I rant about the Oscar nominations.

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning. This is one of my favorite days of the year. Of course, this year there might not even be an Oscar telecast with the writer's strike. That's okay because it seems like the top five categories are already pretty much decided anyway.

Here are the nominations, with some pithy comments by me included.

Best Picture
"Atonement"
"Juno"
"Michael Clayton"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

(I am surprised by Michael Clayton's nomination. I know it got good reviews, but I didn't think that they were that good. Surprised it got the nod over American Gangster and Sweeney Todd. I am happy that Juno got nominated)

Actor
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"
Johnny Depp, "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
Tommy Lee Jones, "In the Valley of Elah"
Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises"

(This category seems to be Day-Lewis' to lose. Surprise nod for Tommy Lee Jones, who wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe. I am happy that Viggo Mortensen got nominated. Of course, those two meant that Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks were left out. SOmetimes I really wish they had more than five nominees)

Actress
Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"
Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"
Laura Linney, "The Savages"
Ellen Page, "Juno"

(Laura Linney is a surprise. Thought that her spot would have gone to Amy Adams or Keira Knightly. Again, this seems to be a lock for Julie Christie)

Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"
Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"
Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton"

(If Javier Bardem doesn't win, there is something wrong. Love that Casey was the first Affleck to get an Oscar nomination for acting.)

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"
Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"
Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton"

(A rarity: Blanchett is nominated twice in Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. That doesn't happen too often. Ruby Dee seems to me to be a "lifetime achievment" nomination. Her part wasn't that big in American Gangster and her performance was a bit showy for my taste. But she has been great in other roles through he long career, and therefore may be the underdog in this race, stealing the award from Amy Ryan)

Director
Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Jason Reitman, "Juno"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"

(Every year, the Academy seem to make it a point to make sure the Best Director nominees don't match up with the Best Picture nominees. I'm not a fan of that. If Schnabel did such a good job, why wasn't Diving Bell nominated? And if no leads or director from Atonement were nominated, what made it such a good film? Also, I wonder if Fiona Apple will be once again be stroking Paul Thomas Anderson's arm as he fumes after losing in either of the two categories he's nominated.)

Foreign Film
"Beaufort," Israel
"The Counterfeiters," Austria
"Katyn," Poland
"Mongol," Kazakhstan
"12," Russia

Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
Sarah Polley, "Away from Her"
Ronald Harwood, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"
Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"

Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"
Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"
Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages."

Animated Feature Film
"Persepolis"
"Ratatouille"
"Surf's Up"

(I pity Surf's Up. Because the award is either going to one of the other two. I think it's a bit unfair to judge between Persepolis and Ratatouille. Yes, they are both animated, but with two entirely different tones and subject matter.)

Art Direction
"American Gangster"
"Atonement"
"The Golden Compass"
"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"
"There Will Be Blood"

Cinematography
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Sound Mixing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Transformers"

Sound Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Ratatouille"
"There Will Be Blood"
"Transformers"

Original Score
"Atonement," Dario Marianelli
"The Kite Runner," Alberto Iglesias
"Michael Clayton," James Newton Howard
"Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino
"3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami

Original Song
"Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
"Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
"Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined
"So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
"That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz

(I am a little sad that none of the songs from Walk Hard got a nod. They were perfect parodies of that musical era, which isn't easy to do. Not that I'm against the nods for the Enchanted songs. They were charming. And what's the deal with "Nominees to be determined" for the August Rush song? How can authorship of a song be in doubt?)

Costume
"Across the Universe"
"Atonement"
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Documentary Feature
"No End in Sight"
"Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience"
"Sicko"
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
"War/Dance"

Documentary (short subject)
"Freeheld"
"La Corona (The Crown)"
"Salim Baba"
"Sari's Mother"

Film Editing
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
"There Will Be Blood"

Makeup
"La Vie en Rose"
"Norbit"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"

Animated Short Film
"I Met the Walrus"
"Madame Tutli-Putli"
"Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)"
"My Love (Moya Lyubov)"
"Peter & the Wolf"

Live Action Short Film
"At Night"
"Il Supplente (The Substitute)"
"Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)"
"Tanghi Argentini"
"The Tonto Woman"

Visual Effects
"The Golden Compass"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
"Transformers"