Tis the Season: The Academy Awards

Question: Why can't Julianne Moore get a break already with you Oscar people? She finally puts out a role worth nominating again in A SINGLE MAN (which was essentially ignored except for Colin Firth) and you don't even pat her on the head for it. Shame. Speaking of which, THE BLIND SIDE for Best Picture? Is this what you expanded your spread for? To include mediocre white-washed Hollywood movies about rich white women helping unfortunate black youths? The only major category to post not one but two surprise nominations was Supporting Actress, where Moore was snubbed. I did not expect to see any love for the cast of NINE, including Oscar favorite, Penelope Cruz. And I can only assume they gave the nod to Maggie Gyllenhaal for CRAZY HEART for having to make out constantly with a drunken and disheveled Jeff Bridges, who is God knows how many years older than she is. Those were definitely the biggest shockers for me this morning. It was not my only disappointment though. The following love was noticeably absent from this morning's announcements: STAR TREK could have easily been a Best Picture contender. It may not have made as much money as AVATAR but it was 100 times better and smarter. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER was one of the most original screenplays of the year and should have been recognized as such. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and PONYO were such better animated film experiences than THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG. And what on earth is THE SECRET OF KELLS? (Excuse my ignorance.) I'm happy AN EDUCATION found its way into the Best Picture category but I cannot understand why Alfred Molina was not acknowledged for his great work in the film. IN THE LOOP being nominated in the Adapted Screenplay category is very exciting but it meant snubbing Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach for their great work of Roald Dahl's FANTASTIC MR. FOX. And while I am very pleased to see the Coen Brothers in the winners circle again with A SERIOUS MAN, I am saddened not to see the fantastic work of star, Michael Stuhlbarg, recognized as well.

AVATAR and THE HURT LOCKER (directed by divorced spouses, James Avatar and Kathryn Bigelow) lead with nine nominations apiece. Without further ado, here are the nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards ...

(Click any highlighted title for the original Black Sheep review.)

LEADING ACTOR

JEFF BRIDGES in CRAZY HEART
GEORGE CLOONEY in UP IN THE AIR
COLIN FIRTH in A SINGLE MAN
MORGAN FREEMAN in INVICTUS
JEREMY RENNER in THE HURT LOCKER

SUPPORTING ACTOR

MATT DAMON in INVICTUS
WOODY HARRELSON in THE MESSENGER
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER in THE LAST STATION
STANLEY TUCCI in THE LOVELY BONES
CHRISTOPH WALTZ in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

LEADING ACTRESS

SANDRA BULLOCK in THE BLIND SIDE
HELEN MIRREN in THE LAST STATION
CAREY MULLIGAN in AN EDUCATION
GABOUREY SIDIBE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
MERYL STREEP in JULIE & JULIA

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

PENELOPE CRUZ in NINE
VERA FARMIGA in UP IN THE AIR
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL in CRAZY HEART
ANNA KENDRICK in UP IN THE AIR
MO'NIQUE in PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE

ANIMATED FEATURE

CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
THE SECRET OF KELLS
UP

ART DIRECTION

AVATAR
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

CINEMATOGRAPHY

AVATAR
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE WHITE RIBBON

COSTUME DESIGN

BRIGHT STAR
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

DIRECTING

JAMES CAMERON for AVATAR
KATHRYN BIGELOW for THE HURT LOCKER
QUENTIN TARANTINO for INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
LEE DANIELS for PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
JASON REITMAN for UP IN THE AIR

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

BURMA VJ
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA
WHICH WAY HOME

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

CHINA'S UNNATURAL DISASTER
THE LAST CAMPAIGN OF GOVERNOR BOOTH GARDNER
THE LAST TRUCK
MUSIC BY PRUDENCE
RABBIT A LA BERLIN

FILM EDITING

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

AJAMI
EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS
THE MILK OF SORROW
UN PROPHETE
THE WHITE RIBBON

MAKEUP

IL DIVO
STAR TREK
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

ORIGINAL SCORE

AVATAR
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE HURT LOCKER
SHERLOCK HOLMES
UP

ORIGINAL SONG

ALMOST THERE from THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
DOWN IN NEW ORLEANS from THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
LOIN DE PANAME from FAUBOURG 36
TAKE IT ALL from NINE
THE WEARY KIND from CRAZY HEART

SHORT FILM ANIMATED

FRENCH ROAST
GRANNY O'GRIMM'S SLEEPING BEAUTY
THE LADY AND THE REAPER
LOGORAMA
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH

SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION

THE DOOR
INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA
KAVI
MIRACLE FISH
THE NEW TENANTS

SOUND EDITING

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
UP

SOUND MIXING

AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

VISUAL EFFECTS

AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
IN THE LOOP
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
UP IN THE AIR

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE MESSENGER
A SERIOUS MAN
UP

BEST PICTURE

AVATAR
THE BLIND SIDE
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE
A SERIOUS MAN
UP
UP IN THE AIR

The Academy Awards air on Sunday, March 7.