Wild about Oscar.

The nominations are out. Let's get to it.

- My worst ratio in years: I've only seen (and really only had a desire to see) two out of the nine nominees for Best Picture.

+ The nominees for Best Animated Feature are Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! - Band of Misfits and Wreck-It Ralph. I have absolutely no quarrel with this grouping.

- Nothing for The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Granted, Ezra Miller was an outside chance for Supporting Actor, but it should've, at least, nailed Adapted Screenplay.

- Nothing for Lawless?! Maybe, the Weinsteins wanted to bet the house on Silver Linings Playbook (which paid off pretty handsomely), but they couldn't have re-released this? (The end of August is kind of a dead zone for movies, even great ones like this.)

+ This might be the last I ever say about it here, but I would've seriously cried tears of blood if Looper chased its WGA nomination with an Original Screenplay nod. The second half sucks noodles. Why am I the only one to realize this?!

- I do, however, have a problem with the fact that the guy who did Funny Games (both versions!) is now a double-Oscar nominee.

? John Gatins earned an Original Screenplay nod for Flight. Quite a long way from the hero of Leprechaun 3. Seriously. Look it up.

+ Despite deserving nominations for Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) and Editing (I'm still on the fence about the score), Argo didn't seem to be the juggernaut that people were hoping it to be. The unexpected blowback didn't seem to help, either. "Oh, it's overrated!" "Oh, the facts were tampered with!" Why would that matter when you're shitting yourself with panic during the last 20 minutes?! I swear to God, some people...

- That movie about Abraham Lincoln got a bunch of nominations. Surprisingly, it wasn't the one where he kills the vampires. What's up with that?

+ Huh. Just as I anticipated, the two Snow White movies are going head-to-head for Costume Design.

+ I'll be seeing the program of Animated Short Films as I have the last couple of years. So far, the award belongs to the insanely charming "Paperman".

+ The "artsiest Bond ever", Skyfall, earned nominations for Original Score, Song (I barely remember it, to be honest) Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Cinematography (Roger Deakins). If I don't say anything, maybe I won't jinx it.

? Moonrise Kingdom earned an Original Screenplay nod. Kind of a stretch, though I did like the film a good deal.

+ Django Unchained picked up nods for Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Sound Editing and Picture. Very nice.

- As I watched The Dark Knight Rises, I thought, 'This production design is a shoo-in for the Oscars'. Alas.

- PD Nathan Crowley's other film of the year, John Carter, was wholly ignored. Scoff if you like, but it should've, at least, been recognized for Original Score. (Likewise, Rise of the Guardians. Oh, well.)