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Best Actress: (4/5)

Apparently sex and nudity is okay when it comes to women, though, which is why Rooney Mara was able to slide in amidst tough competition. Mara was by far the least unlikeable of the three performances fighting for the final spot, and I suspect there were a lot of people who passionately disliked both We Need to Talk About Kevin and Young Adult. As a sympathetic protagonist, Mara was the least objectionable option, which clearly helped.

Best Supporting Actor: (4/5)

I long suspected that the Academy would not be as impressed with Drive as Internet commenters have been, but Albert Brooks getting snubbed was quite a surprise. Still, with his SAG snub as a harbinger this was not totally out of the blue, while the same cannot be said for Max von Sydow's nomination for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (the film's only nomination other than Picture). Between villains often finding success here and the sympathetic old guy spot being taken by Christopher Plummer, there was no reason for anyone to think that von Sydow was in the running. And yet, here he is, serving as further proof that nobody knows anything.

Best Supporting Actress: (4/5)

This category is mostly a reminder to me to check my work. Had I noticed that Berenice Bejo wasn't on my list I would have corrected it immediately. Of course, I would have taken Janet McTeer off and left Shailene Woodley on, so I would have been just as wrong. Considering that the SAG goes for child actors more often than the Oscars do, it should have been a hint that Woodley was not on steady ground when she was ignored by that group.

Best Original Screenplay: (3/5)

Between the light fluffiness of The Artist, Midnight in Paris, and Bridesmaids, the Academy needed some dark, depressing, topical films to fill out the category. Much props to Sasha Stone who, in a show of gutsiness that puts me to shame, correctly predicted A Separation to get a nomination. The writers are more global than the rest of the Academy, having previously nominated Talk to Her, Pan's Labyrinth, and The Barbarian Invasions, and A Separation has proven just how popular it is. Margin Call is another very topical film that seems to have resonated with the liberal Academy. This category is also definitive proof that the Academy is so over Diablo Cody.

Best Adapted Screenplay: (4/5)

I'm very pleased that I correctly predicted Tinker Tailor's nomination over Dragon Tattoo. What did surprise me was The Help's exclusion. Clearly there is not as much love for this film as some suspected, which means a Best Picture upset is out of the question. Another dark, political film got in instead, as the Academy love for George Clooney knows no bounds. One has to wonder how close The Ides of March was to getting a Best Picture nomination instead of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Best Art Direction: (4/5)

I had a sneaking suspicion that Midnight in Paris would show up somewhere below the line, although I would have guessed it would be for its costumes rather than its sets. Still, this was a fairly open field, and perhaps Anonymous's reliance on CGI in recreating Elizabethan England was held against it.

Best Cinematography: (5/5)

Forget everything I've said in the previous paragraphs. I know everything! This was a fairly easy category to predict, with only Tinker Tailor and Harry Potter posing a threat to War Horse. But the cinematography in War Horse is the kind the Academy embraces, so it's no surprise that it did.

Best Costumes: (4/5)

The Costumers have always done their own thing, and they always love ostentatious outfits. Tinker Tailor's drab duds and The Help's pretty dresses had nothing on the glamorous gowns of W.E. The CDG nom should have been a hint, and a reminder to always look at the guilds first.

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