The 2011 Oscar nominations are basically a lineup of the usual suspects. And there will be bonus points awarded to those who can name the year The Usual Suspects won an Academy Award and what category it was (answer at the bottom of the page).

For Best Picture, there were 10 films nominated, and of those, only one was a surprise, really (Winter's Bone, which I need to see). I mean, who didn't see the Black Swan nod coming from miles away?

For me, personally, this was a banner year because A.) It's the first time my children have actually ever seen a movie that was nominated for Best Picture (Toy Story 3) and B.) It's the first time I have seen 60 percent of the films nominated. No esoteric, weird things no one has heard of this year!

That said, there were SOME unique points to this year's nominations:

  • The King's Speech got the most nominations (12).
  • True Grit, the Coen brothers' Western that came out around Christmas, did better than expected with 10 nods.
  • Inception got a bit snubbed with only eight nominations and not one for the director, Christopher Nolan.
  • Toy Story 3 (which rocked) was nominated, making it the third time an animated film has been nominated for Best Picture in Oscar history.
  • Even though it was predicted, Hailee Steinfeld came out of nowhere career-wise at 14 to get a Best Supporting Actress nod for True Grit (and she deserved it, too!).

Besides that, there were no big shocks. Here is the complete list of Oscar nominations:

Actor in a Leading Role:

  • Javier Bardem in Biutiful
  • Jeff Bridges in True Grit
  • Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
  • Colin Firth in The King’s Speech
  • James Franco in 127 Hours

Actor in a Supporting Role:

  • Christian Bale in The Fighter
  • John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone
  • Jeremy Renner in The Town
  • Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right
  • Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech

Actress in a Leading Role:

  • Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
  • Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
  • Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone
  • Natalie Portman in Black Swan
  • Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

Actress in a Supporting Role:

  • Amy Adams in The Fighter
  • Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech
  • Melissa Leo in The Fighter
  • Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
  • Jackie Weaver in Animal Kingdom

Directing:

  • Darren Aronofsky in Black Swan
  • David O. Russell in The Fighter
  • Tom Hooper in The King's Speech
  • David Fincher in The Social Network
  • Joel and Ethan Coen in True Grit

Best Picture:

  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech
  • 127 Hours
  • The Social Network
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit
  • Winter’s Bone

For the first time since I was in college, I have seen 60 percent of the nominated Best Pictures (some more than once) and actually want to see 90 percent of them. By February 27, Oscar day, I will likely have seen them all since I only have to see 127 Hours, Winter's Bone, The King's Speech, and The Fighter. Three of those I am dying to see. 

*(The Usual Suspects won Kevin Spacey a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1995.)

How many have you seen?

 

Image via Dave_B_/Flickr