Oscar Nominations!

Best Picture

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

I scored 3/5 here, putting all my faith in Revolutionary Road and The Dark Knight scoring best picture nods. RR was very wishful thinking, but TDK had a legitimate chance of being nominated. I didn't see The Reader coming at all, even though it did very well at the Golden Globes. This is Slumdog's all the way.

Best Director

Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk

I got 3/5 here as well missing Ron Howard and Stephen Daldry for Sam Mendes and Christopher Nolan. Like I said, TDK had a good shot in Best Picture and this category, but it didn't come to fruition. Stephen Daldry is apparently a God because he has gotten 3 nods for all 3 of his films. The next movie he directs immediately goes to the top of everyone's predictions.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

I scored 4/5 here missing Richard Jenkins for Leonardo DiCaprio. In my mind, Leonardo has one Oscar already for The Departed, which he should have been nominated in this category for, and not for Blood Diamond. Never count out early releases.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

I got 3/5 here thinking that Kate Winslet's performance in RR would end up here and the critical love for Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky would pay off in this category. Instead Kate Winslet's performance in The Reader escaped category fraud and ended up in the right placement. I'm kind of disappointed that Kate didn't get 2 Oscar nods this year, cuz that would have been all kinds of awesome.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

I scored 5/5 here =) I knew all the raves for Michael Shannon's performance would pay off. Kind of feels like last year when no one was predicting Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah. I'm assuming I'm only one of the few people that actually predicted Michael to be nominated. Heath Ledger has this category all sewn up.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

I scored 4/5 here. I'm kind of shocked that Amy Adams got in for Doubt because, other than the GG, SAG and BAFTA nods, she didn't get many raves from critics. All of those went to the other three cast members. If anything, Rosemarie DeWitt should have gotten in over Amy. I'm really happy to see Taraji P. Henson here because I think she is an underrated actress who should get more exposure thanks to this nod.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Eric Roth & Robin Swicord - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
David Hare - The Reader
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire

I got 3/5 here leaving out Frost/Nixon and The Reader for The Dark Knight and Revolutionary Road. Jeez, I had a lot of faith in RR because many people were saying what an underrated masterpiece it was and in later years, people will realize that. TDK seemed pretty plausible for a nod here, but it didn't happen.

Best Original Screenplay

Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh - In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Pete Docter, Jim Reardon & Andrew Stanton - Wall-E

I scored 2/5 here, which kind of sucks. I was really hoping for some Jenny Lumet and Woody Allen love here, but the Academy didn't follow my wishes, as usual =) However, this is a very respectable list.

Best Animated Film

Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Wall-E

I got 2/3 here. Funny how they didn't go foreign this year, when they did last year with Persepolis. Waltz with Bashir also won a Best Picture awards from one critic's group which should have sealed the deal. Oh well. It still has a very good shot at winning the Best Foreign Film Oscar.

Best Foreign Film

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
The Class (France)
Departures (Japan)
Revanche (Austria)
Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

I scored 3/5.

Best Art Direction

Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

I got 4/5.

Best Cinematography

Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

I scored 4/5.

Best Costume Design

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

I got 4/5.

Best Documentary

The Betrayal
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

I scored 3/5.

Best Film Editing

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

I got 4/5.

Best Makeup

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

I got 2/3.

Best Original Score

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E

I got 4/5.

Best Original Song

"Jai Ho" - Slumdog Millionaire
"O Sava" - Slumdog Millionaire
"Down to Earth" - Wall-E

I scored 2/3.

Best Sound Editing

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted

I got 4/5.

Best Sound Mixing

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
Wanted

I scored 3/5.

Best Visual Effects

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

I got 3/3.

Overall. I think I did pretty well. You can rarely get perfect when predicting the Oscars because they always throw such curve balls at you. When the time comes around to do so, I will post my winner predictions =)