And the nominees are....

Last week, the Academy unveiled this year's Oscar nominees and as usual, there were plenty of surprises and snubs.

The Dark Knight, highly expected to earn both Best Picture and Best Director nominations was, to the chagrin of hardcore fans, shut out of both categories. Even in the Best Score category in which the Academy first ruled the film ineligible and later reversed their decision, the film failed to snag a nomination. That said, Heath Ledger got his inevitable Best Supporting Actor nomination, and the film picked up numerous technical nominations of which they are sure to win at least a couple.

Clint Eastwood, a longtime favorite of the Academy, was largely shut out as well. Outside of a Best Actress nomination for Angelina Jolie for Changeling (which also earned a couple of art and technical nominations), Eastwood was left empty handed.

In the Best Picture category, the biggest surprise was the inclusion of The Reader. The nomination of the film which received lukewarm reviews, confirmed two things: that Ricky Gervais' joke about making a Holocaust film will get you an Oscar nomination is funny because it's true and that Harvey Weinstein (who waged a very public battle with former producer Scott Rudin to get the film released in time for awards consideration) despite his studio's troubles still has considerable pull in Hollywood.

In the acting categories, longtime character actor Richard Jenkins was given a well deserved nomination for his turn in the excellent film, The Visitor. Robert Downey Jr. was given a nod in the Best Supporting Actor column for his role in the otherwise middling Tropic Thunder, leading to some speculation he may be a spoiler for what appears to be Heath Ledger's lock on the award.

Otherwise, the nominees are, by and large, fairly obvious if not dull. 2008 was not a great year for film. None of the Best Picture nominees even come close to 2007's nominees which included, among others, No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood and Michael Clayton. That said, we can only hope that M.I.A. decides to perform at the awards for her nominated song "O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire. That would certainly blow some life into what looks like a very dull affair this year.

I will return soon with my own predictions and choices for this year awards.