Oscars Nominations 2012

The Oscars nominations came out on Monday.  You can see the full list here:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/01/24/oscar-nominations-2012-announced/?ew_packageID=20311937

For the most part, the nominations were to be expected.  There were a few surprises.

- Michael Fassbender, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ryan Gosling were not nominated.  Gary Oldman and Demian Bichir edged them out of the race.  It's hard to be upset with the choice of Gary Oldman, though, since this is his first nomination.  I didn't see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but people who have seen it thought he was wonderful in it, even if the movie is really confusing.  Never saw A Better Life, but I'll take the critics' word that Bichir was fantastic in it.

- Rooney Mara got the nomination over Tilda Swinton or Charlize Theron.  Even though the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo divided people, there has been universal praise for Mara's performance.  I think she deserves it after all the piercings she had to go through for the role (ouch!).

- I'm very excited about the nominations for Bridesmaids - Melissa McCarthy for Supporting Actress and Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo for Original Screenplay.  It's hard for comedies to break into the Oscars, and even though it really should be nominated for Best Picture as well, it's nice to see it get some recognition.  As an aside, I didn't know until recently that Melissa McCarthy and Jenny McCarthy are cousins.

- Only two nominees for Best Song?  I might be the only one who actually enjoyed the Best Song performances during the Oscars.

- I also just found out that Berenice Bejo, the Supporting Actress nominee for The Artist, is married to the film's director and fellow Oscar nominee, Michel Hazanavicius.  I never saw this movie and probably never will, but it sounds interesting.  Wonder if it will end up like Slumdog Millionaire, who started small but then rode all the goodwill all  the way to Oscar gold.  When will the backlash start against The Artist?  Cynically, I'm sure it's coming.

- I know it was a long shot, but I am still disappointed that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II didn't break into the Best Picture race.  I think it's underrated and easily one of the best movies this year.