The 82nd Academy Awards

JANUARY 25, 2011: Not a terrible batch this year, as I would actually recommend all ten of the best picture nominees, though only a few of them are really among the best pictures of the year. The King's Speech is fine, but it's really nothing more than this year's historical British costume movie, not much different from anything else released in the past 15 years. And yet it's in the lead at the moment, with the most nominations and also the PGA award. The nomination that most puzzles me, though, is Best Cinematography. Really?

Some nice nominees include True Grit, The Social Network and Black Swan, all of which were on my ten best list, and Toy Story 3, The Kids Are All Right, and Winter's Bone, which were runners-up. The Best Documentary nominee Exit Through the Gift Shop was also a runner-up. Two of my other favorites, Hereafter and I Am Love snagged one nomination each. I liked seeing Trent Reznor (formerly of Nine Inch Nails) nominated for his excellent Social Network score. And Rick Baker is back for his makeup for The Wolfman. But otherwise, it's business as usual, with a typical batch of dull foreign language films to top things off.

As for the actors, Jesse Eisenberg, James Franco, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, John Hawkes, and Mark Ruffalo have their first nominations this year. Colin Firth has his second nomination, Annette Bening has her fourth, Natalie Portman has her second, Michelle Williams has her second, Jeremy Renner has his second, Amy Adams has her third, Helena Bonham Carter has her second, and Melissa Leo has her second. None of these have ever won. Of the previous Oscar winners, Jeff Bridges has his sixth nomination, Javier Bardem has his third nomination, Nicole Kidman has her third nomination, and Geoffrey Rush has his fourth nomination. At least Bening isn't going to lose to Hilary Swank for the third time!

In directing, David Fincher has his second nomination, and Tom Hooper, Darren Aronofsky and David O. Russell have their first nominations. Joel Coen has his third for Best Director, but Ethan Coen only has his second; Fargo was made back in the days when Joel would take a solo directing credit.

Here's the breakdown of nominations:
12 nominations: The King's Speech
10 nominations: True Grit
9 nominations: The Social Network
7 nominations: The Fighter
6 nominations: 127 Hours, Black Swan, Inception
5 nominations: Toy Story 3
4 nominations: The Kids Are All Right, Winter's Bone
3 nominations: Alice in Wonderland
2 nominations: Biutiful, Harry Potter and the Deathly Halloww: Part I, How to Train Your Dragon
1 nomination: Animal Kingdom, Another Year, Blue Valentine, Dogtooth, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Hereafter, The Illusionist, Inside Job, Iron Man 2, Rabbit Hole, Restrepo, Salt, The Town, Tron: Legacy, Unstoppable, Waste Land

Watch this space for upcoming predictions, personal choices, and lists of overlooked films.