So today was basically like Christmas morning for all movie buffs.

I am talking about Oscar Nominations.

Although there were some clear and predictable choices, there were some disappointing snubs. Let’s get to it.

First off, the Best Picture nominees total 9 this year. They are: American Hustle, Gravity, Captain Phillips, 12 Years a Slave, Her, Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, Philomena, and Nebraska

Now to some, this might not seem so surprising, but we are missing out on a couple movies that should have gotten some love here, after all, there was room for one more.

The first is Saving Mr. Banks, total Oscar-bait. Tom Hanks, the so-called “National Treasure”, and Emma Thompson, who was already nominated for a Golden Globe, and it’s about Walt Disney and the making of Mary Poppins: it has all the ingredients for a least some nominations. It is a movie about movies, the most popular Oscar-bait, but unfortunately, it only got nominated for its Score, like seriously guys, come on.

The other surprising exclusion is Inside Llewyn Davis. It is only nominated for Sound Mixing and Cinematography. The Coen Brothers are no strangers to the Oscars, and have been winning them for almost 20 years. Heck, even A Serious Man got more nominations, and that one, well, don’t get me started on that one. There was no love for Oscar Isaac, who gave a fantastic and talented performance, and it wasn’t even nominated for Original Song, because apparently it wasn’t “original enough” for the Academy. I have to say it again: like seriously, guys come on.

By the way, who or what the heck is this “Alone but Not Alone” that just all of a sudden came out of – please excuse my language – f’ing nowhere? How does a movie that hardly anyone has heard of get a nomination for Original Song?

Moving down the list to Best Actor, Robert Redford is the obvious exclusion. His one man tour-de-force performance in All is Lost is a testament to all great acting. He was alone, on screen, for an hour and a half. Yet the Academy had no love for one of the truly great actors of all time.

Speaking of truly great actors, where is Tom Hanks’ nomination? I don’t really know. He wasn’t nominated for either Captain Phillips or Saving Mr. Banks. This was supposedly his comeback; his role in Captain Phillips was praised as one of his best EVER. I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie, but I do feel like he deserved some recognition. But alright Academy, you can jip two of the greats, that’s cool too.

Also, there was no love for Joaquin Phoenix. The Academy must still be concerned about his little “episode” a couple years back. Yet he gave one of the best performances of his career. He was speaking to a computer the whole time, making us feel like he actually loved it. Oh well. At least he gets a nomination for singing the Moon Song in Her.

And you already know about Oscar Isaac’s exclusion.

Moving along to Best Actress: I already said the only shocker was Emma Thompson not getting nominated, so, let’s keep on trucking.

No real surprises in the Best Supporting Actor category. I am pleased to see Jonah Hill getting recognition for The Wolf of Wall Street when the Golden Globes did not give any. Basically he just took the spot of Daniel Bruhl from Rush.

Next stop: Best Supporting Actress. Again, nothing stands out; they got all of them correct; an exact copy of the Golden Globes

Directing is next on the list, and for the most part it is pretty accurate. The only notable exclusions are The Coen Brothers, which, following the love they got (basically none) it’s not too surprising anymore that they weren’t nominated. Some might be surprised that Paul Greengrass wasn’t nominated for Captain Phillips, but for me the shocker was Spike Jonze getting snubbed. I mean, Her was a beautifully told story, and he is a great filmmaker, I guess the Academy just didn’t want to give him one.

Nothing really surprises me in either of the Writing categories. Before Midnight is just a little shocker, but, I can’t really think of any other adapted works that should have garnered a nomination. Maybe the Great Gatsby? Who knows.

Moving along to Animated; the only surprise is Ernest and Celestine, which is listed as coming out in 2012, and it follows the story of a bear and a mouse. So, I guess that’s a thing….

The Foreign Film category forgot (or rather purposefully) did not include the NC-17 French film Blue is the Warmest Color, which would probably be too “taboo” for the Academy. I mean, they couldn’t give Brokeback Mountain Best Picture, so why should they care to nominate a French movie about lesbians? Hmm.

Anyway, those are pretty much the biggest categories that people truly care about, once you get into all the technical stuff people really don’t start to care. But, if you do care about them and want my opinion, post in the comments and I will give you my thoughts.

Other than that, now we play the waiting game. March 2nd is the day, and it is fast approaching. Who will win? Who will be snubbed? Time will tell.

Stay tuned.