Oscar noms are in! Countdown to disappointment begins

Yay! The Oscar nominations (or, as I like to call them, a hack-filled sham) were announced yesterday! You can't imagine my excitement (for those of you reading at home, I'm making a completely unexcited face).

February 25th is just around the corner; the night when Hollywood's brightest and most beautiful gather at the Kodak Theater in L.A. and stroke their purring egos as they sit and look perfect, waiting anxiously to hear their name. In their inception, The Academy Awards were a testament to the film culture, a coming-together of the greatest minds and talent in the business. Then, a new concept was introduced: the snub. Movies that were clear, far-and-away winners were ignored. The Oscars diminished into a relative "Who Can Buy Off the Most Voters?" Contest. Plus, the majority of the Academy voters are old, crusty white guys. The Oscars are simply a ridiculously glamorous excuse to use the Kodak theater.

So, here's the usual stinking heap of undeserving films. "Babel" is getting way too much love for such a mediocre film. However, there are a few surprises (namely "Little Miss Sunshine" being nominated for best picture). So, here's the nominee. Those in bold are my choices for the win. Those without any bold are ones I either don't care about or haven't seen an adequate amount of the nominations.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
• Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson" (THINKFilm)
• Peter O'Toole in "Venus" (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
• Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
• Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
• Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children" (New Line)
• Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
• Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
• Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed" (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Penélope Cruz in "Volver" (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight)
• Helen Mirren in "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
• Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" (20th Century Fox)
• Kate Winslet in "Little Children" (New Line)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Adriana Barraza in "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
• Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight)
• Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
• Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
• Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)

Achievement in directing

• "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro González Iñárritu
• "The Departed" (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
• "Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
• "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Stephen Freare
• "United 93" (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass

Best animated feature film of the year

• "Cars" (Buena Vista)
  
• "Happy Feet" (Warner Bros.)
  
• "Monster House" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  

Achievement in art direction

• "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
• "The Good Shepherd" (Universal)
• "Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse)
• "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
• "The Prestige" (Buena Vista)

Achievement in cinematography

• "The Black Dahlia" (Universal)
  
• "Children of Men" (Universal)
  
• "The Illusionist" (Yari Film Group)
  
• "Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse)
  
• "The Prestige" (Buena Vista)
  

Achievement in costume design

• "Curse of the Golden Flower" (Sony Pictures Classics)
  
• "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
  
• "Marie Antoinette" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  
• "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
  

Best documentary feature

• "Deliver Us from Evil" (Lionsgate)
• "An Inconvenient Truth" (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
• "Iraq in Fragments" (Typecast Releasing)
• "Jesus Camp" (Magnolia Pictures)
• "My Country, My Country" (Zeitgeist Films)

Best documentary short subject

• "The Blood of Yingzhou District"
• "Recycled Life"
• "Rehearsing a Dream"
• "Two Hands"

Achievement in film editing

• "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
• "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
• "Children of Men" (Universal)
• "The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
• "United 93" (Universal and StudioCanal)

Best foreign language film of the year

• "After the Wedding" (Denmark)
• "Days of Glory (Indigènes)" (Algeria)
• "The Lives of Others" (Germany)
• "Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico)
  
• "Water" (Canada)

Achievement in makeup

• "Apocalypto" (Buena Vista)
  
• "Click" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  
• "Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse) Ribe

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo Santaolalla
• "The Good German" (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
• "Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
• "Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
• "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Alexandre Desplat

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth"
• "Listen" from "Dreamgirls"
• "Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls"
• "Our Town" from "Cars"
• "Patience" from "Dreamgirls"

Best motion picture of the year

• "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
  
• "The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
  
• "Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.)
  
• "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
  
• "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
  

Best animated short film

• "The Danish Poet" (National Film Board of Canada)
• "Lifted" (Buena Vista)
• "The Little Matchgirl" (Buena Vista)
• "Maestro" (Szimplafilm)
• "No Time for Nuts" (20th Century Fox)

Best live action short film

• "Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)"
• "Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)" (Kimuak)
• "Helmer & Son"
• "The Saviour" (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
• "West Bank Story"

Achievement in sound editing

• "Apocalypto" (Buena Vista)
  
• "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
  
• "Flags of Our Fathers" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
  
• "Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.)
  
• "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
  

Achievement in sound mixing

• "Apocalypto" (Buena Vista)
• "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
• "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
• "Flags of Our Fathers" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
• "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)

Achievement in visual effects

• "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
• "Poseidon" (Warner Bros.)
• "Superman Returns" (Warner Bros.)

Adapted screenplay

• "Borat" (20th Century Fox)
• "Children of Men" (Universal)
• "The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
• "Little Children" (New Line)
• "Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight)

Original screenplay

• "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
• "Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.)
• "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
• "Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse)
• "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)