Gold Rush: Academy Award Nominees 2012

At this point, what else is there left to say, but:

Oscars…

Extremely Lame & Incredibly Disappointing.

The 2012 Oscar Nominations:

BEST PICTURE

The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
Midnight In Paris
Hugo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Moneyball
War Horse
The Tree Of Life

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Octavia Spencer, The Help
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

BEST ACTOR

George Clooney, The Descendants
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST ACTRESS

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Viola Davis, The Help
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

BEST DIRECTOR

Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight In Paris
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Terrence Malick, The Tree Of Life

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo, Bridesmaids
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov, The Ides of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, Moneyball
Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE

Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsier Lazhar
In Separation

Art Direction

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Cinematography

The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Costume Design

Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Documentary Feature

Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

Documentary Short Subject

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Film Editing

Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

Makeup

Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle, Albert Nobbs
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady

Music (Original Score)

John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Howard Shore, Hugo
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams, War Horse

Music (Original Song)

“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

Sound Editing

Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Mixing

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Monyeball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

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

Short Film (Animated)

Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Short Film (Live Action)

Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

*

After last year’s The King’s Speech sweep, the Academy was already on my shit list. This year, they’ve only dug themselves in deeper.

I hate to be one of “those people.” Until last year, I wasn’t one of them. It’s not like I expect every single one of my personal favorites to be nominated in every category. The nominated movies tend to reflect a broader appeal, and I’m fine with that. At least in theory. As long as those movies represented are good ones, and hopefully, a few more interesting and edgy picks are peppered throughout in other categories.

So many of the choices are just so… average. Decent, but unremarkable. It’s, well, a shame that Michael Fassbender didn’t get nominated for Shame, and also that Drive pulled into the garage empty-handed. (Not even an Albert Brooks nomination? Incomprehensible!) Those were the films I was hoping to see at least one major nomination apiece for, a mere token for well-made, progressive films. There’s very little to be excited about on this list.

But to focus on the positive: I’m glad Rooney Mara got a nomination for Best Actress, since that’s an interesting choice and she really did elevate The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Well-deserved. And it’s wonderful to see the challenging The Tree Of Life nominated for Best Picture and Best Director. It’s the least mainstream-friendly choice made this year. And thank god Christopher Plummer is there representing Beginners.

There. That’s all I’m happy about.

(Let me just have my angry moment here. I’ll be more gracious in a couple of hours.)