Getting grouchy about the Oscar nominations: Which movies/people got overlooked?

Posted Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 11:51 AM Central

by Tim Briscoe

It happens every year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invariably overlooks some really deserving people and movies when it passes out its Oscar nominations. This year has more than a handful that deserve notice.

Even before this morning's announcements, it was assumed Richard Jenkins' performance in The Visitor would not be among the few for Best Actor. Thankfully he did get the call. Public outcry has been avoided.

One actor that did get screwed was Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. He says this will be his last acting performance and it was a doozy. In the Academy's defense, the five men selected are hard to disagree with.

It was no surprise that The Dark Knight dominated the technical categories and Heath Ledger got a deserved nod for Supporting Actor. Why did it get overlooked for Best Picture or Best Director for Christopher Nolan? Sometimes popularity with the general public is a disadvantage when it comes to the Oscars. (The past exceptions being Titanic and The The Lord of the Rings.)

I personally had high hopes that WALL-E would get a Best Picture nod. Deep down I knew it wouldn't happen. It's just an exemplary film that shouldn't be pigeon holed in the Animated Feature category. Of course it's a shoe-in there. Its accompanying animated short film Presto was nominated in that class.

My colleague John rightfully points out WALL-E's inclusion in the Best Screenplay category. The film is largely void of dialogue, especially in the first half. You'd think Andrew Stanton would've received a director nomination for that feat.

I also wished the French thriller Tell No One would get some attention in the Foreign Film competition. It definitely had the most resonance at the U.S. box office. I guess that's no fault of the Academy. France chose to submit The Class instead.

The much heralded Man on Wire got tabbed in the Best Documentary category. It has to be the odds-on favorite. I'm sad Pray the Devil Back to Hell and Stranded weren't in there. Those were two awesome documentaries I saw last year.

One 'WTF?' moment was Bruce Springsteen's absence in the Best Song cat. He won the Golden Globe for his ditty from The Wrestler. Meanwhile, Slumdog Millionaire has two songs in the narrow competition of three. (Not that I have anything against that film.)

Over a week before the nomination announcements, Metromix published a list of 12 actors who should've gotten nominated. Some of their picks seem worthy (like Ledger's widow Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy) but they discredit themselves by including Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

What do you think? Which films and performances from 2008 got the shaft in this batch of Oscar nominations? Let us know.