-No "Shine" for Best Song?
FAIL
-No Alice for Best Makeup!
WIN
-Exit Through the Gift Shop for Best Documentary!
HUGE WIN
-Dogtooth for Best Foreign Film?
???
