One Category at a Time: Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actor is often a refuge for overdue veterans reminding the industry that they're still alive (unless they're in a film that's just too cool for the Academy - coughAlbertBrookscough!), and with the exception of one conspicuously youthful contender, that's exactly what the category represents this year. I think it's safe to assume that someone is finally getting his due this year, but while the precursors have made it convincingly clear which senior it'll be, I have some uneasy reservations.

Reactions to 84th Oscar nominations

It all went down this morning more or less as expected. Hugo and The Artist unsurprisingly led the field of 2011/12 nominees with 11 and 10 Oscar nominations respectively. The next closest were Moneyball and War Horse with six apiece, followed closely by The Descendants and Dragon Tattoo with five (although the latter was squeezed out of the Best Picture lineup).

The most notable of the few inconsequential surprises was the breadth of the Best Picture slate, which ended accommodating nine nominees. Apparently Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close wasn't dead in the water after all; it was just extremely quiet and incredibly close to a Best Picture nomination. I thought I had dodged a bullet in not having to watch this critically derided film, but now I'll have to check it out. With only one other nomination under its belt (for sentimental favourite Max von Sydow, who could stealthily usurp Plummer's long overdue Oscar), one can't help but feel that this particular Best Picture nominee is out of place. This year's Blind Side? I'll hold off on a true opinion until I see it.

Sunday Top Ten - Moustaches

Didn't have a lot of time to put together a respectable list this week, but I thought as Movember draws to a close, now is the time to highlight ten kickass movie moustaches that I only wish I could grow.