The waiting is now over... only to have more waiting begin! Today the nominations were announced for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards and now with 33 days to go, I have 50 films to watch.

Somewhat doable, but hey if Julie Powell could cook 536 recipes in 365 days, I can watch 50 films in 33 days right? Well we will just have to wait and see!

Oscar Buzz

Before I talk about the Oscar nominations I wanted to mention the big win for Kathryn Bigelow at the DGA. Her award for Best Directorial Achievement in Feature Film is the first for a female in DGA history. Last week I mentioned how the tide could be turning from Avatar to The Hurt Locker, this win now sets the film as the new front runner. The fact both The Hurt Locker and Avatar both garnered nine nominations shows that this is the start of a very tight race.

Dave Karger over at EW created a neat little grid that helps tracks the Pre-Oscar awards so you too can see where the trends are goinng.

There weren't a whole lot of surprises with today's nominations, with most of the slate playing out as predicted. However a film I was disappointed to see snubbed was 500 Days of Summer, the film deserved a screenplay nod with its interesting, non-linear approach to your not so typical love story. I'm not totally shocked with Penelope Cruz's nomination for Nine, but I am more interested in seeing the film to take a closer look at her role. I thought Julianne Moore would of slid into the Supporting Actress slate but Cruz got the nod instead.

Sherlock Holmes was a surprise at the Golden Globes but nominated for two Oscars? The Academy must of really liked it to give it a nod for art direction and score. I do think the score was great so I will give it credit there. No surprises when it came to nominations for Best Picture, the expanded slate allowed more popular films like The Blind Side and Up to get in. I didn't think The Hangover would of cracked that list but imagine the fun if it did. Up is also nominated for best feature animated film and has marked the first time since Beauty and the Beast in 1991 that an animated film was nominated for Best Picture.

What I've Been Watching

Julie & Julia

It is surprising to see this film only nominated for one Oscar, of course it is for Meryl Streep's performance as Julia Child. The film is based upon the book which is based upon a blog. As a blogger I found it very surreal to check out the actual blog, still intact, after watching the film. The film is cute, like a romantic comedy, but isn't a romantic comedy at all- but a comparison of two people at different points in time: Julia Child in France during the 1950s and Julie Powell in New York in 2002. The film is smart, well done, and left me feeling like it deserved more than a single nomination. Best Adapted Screenplay perhaps? Not really sure but the film is worth seeing to see such a talented actress in Streep.

In The Loop

I originally saw In The Loop this past summer and you can read my thoughts on it here. A hilarious political satire which was adapted from a BBC TV series, I thought it was a smart film but not an Oscar contender. I am pleasantly surprised to see it nominated and I hope that the nomination attracts more people to watch it. I will admit that as a Washingtonian I may have enjoyed it a bit more than the average folk, but it's theme of miscommunication is something we can all enjoy.

Sherlock Holmes