Okay, here we go. I’m just gonna go through the nominees, and tell you what surprised and what was snubbed.

BEST PICTURE

American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years A Slave
The Wolf Of Wall Street

Llewyn Davis and Banks left off. I guess nothing too surprising. I got 8/9 (though to be fair, I guessed ten.) Philomena is kind of a surprise, but I guess Harvey Weinstein has to have some kind of a contender.

BEST DIRECTOR

Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf Of Wall Street 

Boo you for leaving off Spike Jonze! I got 3/5 on my predictions with both Scorsese and Payne getting on. Also, I’m kind of surprised that Captain Phillips got a Best Picture nomination if the academy snubbed the film not only here, but in another category coming up. Good for Payne, though.

BEST ACTOR

Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf Of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Man, they must have really loved American Hustle to nominate Christian Bale over Tom Hanks. My father is gonna go crazy when he hears that Hanks was snubbed. Oh, and good for DiCaprio, earning his fourth nomination. Redford’s chances were slim, anyway. I got 3/5.

BEST ACTRESS

Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

When they first announced that Adams was nominated, I was all “Oh, cool. They nominated her over Meryl Streep. And then when we got to the end, I was like, “What? How can Streep be nominated too – hang on a minute…” They didn’t nominate Emma Thompson’s masterful performance as Pamela Travers! Maybe the Academy is just anti-red or something. I got 4/5

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf Of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dalllas Buyers Club

Two time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill? The Academy must really have loved the film. What’s stranger is that AwardsCircuit.com called Hill “The New Joe Pesci”. I’ll believe it when I see it. Also, shame for Daniel Bruhl, but I just got a really funny mental image of Bruhl finding out he’s not nominated and shouting a bunch of German swears. I got 4/5.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years A Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

Wow, the Academy must have really loved Blue Jasmine. That or they must have really hated The Butler, and they didn’t want to nominate Johansson. I got 4/5

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
Nebraska

I know some people who are going to be complaining that Llewyn Davis was left out. Dallas Buyers Club is a confusing choice, but I kind of like that screenplay. I got 3/5.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Before Midnight
Captain Phillips
Philomena
12 Years A Slave
The Wolf Of Wall Street

I got five out of five! Yes! Now maybe someone will go out with me!

BEST FILM EDITING

American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
Captain Phillips
Gravity
12 Years A Slave

I got 4/5. Man, strong showing for Dallas Buyers Club.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners

The inclusion of The Grandmaster is certainly a surprise. And at the cost of 12 Years, too. Are we overestimating 12 Years‘ chances of winning the big award? Also, I ‘m pretty sure this is Llewyn Davis‘ only nomination. Ouch. I got 4/5

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years A Slave

Major shocker in Her‘s nomination. Thank. You. I got 4/5.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years A Slave

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. How do you nominate a foreign language martial arts movie for COSTUME DESIGN over Saving Mr. Banks. And then not nominate the former movie in Best Foreign Film where it belongs? I got 4/5. By the way, is Frozen eligible? The costumes in that were exquisite.

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger

1/3

So American Hustle is vulnerable after all. I guess Academy Voters were still thinking under ‘Makeup’ terms. Maybe they should think about that next time they announce the shortlist.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness

The Lone Ranger – nominated for 2 Academy Awards! Well, it looks like now I have to see it. I got 4/5.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr. Banks
12 Years A Slave

So people did see Saving Mr. Banks! Or.. maybe they just nominated Thomas Newman because he’s Thomas Newman. I got 4/5

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Alone Yet Not Alone”, Alone Yet Not Alone
“Happy”, Despicable Me 2
“Let It Go”, Frozen
“The Moon Song”, Her
“Ordinary Love”, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Of course they snub “Young And Beautiful.” I could forgive them if they get Idina Menzel on stage to perform “Let It Go” during the ceremony. I got 3/5.

BEST SOUND EDITING

All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Lone Survivor

It looks like Rush was completely shut out of the ceremony. And what’s with all this love for The Hobbit? I got 4/5.

BEST SOUND MIXING

Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor

I got 3/5. Desolation Of Smaug is popular in the sound branch. Now the only question is: Will a How To Train Your Dragon fanboy like myself be able to sit through a 2 hour 41 minute movie about killing a dragon?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises

I had a feeling this might happen. Both major Globe snubs repeated at the Oscars: Oprah and Pixar. I got 4/5.

BEST FOREIGN FILM

The Broken Circle Breakdown
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Missing Picture
Omar

I almost put on the Missing Picture, really! I got 4/5. Hey, Academy, where’s that martial arts movie that you love so much?

Okay. I calculated it. I got 77 out of 102, which rounds to about 75%. On a side note, I got an A in my math final. But before I end this, let me go over the best surprise and worst snub of the year.

BEST SURPRISE: Her for Best Production Design

A contemporary movie has been nominated for Best Production Design for the first time in, well, forever. And it so happens to be my favorite production design of the year.

WORST SNUB: Saving Mr. Banks for Best Actress, Emma Thompson.

I can’t even fathom why they did this. My guess is the conversation went something like this. “What if we nominated both Amy and Meryl?” “So, we knock off Dench?” “Nah, Thompson.” “But she was really good in that movie.” “WE KNOCK OFF THOMPSON!”

Anyway, Predictions for individual categories coming.. well, in February. The 24 Days leading up to the Oscars, and they’re in March next year. So, plenty of time to compose my thoughts and see some of the remaining movies. Peace out!