Immediate reaction to the Oscar nominations

Nothing major to quibble about, although I could probably come up with a couple of thousand films better suited for that fifth best picture nomination than "The Reader" (I'll start with "Wall-E" and include "The Wrestler" and "Rachel Getting Married'). But then there's an old Hollywood expression -- that's especially true around awards time -- that "There's no business like Shoah business."

I still don't see what all the "Benjamin Button" fuss is about, except for its technical aspects, but I knew it was going to get the most nominations, so there you have it. I was delighted to see Richard Jenkins' name among the final five for best actor, but mildly surprised that he took Clint Eastwood's spot and not Brad Pitt's, whose acting here is largely the result of makeup and CGI. I think he displays two, perhaps even three, emotions in the film.

I am somewhat angry that Bruce Springsteen's "The Wrestler" wasn't among the song nominees and surprised that only three, not five, songs were nominated.

My major disappointments were in the writing category, especially in the original screenplay nominations. I have no trouble with "Wall-E" and "Milk," but I would rank the screenplays of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," "The Visitor," "The Wrestler" and "Rachel Getting Married" above the other three films that were nominated in that category. I would also rank the adaptation of "Revolutionary Road" ahead of the adaptation of "The Reader," although neither were as fine as the adaptation of "Tell No One."

Finally, I was glad to see the Academy didn't buy into Kate Winslet as a supporting actress in "The Reader," as did the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and even the Screen Actors Guild. I still think her performance in "Revolutionary Road" was more nuanced and if the genders had been reversed in "The Reader" -- if it had been an older man seducing a teen-age girl -- then the part would have been reviled more than praised. Of course, no one in my estimation will ever pull this off better than Anne Bancroft and, in "The Graduate," Benjamin was a couple of years removed from being a teenager.

Right now, I would list the favorites in the major categories as:
Picture, Director -- "Slumdog Millionaire." No other nominee comes close to matching this one.
Actor -- Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler." Rourke's tale is like a real-life "Rocky" and his only competition seems to be Sean Penn, who is respected, but not that well liked by the Hollywood community.
Actress -- Kate Winslet because voters will be showing their support for her performances both in "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road." Only Meryl Streep has that two-movie approach going for her and since "Mama Mia" didn't get nominated for anything ...
Supporting Actor -- Are you kidding me? Can you see anyone other than Heath Ledger winning this?
Supporting Actress -- Perhaps the most interesting of the major races, especially now that Winslet is out of the picture. I'm going to rule out Taraji P. Henson because the luster around "Bejamin Button" is fading. Amy Adams' award is the nomination itself and I'm tempted to eliminate Viola Davis because she is only in one scene in "Doubt" (although that one scene is a blockbuster because of her performance). So that leaves Marisa Tomei and I can see the Academy voting for her just to justify their decision in the face of the poor reaction the last time she won this award, and Penelope Cruz, just because the Academy loves to vote for supporting players in Woody Allen films.