2012 Academy Award Nominees

The strangest choices for a nomination can be found in the Best Picture category. Last year, there were 10 nominees. This year, there are only 9. Considering the nominees at this year's Golden Globes, the Academy seems to have forgotten one awesome contender. And that would be 50/50, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. It is a very powerful drama about a young man diagnosed with cancer. Why they didn't include this worthy 10th contender is beyond my understanding. Then, of course, you also have George Clooney's well made political drama, The Ides of March that was also given the cold shoulder this year.

The best actor category has a few strange choices and snubs. For the Academy to choose Demian Bichir for his nice performance in A Better Life over Joseph Gordon-Levitt for 50/50 or even Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar seems wrong.

The worst choices and the worst snub in my opinion has to do with the Best Animated Feature category. The Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature went to Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's amazing animated achievement, The Adventures of Tintin. A very well-deserved win, in my opinion. However, the Academy doesn't seem to count Tintin as being worthy or being an animated feature, despite the fact that so much of the film is made to look like the classic cartoon. They nominated two relatively unknown animated films from last year instead. This is very wrong.

Listed below are all of the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards. Below them, you'll find some information and my opinion on the Best Picture nominees. Tune in to ABC on February 26th to find out the winners.

Best Picture

The Artist

The Descendants

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

The Help

Moneyball

War Horse

The Tree of Life

Best Actor

Demian Bichir for A Better Life

George Clooney for The Descendants

Jean Dujardin for The Artist

Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt for Moneyball

Best Actress

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis for The Help

Rooney Mara for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh for My Week With Marilyn

Jonah Hill for Moneyball

Nick Nolte for Warrior

Christopher Plummer for Beginners

Max Von Sydow for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo for The Artist

Jessica Chastain for The Help

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer for The Help

Best Director

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life

Alexander Payne for The Descendants

Martin Scorsese for Hugo

Best Original Screenplay

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris

JC Chandor for Margin Call

Asghar Farhadi for A Separation

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo for Bridesmaids

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton and Jim Rash for The Descendants

John Logan for Hugo

George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon for The Ides of March

Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian for Moneyball

Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughn for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Film

A Cat In Paris

Chico & Rita

Kung Fu Panda 2

Puss in Boots

Rango

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Bullhead (Belgium)

Footnote (Israel)

In Darkness (Poland)

Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)

A Separation (Iran)

Best Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin by John Williams

The Artist by Ludovic Bource

Hugo by Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by Alberto Iglesias

War Horse by John Williams

Best Original Song

Man or Muppet from The Muppets; Music and Lyrics by Bret McKenzie

Real in Rio from Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyrics by Siedah Garrett

Best Art Direction

The Artist

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

War Horse

Best Cinematography

The Artist

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Best Costume Design

Anonymous

The Artist

Hugo

Jane Eyre

W.E.

Best Film Editing

The Artist

The Descendants

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

Best Makeup

Albert Nobbs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Iron Lady

Best Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Real Steel

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Documentary Film

Hell and Back Again

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Pina

Undefeated

Best Documentary Short Subject

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?

God Is the Bigger Elvis

Incident in New Bagdad

Saving Face

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Animated Short Film

Dimanche / Sunday

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

La Luna

A Morning Stroll

Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film

Pentecost

Raju

The Shore

Time Freak

Tuba Atlantic

Best Sound Editing

Drive

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

Best Sound Mixing

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

Here is a list of the nominated movies, including my thoughts:

Hugo

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz, this marks the beginning of great 3D photography without the need for CGI alien people on the distant moon of Pandora. This film proves how capable the great Martin Scorsese is with any genre. Hugo is the story of a recently orphaned boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station, repairing the clocks and watching the people who work and pass through the station. He is not the best boy. But, can this boy really be blamed for swiping a few necessities to live and be happy?

Hugo takes us on a journey of discover. First, Hugo introduces us to a grouchy, old toy-maker, George Melies (Kingsley), who works in the station. Apparently, Hugo had stolen a few of his toys for the parts, and George Melies is not happy about it. Next, we meet George's adopted daughter, Isabelle, played beautifully by Ms. Moretz.

At this point, the film almost seems to be reveling in the atmosphere and character development. We get to know more about Hugo, George and Isabelle in this time. We get to see why Hugo would be stealing parts. He's trying to repair an automaton, a robot man, if cranked up, could draw images on a blank page. This contraption is very important to Hugo, since it relates to his late father, as played by Jude Law. Hugo gets the toy man to work and all the automaton gives him is a drawing, a clue to a bigger mystery.

Finally, the film starts getting to the point. Martin Scorsese starts showing us how much he loves making movies and why. He takes us back to the time when film was just starting out. In its infancy, several visionary filmmakers would play with different techniques to express themselves and give real life to these moving images. This was back in the day when the use of special effects was truly magical. George Melies was one of these artists. Ever see the old, post-colored black and white silent picture, featuring the rocket ship, shooting into the eye of the man in the moon? Well, that was made by the cranky, old toy-maker, harassing Hugo in the beginning of the film. At this point in the story, it's hard not to see that Hugo is a big tribute to filmmaking in general.

Along the way, we get a sense of adventure, excitement, discovery and delight. Borat's own, Sacha Baron Cohen is constantly chasing after Hugo with his adorable Doberman Pinscher. After all, Cohen is playing the train station inspector and Hugo technically is a thieving orphan. But, we care about the title character, no matter what.

For his first big film, the young Asa Butterfield is wonderful. He truly does carry the film. But, he's not some blank surface for us to project ourselves onto. Asa actually gives real depth to Hugo and makes us really care about him. As I mentioned earlier, the young, up and coming actress, Chloe Moretz is fantastic as Hugo's partner in crime and fellow adventurer. And luckily, for the safety of every character, Isabelle is not exactly Hit Girl. And of course, the veteran, Ben Kingsley drives the film home and gives it the big, adult heart it needs by the end. He basically gives Melies the voice of Scorsese himself.

War Horse

Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson and Peter Mullan, the story of an English boy, raising a horse to be one of the most capable and efficient creatures, serving in World War 1 is a fantastic treat. Based on the novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo, the film feels like an homage to the old John Ford films, like How Green Was My Valley. However, War Horse has a heart and soul, all its own. And it really is a joy to go along, following the horse, Joey in his adventures, during the first great war. Jeremy Irvine plays Joey's human brother, Albert Narracott. He gives the character passion for the stud that is rarely seen in movies. Emily Watson beautifully plays Albert's hard-nosed, old-school, Irish-like "mum," Rose Narracott. She really does not crap from anyone. God help you if you cross her. Peter Mullan plays the typical, Irish-like drunken baffoon husband and father, Ted Narracott. But, in the capable hands of a master like Steven Spielberg, nothing in the film feels too tacky or cliche.

The story follows this amazing animal, Joey as his journeys take him through World War I. Joey is bought, sold, taken and stolen several times, by several different people across Europe. He almost becomes a bad omen for everyone accept the young man that he truly belongs to. One of the most compelling and powerful subplots, is the story of an old, hard-nosed Frenchman and his adopted granddaughter, struggling to survive German occupation. Niels Areststup gives the character heart and soul. But, Celine Bucken, who plays the granddaughter is there to compliment his performance. A few of the other subplots consist of German brothers, trying to escape the war with Joey and his black stallion friend. A warring Englishman and German, bonding and reconciling for 5 minutes to save Joey, which is impossible to imagine, during a battle. But, wild stories like that happen in warfare.

But, finally, when all the chips are down, when it looks like there is no hope for Joey, the film finally comes full circle. Joey and Albert are brought back together, after both have gone through such hell, and the pay off is not to be missed. Whether you are an animal lover or not, I guarantee that you'll be drying your eyes at the end of War Horse. Just as Hugo shows us why Martin Scorsese is the second best filmmaker today, War Horse reminds us how great Steven Spielberg is when he wants to be.

Moneyball

Directed by Bennett Miller. Starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Moneyball follows Oakland Athletics baseball general manager, Billy Beane as he tries to breathe new life into his ball team. He grabs an economics whiz, Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) while visiting the Cleveland Indians. Together with Brand, Billy fights against old-style baseball recruiting, embodied by the great, stoic performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe, the manager or coach of the Oakland Athletics team. They both end up revolutionizing baseball recruitment forever, simply by adding equations and statistics to the process.

Outside of Fight Club, Brad Pitt's Billy Beane may be his finest performance. He actually has a good chance of winning Best Actor at the Oscars this year and for good reason. Jonah Hill has never impressed me as an actor, until I saw him in Moneyball. And, as I said before, Philip Seymour Hoffman rarely disappoints as an actor. He's just not playing the most likable guy.

Moneyball plays like the modern Jerry Maguire, without the love story. It's slick, smart and compelling from start to finish. There are just as many great dramatic moments as there are comedic moments. And, if you love movies about sports, Moneyball should not be missed.

Midnight in Paris

Directed by Woody Allen. Starring Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard and Rachel McAdams. A really well written fantasy, where Owen Wilson is miraculously transported back in time, to Paris in the 1920s. Amongst such esteemed and famous names as Zelda Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Owen Wilson grows to understand that he has to stop living in the past.

The Tree of Life

Directed by Terence Malick. Starring Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn. A very unique experience, like every film by Terence Malick. It combines surrealism and expressionist with some good old-fashion family storytelling. Set in the 1950s and '60s, The Tree of Life follows a family as they say goodbye to their home and their lives in this community. Look for Brad Pitt to really throw away his pretty-boy image and scare you with his stern, bitter 1950s father-figure.

The Help

Directed by Tate Taylor. Starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard. A truly touching film, following the hardships of black nannies and maids in Mississippi as they try to live amongst the most racist community since the Civil War. Emma Stone tries to get these women to open up to her and we get to hear some truly stunning revelations. I honestly can't look at Bryce Dallas Howard the same way, after having seen this film. Look for Sissy Spacek to make you laugh a few times.

The Descendants

Directed by Alexander Payne. Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller and Nick Krause. A family drama, set in Hawaii, based around a father and his two daughter, as his wife is slowly slipping away. George Clooney really delivers as the father, who discovers that his wife hasn't exactly been faithful. He ends up, blowing his top, providing a catalyst for the film to branch out and the audience to discover the beautiful islands of Hawaii.

The Artist

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius. Starring Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman and James Cromwell. It's a stylish, artistic film that pays homage to the silent film era and Singin' In The Rain. If you look at the lead character, played by Jean Dujardin, it's hard not to mistake him for Gene Kelly. But, the fact that The Artist was almost entirely a silent film was a risky way to go. The pay off was well worth it. The dog is adorable.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Directed by Stephen Daldry. Starring Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock and Max Von Sydow. Based on the 2005 novel of the same name, Extremely Loud was the most unlikely Best Picture nominee, given the fact that it has one of the lower critical rating of any film ever put up for this category. Now, unlike those critics, I think Extremely Loud was a very powerful and emotional film with great performances by Sandra Bullock and Max Von Sydow. And, of course, it's never a bad thing to see Tom Hanks in a film. But, the heart of Extremely Close belongs to the young newcomer, Thomas Horn, who has to take on a world of hurt. He plays Oskar, a boy who lost his father in the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. It is almost a sure bet that you'll be crying for Oskar and his loss by the end of the film.

Well, I'll be watching, to see the stars, the nominees, the winners. To see the great and hilarious, Billy Crystal back on stage.

Will you be watching? That's the question I'm asking with this article.