Oscar Nominations

Well it was an off year for me as far as Oscar prognostication goes. 35 of 49 in the major categories, going up to 38 of 49 if you give me the benefit of my alternate pics. No excuses but I haven't seen everything yet plus this was a really a weak year in film plus there were some big surprises. Hmmm.... in retrospect, those sound like excuses. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" did very well. I was in denial about "The Tree of Life" because I don't like Terrence Malick films. And I never even heard of two films up for Best Animated Film, "A Cat in Paris" and "Chico and Rita". Really? Okay, here they are:

Best Picture (9 of them. Yes 9. Because the Academy can't make up their freakin' minds)
The Descendants
The Artist
War Horse
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Moneyball
Hugo
The Tree of Life
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Actor
George Clooney - The Descendants
Damian Bechir - A Better Life
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Jean DesJardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Actress-
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
Rooney Mara - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis - The Help

Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte = Warrior
Max Von Sydow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids

Director
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Terrence Malick - The Tree of Life

Original Screenplay
The Artist
Midnight in Paris
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
A Seperation (A well-reviewed Iranian film)

Adapted Screenplay
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Ides of March
Hugo
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Animated Feature
Puss N Boots
Kung Fu Panda 2
A Cat in Paris
Chico and Rita
Rango

Weird year.