EDIT: There will be no Part 2 to this list. I honestly have zero to say about the remaining categories, as I don't feel knowledgeable enough about the technical categories. Regardless, congratulations to those who were nominated in those categories.
Well, it's that time of year again, folks. This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominees for the 2011 Academy Awards. Overall, the nominations aren't that surprising, but there are a couple snubs that are worth mentioning. For convenience's sake, I'll post the list of nominees here, followed by my thoughts on said nominations. This is part 1 of 2, where I'll talk about the main categories. Part 2, which I'll post tomorrow, will focus on what doesn't get covered here, with a focus on the technical awards. So, without further ado, let's get to it:
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
Thoughts: This category was pretty much sewn up about a month ago, except for the inclusion of Winter's Bone. That film squeaked in without much fuss, taking a spot that was seemingly going to go to The Town. The Social Network still seems to be the top dog here, and it's still my personal favorite, but The King's Speech could still take it as a "safe" choice for the Academy. We'll see what happens.
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
Thoughts: The big thing to notice here is the snubbing of Christopher Nolan for Inception. He's gotten the nomination at seemingly every other awards show this year besides the Oscars, where his spot has been taken by the Coens. Now, Nolan probably wouldn't of ended up winning, with David Fincher still being the favorite here, but he at least deserved to be nominated. Seriously, Academy, what in the hell does a guy as brilliant as Christopher Nolan need to do to get a nomination?
Best Actor
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Thoughts: Javier Bardem continues this year's trend of nominees somehow barely slipping into their categories, but he's apparently very good in Biutiful, so he deserves the nod nonetheless. Jeff Bridges just won in this category last year, so it's hard to think that he'd win it again this year. James Franco had a lot of momentum building up, but he kind of got lost in the shuffle recently. Colin Firth seems to be everyone's favorite, but I'd love to see Jesse Eisenberg take this one, personally. Then again, seeing how Franco is co-hosting this year's show, there's even a slight chance of him somehow ending up with this one. This is quite the interesting category.
Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Thoughts: It seems like this category is Natalie Portman's to lose. Her performance in Black Swan has been talked about to no end, so she seems to be our safe bet here. I don't know much about the performances given by the other four actresses nominated here, but Annette Bening did win for Best Actress, Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes, so I think that puts here right behind Portman at the Oscars. But we'll see, we've got a couple indie darlings in here that could very well pull the rug from underneath the frontrunners.
Best Supporting Actor
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
Thoughts: Yet another notable snub here, as Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Justin Timberlake all didn't get nominated for The Social Network. I don't think this was intentional, though, as Hammer and Garfield probably split the votes, causing them both to lose their potential spots. The only reason I mention Timberlake is because I personally think he had just as good a chance as the others. Anyway, Christian Bale has been getting a ton of praise for his role in The Fighter, but we've got a few good actors with good performances in this category. To me, this category is still up in the air.
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Thoughts: I think most of what I said about the Supporting Actor category is applicable here. Melissa Leo seems to be our frontrunner, but any of these actresses have the possibility to take it. Especially Hailee Steinfeld, who's been getting as much, if not more, praise than Leo. This one should be interesting as well.
Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3
Thoughts: Dreamworks has been campaigning hard for How to Train Your Dragon, but I can't see anyone other than Toy Story 3 winning here. I've talked about how much I love that film, and Pixar definitely deserve to win in this category once again. Now, when it comes to The Illusionist, I can't say much, because I've barely heard anything about it. With that in mind, I think it has very little chance to beat Toy Story 3.
Best Original Screenplay
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
Thoughts: As much as he probably won't win it, I'd love to see Christopher Nolan take this one home for Inception. It'll probably go to The King's Speech, but if this award is to go to the most "original" screenplay, it should be Inception. None of the other films nominated are more original than Inception, and I hope the Academy recognizes that.
Best Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone
Thoughts: I'm not even going to talk in-depth about this category, because it's so obviously going to be won by Aaron Sorkin's amazing work on The Social Network. There's really not much else to say here. If you've seen The Social Network, you'll know why Sorkin's got this one wrapped up.
Best Foreign Language Film
Biutiful, Mexico
Dogtooth, Greece
In A Better World, Denmark
Incendies, Canada
Outside the Law, Algeria
Thoughts: I have literally seen nothing and heard little about all these films. So, I'm just going to say that it's between Biutiful, who's lead is nominated for Best Actor, and In A Better World, which one at the Globes.
Documentary Feature
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land
Thoughts: I've only heard tremendous things about Exit Through the Gift Shop, so I'd assume it'll take this one home. I haven't seen it yet, but I will be seeing that film and Restrepo very soon. Based on premise alone, though, Exit Through the Gift Shop sounds like an amazingly interesting film. I can't wait to check it out.
Original Score
How to Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Thoughts: Let's talk about another snub, shall we? I don't care what your opinion on Tron: Legacy is, but Daft Punk should of been nominated for their score. I mean, The Social Network's score is very good, as is Inception's, but I keep going back to the Tron: Legacy score. I feel myself re-experiencing the film every time I listen to it, and it should of been nominated over How to Train Your Dragon. But, seeing how things played out, I think it's really between The Social Network and Inception. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross created a simple but wonderful score that really suits the ever-building tension of the film. Inception, on the other hand, features yet another booming and masterful score from Hans Zimmer, who's work really completed that film's atmosphere. Both are worthy nominees and possible winners.
So, that about does it for Part 1 of the 2011 Oscar nominees. Tomorrow I'll take a look at the technical awards and everything else that didn't get covered here. So, until next time, I'll see you next time.
(You can check out BenBen on Twitter @CmdrBenBen)
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