The Golden Globes had some surprise winners, for sure. But it was nothing compared to the surprises of the Oscar nominations.

Let’s start with Best Actor. Brad Pitt and George Clooney were expected to receive nominations for Moneyball and The Descendants, respectfully, and did. Jean Dujardin also received a lot of buzz for his role in The Artist and earned a well-deserved nomination. Demian Bichir (A Better Life) and Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), however, seemed to come out of nowhere. I’m sure their performances are fantastic, but their inclusions lead me to a question. How can you ignore the performances of Ryan Gosling in Drive, Michael Fassbender in Shame and Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar? I almost wish the number of nominees could be expanded so that they could be included. I wouldn’t be upset if Pitt or Clooney took home the prize (and I think Clooney just might); they were both exceptional in their roles. But I’d really love to see Dujardin win the Oscar for an amazing performance in an incredibly creative movie.

Best Actress, to me, seems like a two-woman race between Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn). Both actresses capably transformed themselves into legends in their own right. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Rooney Mara’s nomination for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But here is where it becomes a question of who I think will win versus who I want to win. I think it’s Streep’s to lose. But I want Viola Davis to win for her role in The Help. Her quiet, dignified performance made that movie as powerful as it was. And I think anyone who saw it will also be cheering her on.

The Best Supporting nominations also raised some eyebrows. In the actor category, you’ve got four very distinguished names … and Jonah Hill. Which isn’t a bad thing! Hill’s performance in Moneyball was quite good. I do wish that Armie Hammer’s performance in J. Edgar had earned him a nomination. As much as I’d like to see Kenneth Branagh win for his take on Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn, I think that it will go to Christopher Plummer for Beginners.

I will admit that the Best Supporting Actress nominations actually made me cheer. I may have done a little happy dance when Melissa McCarthy’s name was called for her role in Bridesmaids. It was the performance of the movie. Anyone who can hold their own against Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph and actually stand out deserves to be recognized. I hope that she wins, but I will also be thrilled if Octavia Spencer takes home the Oscar for her performance in The Help.

The category that has me all kinds of confuzzled is Best Picture. Is The Artist talented enough to win? Will War Horse take the lead? Will Hugo wind up with the award? This one is up for grabs. There are several I think could win, but my fingers are crossed for The Artist. It’s a vibrant and imaginative film that stands above the rest, in my opinion.

Now it’s your turn. Share your Oscar nomination reactions and predictions for the big show below!

Helen

Visnjic will be appearing in Helen and you can see Ewan McGregor on the big screen right now with The Men Who Stare at Goats. Producers are Dean Vanech, Jay Von Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang and Miranda de Pencier (Variety). Initial filming has already commenced in the Los Angeles area.