So the Oscar nominations were announced and across the board they were kind of a let down. I almost have problems across the board with the nominations. Let me get this off my chest, I already know The Social Network will win most of the awards. I feel most people know this and I expect ratings to drop because of it. The Globes ratings rose because of their host, Ricky Gervais. The Social Network was a very good movie, but does not deserve everything it’s winning. I believe these awards shows believe the “Young generation” have some connection to The Social Network and awarding it dozens of awards will connect these shows with the internet generation. It’s just not happening, most people think the movie is “alright” and not brilliant. Anyway here is the list of nominations and I’ve added my thoughts to a couple of them.

Actor in a Lead Role:

Javier Bardem – Biutiful

Jeff Bridges – True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network

Colin Firth – The King’s Speech

James Franco – 127 Hours

– I have no real issue with this group. If they were not going to nominate Mark Wahlberg then they should have given it to Christian Bale. I would also drop Eisenberg for Ryan Gosling for his performance in Blue Valentine. I also think it was pointless to nominate James Franco, since the dude is co-hosting I doubt he’ll win, even though I hope he does.

Actor in a Supporting Role:

-Christian Bale – The Fighter

John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone

Jeremy Renner – The Town

Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech

– Christian Bale should walk away with this award, Geoffrey Rush is a dark horse though. I dig this list.

Actress in a Leading Role:

Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right

Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

– Natalie Portman will probably win but will see if her recent movie choices will sway voters to give it to Kidman or possibly Lawrence. Good list here but Hailee Steinfeld should have one of these spots… I’ll get to that in a second.

Actress in a Supporting Role:

– Amy Adams – The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech

Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom

– So it should go to Adams or Leo or Carter. It could go to Steinfeld but I have a serious problem with her being nominated for best supporting actress here. She was in every scene of True Grit. If anything Jeff Bridges was supporting her role. So having her placed here is a cop out and might take the award away from other great performances.

Animated Feature Film:

– How to Train Your Dragon

– The Illusionist

– Toy Story 3

Only three nominations here? What about Tangled? Toy Story 3 will win here and then instantly not stand a chance in the best picture category. Remember Up?

The list of course is longer but I’m skipping to the major awards…

Best Director:

– Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan

– David O. Russell – The Fighter

– Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech

– David Fincher – The Social Network

– Joel and Ethan Coen – True Grit

– All worthy nominations, but where is Christopher Nolan? The man made the most complex sci-fi movie ever and he gets ignored here. I thought the whole reason why they expanded best picture category because The Dark Knight got dissed. I love the Coen Brothers but they are not going to win. That slot should have went to Nolan. Fincher will win it but it’s for the wrong movie, he should have won the award for Zodiac.

Best Picture:

– Black Swan

– The Fighter

– Inception

– The Kids Are All Right

– The King’s Speech

– 127 Hours

– The Social Network

– Toy Story 3

– True Grit

– Winter’s Bone

– The Social Network will win this but it doesn’t deserve it, I’d give it to Inception or The King’s Speech. The Fighter is also worthy of the award but I don’t think it will win.

So I have a bigger problem with the awards and it has to do with what I think is a huge snub. Tron: Legacy, I know it’s a silly movie but the soundtrack by Daft Punk was the best of the year. The graphics were also amazing and yet the movie gets no attention. Oscars are the fail this year really but will see once it airs.