When repeat winners emerge from precursors like the Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe awards, the Oscar race starts to feel rather predictable. But nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences always have a way of shaking up expectations, and Tuesday morning’s announcement of 2011’s ‘bests’ was no exception.

Best Picture: As expected, ‘Hugo’ and ‘The Artist’ are this year’s frontrunners with 11 and 10 nominations, respectively. But Stephen Daldry’s ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ turned up with a surprise nomination after being ignored all award season, making it the director’s fourth consecutive BP nomination.

Director: After missing out on a crucial nomination from the Director’s Guild of America, ‘The Tree of Life’ director Terrence Malick edged out ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ director and DGA nominee David Fincher for a Best Director nod.

Actor: Demián Bichir’s unexpected nomination for his performance in ‘A Better Life’ proves that Michael Fassbender’s penis in ‘Shame’ might have been too much for the prudish Academy voters to handle.

Actress: Proving that full-frontal female nudity is perfectly acceptable, Rooney Mara earned her first Oscar nomination for her role in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,’ bumping favorite Tilda Swinton from the roster.

Best Supporting Actor: Veteran actor Max von Sydow emerged as the only acting nomination from ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ and the closest threat to frontrunner Christopher Plummer for his role in ‘Beginners.’ Call this the most exciting race between two 82-year-old men in history.

Best Supporting Actress: Bringing defecation in a sink to a higher level of art, Melissa McCarthy was acknowledged for her crass yet memorable turn in summer comedy ‘Bridesmaids,’ indicating that those old stiffs in the AMPAS might have a twisted sense of humor after all.

dataroy@syr.edu

The Snubs

For every Oscar nomination, another movie, director or actor could have filled the same spot. This year, a surprising amount of suspected shoo-ins were snubbed. Here’s some that didn’t make the cut.

Best Picture: ’50/50′

The Oscars love stories of triumph against adversity. And ’50/50,’ an autobiographical story about coping with cancer, fits that label. It deals with dire and mundane situations in ways that few movies about cancer have. It didn’t catch the Academy’s eye, but its writing and performances will outlast the ceremony.

Best Director: Steven Spielberg —‘War Horse’

Spielberg is known for letting his emotions get the best of his movies. However, his sentimentality toward recreating history is at its best. The ending evokes John Ford’s westerns, possibly making even hardened movie buffs cry.

Best Actor: Ryan Gosling —‘Drive’

With little dialogue, Gosling’s transformation from getaway driver to psychotic killer in the film’s final act is shockingly believable. Gosling elevates a flawed movie by turning ‘The Driver’ into an unforgettable character.

Best Actress: Charlize Theron — ‘Young Adult’

Charlize Theron makes a former vapid prom queen likeable, expertly conveying the character Mavis Gary’s self-denial. ‘Young Adult’ doesn’t give Mavis a fairytale redemption, and she doesn’t deserve sympathy or attention. But giving it to her doesn’t feel wrong.

Best Supporting Actor: Patton Oswalt — ‘Young Adult’

The Academy is usually kind to comedians who take stabs at drama. But Patton Oswalt, whose fantastic toned-down performance served as a foil to Theron in ‘Young Adult,’ wasn’t nominated. He succeeded in making an unlikable character likable and taking a loser and making him unique.

Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley — ‘The Descendants’

In this film, breakout 20-year-old actress Shailene Woodley delivers a memorable devastating moment: learning that her mother is in a coma, she sinks underwater to cry. Making the leap from acting in a TV melodrama to holding your own against George Clooney is the mark of a promising starlet.

iaphilli@syr.edu

Published on January 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm