My Reaction to the Academy Award Nominations

PICTURE
No real surprises here.  If I was power ranking them on odds of winning, I'd do it this way.

1. American Hustle
2. Gravity
3. 12 Years a Slave
4. The Wolf of Wall Street
5. Nebraska
6. Her
7. Captain Phillips
8. Dallas Buyers Club
9. Philomena

Tenth place could have been any one of August: Osage County, Inside Llewyn Davis, Blue Jasmine, Saving Mr. Banks or Frozen.

ACTOR
I'm stunned Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for Captain Phillips. The last fifteen minutes of that film might be the best work he's ever done. I haven't seen it yet, but my wife said Robert Redford wuz robbed for not getting one for All Is Lost. I'm happy for Bale, Dern and Ejiofor, but the actual winner of this group should be DiCaprio or McConaughey.

ACTRESS
Meryl Streep bashed Walt Disney as an anti-Semite, anti-woman bigot, and she got the fifth nomination out from under Emma Thompson. Since the other four nominees are previous winners, I think Amy Adams has the edge here.

DIRECTOR
Three-way race between Russell, Cuaron and McQueen, with the edge to Russell, who's shown with The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook he's here to stay.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Do we really want to live in a world where Jonah Hill is a two-time acting nominee? I keed. He was good. Kinda hoped Will Forte might get a nod, just cuz.  Jared Leto's the frontrunner, but I wouldn't bet against Fassbender.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
I was a little surprised Oprah Winfrey didn't get one. In fact, The Butler received zero nominations. (The Lone Ranger points and laughs.) I see a groundswell for June Squibb giving her a come-from-behind win, but Lawrence is so darn likable she might win her second one in a row.