The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were just announced this morning at 5:30 AM PT. Now read a quick reaction and analysis from Hypable’s Jeremy Baril and Jimmy Bean!

BEST PICTURE
– The Artist
– Descendants
– Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
– The Help
– Hugo
– Midnight in Paris
– Moneyball
– Tree of Life
– War Horse

Jeremy: The first shocker came in the amount of nominations. Because of new rules, the number of best picture nominations changed, and most predicted there would be six or seven films to make the cut. Of the films to sneak in, I would point to Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Tree of Life, and War Horse. All of which have some amount of controversy to them. Personally, I’m thrilled about Tree of Life, as for the others…I’ll have to wait and see.

Jimmy: To be completely honest, this was probably the best case scenario with the nominees this year. Having loved War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Help (the three that people are probably raising the most fuss over) I can see how voters could have snuck them into their nomination list. As someone who wasn’t a fan of The Tree of Life, I would have preferred to see The Ides of March (which, in my opinion, was superior to many that made the cut), Drive (easily one of the better films of the year), or even Crazy Stupid Love (a surprisingly good American version of Love Actually with every bit of talent and heart) in its place, but hey at least Bridesmaids isn’t up there right?

BEST DIRECTOR
– Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
– Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
– Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
– Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
– Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life)

Jeremy: Again, Terrence Malick snuck in with a Best Director nomination for the Tree of Life. Personally, I feel that Nicolas Winding Refn deserves a nomination (and win) for his work on Drive, although because of the younger demographic of the film, it had little chance of getting Oscar attention.

Jimmy: If not for the inclusion of Alexander Payne and newcomer Michael Hazanavicius (try typing that ten times fast) this would look like a nomination list from the late 80’s. It’s great to see the old masters claiming their rightful place in the world again (Woody moreso than Marty) and although there will be howls from the Drive crowd for Nicolas Winding Refn, they should take solace in knowing that talent like his will not go unrecognized for long. I personally don’t understand why people aren’t taking to the streets with news of Stephen Daldry’s snub (how can you orchestrate a full-blown masterpiece and not be recognized? I’ll never know), but good for Terrence Malick for gaining a nomination for something so polarizing. The Tree Of Life wasn’t my jam, but it’s good to see experimental work (that no doubt required some skill) get some recognition.

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

Jeremy: This category was pretty surprising for me outside of Dujardin, Clooney and Pitt. I’m pretty baffled how Michael Fassbender didn’t get an honor. Demian Bichir was a surprise for A Better Life, as it was a little seen film from a little known actor, which usually doesn’t spell success from The Academy. Gary Oldman finally gets some Oscar love, which is well-deserved. I just would have preferred Fassbender to get a nomination in the performance of the year.

Jimmy: Good for Demian Bichir. His Golden Globe nomination no doubt influenced some members of the academy to see his outstanding performance in A Better Life, so it’s nice to see that the academy is at least trying to branch out a little bit into unknown territory. The rest of nominations were pretty well locked long before today, but it was nice to see Oldman get a nomination even if it meant that Michael Fassbender and DiCaprio (who was the only likable thing in J.Edgar) would be snubbed.

BEST ACTRESS
– Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
– Viola Davis (The Help)
– Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
– Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
– Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)

Jeremy: While the award really comes down to Meryl Streep and Viola Davis, it was a pleasant surprise to see Rooney Mara nominated for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Apart from this nomination, The Academy swayed towards the more established actresses, which I can’t say is much of a surprise.

Jimmy: So who will it be? This is probably the biggest toss-up of the season after Streep’s golden globe win. Will Viola walk away with the award, or will Streep get her third Best Actress statue? Maybe justice will be served and Michelle Williams will upset the race, or maybe Rooney Mara will personally threaten every voter into putting her name down. I think Rooney has this race in the bag if she chooses an intimidation tactic (please don’t take that seriously).

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
– A Cat in Paris
– Chico & Rita
– Kung Fu Panda 2
– Puss in Boots
– Rango

Jeremy: The real shock here is the absence of The Adventures of Tintin, which WON this award at the Golden Globes awards. Instead, the Academy favored two little seen foreign films and a sequel, instead of the wildly imaginative and captivating Tintin. This seems to be a pretty big snub, but there we have it.

Jimmy: WHERE IS TINTIN? HOW DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE? Probably the biggest snub of the morning was the news that the worldwide animated phenomenon (and recent Golden Globe winner) didn’t even make the nominee list. I have not yet seen A Cat in Paris, nor have I seen Chico and Rita, but surely Kung-Fu Panda 2 could have been knocked out of the race in favor of the critically acclaimed Spielberg/Jackson teamup?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
– Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
– Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
– Nick Nolte (Warrior)
– Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
– Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close)

Jeremy: Both Kenneth Branagh and Christopher Plummer were sure-bets when it came to nominations this year, but Nick Nolte, Max von Sydow, and Jonah Hill were all able to sneak into the fray. Nolte and Hill seem surprises in that Hill is a much younger draw, while Nolte’s performance was in a film with a much younger audience, Meanwhile, von Sydow will be up against Plummer, both of whom will be appealing for the “lifetime achievement” vote from The Academy. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Jimmy: Although seeing Jonah Hill on the list was a surprise (the Golden Globes is often kinder to younger actors than the Oscars. See: Shailene Woodley) I was infinitely more disappointed to not find comedian Patton Oswalt on the list after his heartbreaking Young Adult performance. Nick Nolte deserves the nomination for Warrior (even though the film in general was widely overlooked) and Christopher Plummer more than likely has the cat in the bag after his Golden Globe win.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
– Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
– Jessica Chastain (The Help)
– Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
– Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
– Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Jeremy: This category disappoints me quite a lot in that Shailene Woodley was overlooked for her amazing performance in The Descendants. While all those nominated had good performances, I could make an argument why Woodley’s was more powerful and greater than all of them. Another massive snub here in my book.

Jimmy: I must agree with Jeremy. Woodley’s character was simply too powerful to overlook. Yes, she was in a bikini for the entire movie, but surely that shouldn’t undermine the talent that every critic across the globe seemed to see in her. I would argue that Woodley’s character is a good portion of the reason why The Descendants was so good, but then again no one listens to me.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
– The Artist
– Bridesmaids
– Margin Call
– Midnight in Paris
– A Separation

Jeremy: I am absolutely THRILLED to see Margin Call get the nomination here, as I feel like it is an almost perfect movie. Props to J.C. Chandor on the nomination in his debut feature! I know I’m probably in the minority, but I don’t understand how Bridesmaids is nominated here, yes it’s funny in parts, but the structure is off, and most of the laughs are due to performances, not writing. I’m a little baffled at that one.

Jimmy: Bridesmaids is the stunner here, mostly because of the Academy’s inherent hatred towards traditional comedies. High brow comedies: yes, Defecation in a sink: not normally. It’s nice to see a step in the direction of honoring comedy on the same stage as drama, but I still would have preferred to see Crazy Stupid Love if that was the route they were travelling on. Also, good for The Artist. There are very few words, but when there are, they cut straight to the point.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
– The Descendants
– Hugo
– The Ides of March
– Moneyball
– Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Jeremy: Moneyball deserves the win on this one. When you can turn a rather dry topic such as baseball statistics into such an impressive, captivating drama, you deserve the Oscar right there.

Jimmy: I agree with Jeremy on Moneyball, but I believe the same could be said about The Ides of March, which was able to successfully turn political debates, state points and pundit statistics into a hard-hitting behind-the-scenes drama.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
– Hell and Back Again
– If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth LIberation Front
– Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
– Pina
– Undefeated

Jeremy: I’d like to see If a Tree Falls get this one. Watch it on Netflix Instant Watch and you’ll see why. A truly remarkable documentary.

Jimmy: I haven’t seen any of these movies. Not a single one. More than anything I’m surprised to see Project Nim not make the list. Why is the Academy on the “I refuse to nominate the obvious winner” kick?

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE
– Bullhead
– Footnote
– In Darkness
– Monsieur Lazhar
– A Separation

Jeremy: This one is A Separation’s to lose, plain and simple. Let me poise this question for you, however. How is The Artist not nominated in Foreign Language Feature? It has an all-french production, so shouldn’t it qualify here rather than for Best Picture? I’d be curious to hear the reasoning behind this from The Academy.

Jimmy: Like the documentary features, I have yet to see a single film nominated for Best Foreign Language Feature. The critical reception of A Separation however seems to have transcended the category. Rave reviews and a (nearly) flawless tomato-meter signifies a masterpiece, although according to one review, calling A Separation a masterpiece isn’t doing it justice. Wow.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
– The Artist
– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
– Hugo
– The Tree of Life
– War Horse

Jeremy: This one should belong to The Tree of Life. Lubezki knocks it out of the park with this one.

Jimmy: If The Tree of Life is anything, it’s a cinematographer’s wet dream. There was really no need to nominate anything else. Even people that hated the film (like me) must admit that the visuals are unlike anything you’ve seen in a movie before.

FILM EDITING
– The Artist
– The Descendants
– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
– Hugo
– Moneyball

Jeremy: I don’t have much to say in this category other than that I think both Drive and Martha Marcy May Marlene are definitely deserving of a nomination, as both are as good as or better than the rest of the field.

Jimmy: Fun fact: Did you know that the Best Editing category is the category most often won by Best Picture winners? It’s true, so I guess the question is will it be The Artist or The Descendants that picks up the prize?

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
– The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams)
– The Artist (Ludovic Bource)
– Hugo (Howard Shore)
– Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Albert Iglesias)
– War Horse (John Williams)

Jeremy: It looks like The Academy played it safe by nominated John Williams twice here, which seems kind of boring and unimaginative on their part. Other than that, I think Borce should win this one for The Artist. That’s about all I have to say on this subejct.

Jimmy: Although Williams is a legendary composer, nominating him twice is only going to split his vote. It might be safe to assume that essentially “Mickey Mouse”-ing an entire movie (like they did in the old days) will be more than enough to put Borce over the top.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
– Man or Muppet (The Muppets)
– Real in Rio (Rio)

Jeremy: It’s shocking that The Academy only nominated two songs this year, which I can’t remember even being the case before. Either way, it’s The Muppets all the way for “Man or Muppet” !!

Jimmy: It seems that the nomination process was seriously flawed this year since Golden Globe winners are finding it difficult to even get nominated. Where are…I dunno, the nominations? When did the Oscars become a two person race?

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

Jeremy: It’s nice to see Potter get some recognition here, although personally I think Hugo should win.

Jimmy: I haven’t yet seen Hugo, although all of the films nominated look simply beautiful. For superb attention to detail and simply gorgeous design in general, I might have to side with the Potter-philes on this one. We shouldn’t be surprised however if it proves to be Potter’s only award of the night.

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

Jeremy: Again, the nomination for Harry Potter is nice to see, although I’d say Rise of the Planet of the Apes deserves the win. Also, where is Tree of Life for the stunning creations scenes? Shocking for that snub.

Jimmy: Although Harry certainly deserves the nomination for the stunning visual work in Deathly Hallows Part-2 (especially that photo-realistic dragon), the work done in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was straight up revolutionary. Expect Apes to pick up an award as consolation for Serkis not being even considered for Best Actor.

SOUND EDITING
– Drive
– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
– Hugo
– Transformers: Dark of the Moon
– War Horse

Jeremy: Great to see Drive nominated here, as it deserves the win. Other than that, I suppose Transformers had some decent sound, but I absolutely hated that movie, so I couldn’t bare to see it win an Oscar.

Jimmy: I only saw the second half of Transformers on an airplane, but if there is something that it deserves it is sound editing and mixing. Like Streep’s performance in The Iron Lady, it’s a pretty ring on an otherwise ugly fist, but it still deserves the award. I will say however that the sound design for Drive was integral to the mood of the movie, so like Raznor’s win for the score of The Social Network it might end up scooping the win over traditionally adequate sound designs. That is, unless the non-sound of The Artist nabs the “Okay, I guess it was ALL ABOUT THE SOUND” win.

SOUND MIXING
– The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
– Hugo
– Moneyball
– Transformers: Dark of the Moon
– War Horse

Jeremy: At this point, sound is sound and I don’t really care. Let the sound experts decide.

Jimmy: Like you’ll hear us mention in the special Oscar nomination episode of CinemaHype, the difference between sound editing and sound mixing is that editing deals with polishing of sound while mixing deals with the creation of sound itself. That aside, this is another one that Transformers should get. How Super 8 wasn’t nominated in this category is another mystery, but they are both bad films (in my opinion) with amazing sound so I guess we’re just splitting hairs

COSTUMES

Jeremy: Madonna’s movie gets more nominations than Shame. Ouch. Oh well, from what I’ve seen the costumes in W.E. aren’t bad. I’d reward Jane Eyre here, however.

Jimmy: I know very little about the art of costuming, but from what I remember, the costumes in Anonymous were extraordinarily accurate.

For all SHORT FILM categories, we will not bother commenting as La Luna is the only short either of us has seen:

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

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

Let us know your thoughts on the nominees in the comments below!

This article was written by Hypable staff members Jeremy Baril and James Bean.