What, no "Star Trek?"
The news of today's Oscar nominations from Los Angeles shot around the world, leaving critics and film buffs shaking their heads over snubs made by Academy Award voters.
Much has been made this year of the Academy's move to broaden the nominations for Best Picture from five to 10 entries.
For decades highbrow fare dominated this category. Oscar organizers felt it was time to give mainstream hits like "Star Trek" and other films a chance to vie for Best Picture gold.
"‘Star Trek' was even used as the example for the kind of movie that would get nominated," says Canada AM movie critic Richard Crouse.
Then why is "Star Trek" nowhere to be found among 2010's Best Picture nominations?
The same can be asked about Clint Eastwood's rousing sports drama, "Invictus."
Toppled by popcorn-guzzling entries like "The Blind Side" and "District 9," "Invictus" fell to the wayside like an old wad of gum.
Is "District 9" really a better picture than "Fantastic Mr. Fox" or "Where the Wild Things Are"?
Does "District 9"and all its tentacled alien fury really surpass the craftsmanship in movies like Jane Campion's "Bright Star" or the sparkling storytelling in Nora Ephron's "Julie & Julia?"
What where Academy voters thinking?
Julianne Moore gave one of the best performances of her career in Tom Ford's searing drama, "A Single Man." Moore, sadly, is a surprising shutout from this year's Best Supporting Actress race.
Ditto for Mélanie Laurent, the fierce World War II heroine in Quentin Tarantino's film "Inglourious Basterds."
Viggo Mortensen's gut-wrenching performance in "The Road" had some critics betting on a Best Actor nod for this underdog.
The same can be said for underdog Tobey Maguire, who blew critics away with his blistering portrayal of a troubled American soldier in "Brothers."
Sadly, Mortensen and Maguire are out of luck.
Today's Oscar nominations turned "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" into the heroes of Hollywood for the moment.
Oscar's snubs, on the other hand, turned some incredible films and talents into yesterday's news.
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