Oscar, Oscar, Oscar...

So the Academy Award nominations were announced. A few random thoughts:

+ Monster House was nominated for Best Animated Feature. As I consider it the best animated feature I saw last year (and I saw quite a few), I will be pulling for it.

- There were only three slots for said category, leaving in the cold such worthy potential nominees as Curious George and Flushed Away.

- Stranger than Fiction was shut out completely. No Best Picture. No Original Screenplay. No Best Actor. Now that I think about it, I don't think I should be too surprised about the latter. Comic actor wows audiences and critics with sensitive portrayal, proving that, yes, he can act. This was truly Will Ferrell's Truman Show, and I wouldn't mind him taking on more roles like this.

- Nothing for Thank You for Smoking, either. I assure you, if this film had been released closer to the end of the year, Aaron Eckhart and Jason Reitman's screenplay would've been surefire nominees.

+ This marks the second time in three years that I ended up seeing two Best Picture nominees: Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed (In 2004, I saw Finding Neverland and Sideways.) Matter of fact, Scorcese was nominated for Best Director again. They better get it right this time.

+ Mark Wahlberg was also nominated. His performance was one of The Departed's finest. If only for his first scene in the film, this is a very deserving nomination.

- Click was nominated for Best Make-Up. I've seen better this year. X-Men: the Last Stand, for one.

+ Somehow, I had a feeling that cinematographer Wally Pfister would be recognized for The Prestige.

- No Best Song nomination for the terrific "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale.

? Borat earned a Best Adapted Screenplay nod. I have no idea how to react to that.

That's pretty much all I have to say about this...until the winners are announced. And, yes, the post title was warranted.