Hello Oscar Nominees!

Today has been an exciting day. Finally the list has arrived. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads with 13 nominations, followed by Slumdog Millionaire with 10 while box office king The Dark Knight follows with 8.

Now, Let's start with the best actress category, my personal favourite. Anne Hathaway, an expected lock for a nomination for her turn as the black sheep sister in Rachel Getting Married. I'm happy about this one. Angelina Jolie gave many critics slaps on their faces by slotting herself conveniently into this year's race after missing out on many awards for her role as a mother who got the wrong son. Another black horse running fast is Melissa Leo in Frozen River. Now, Melissa like Angelina were what many critics and award predictors deemed as longshots after Kristin Scott Thomas and Sally Hawkins, however, they managed to claw their way through to get seated nicely on top. Well done! Meryl Streep, who held the record for most nominations(14) by an actor has just outrun herself with a total of 15 nominations to date with her turn as the nun who goes all out to make sure the priest who molested a child gets his punishment. Last but not least, Oscar surprised nearly everyone (not me) when Kate Winset was announced in the Best Actress category for not Revolutionary Road but The Reader even though she was pushed as a supporting for that role.

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams for her role as a naive nun in Doubt. This is supposed to be the race for Kate and Penelope Cruz but now that Kate is out, we're sure who is the frontrunner in the race. Penelope Cruz for her role as a tempestous ex-wife in Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona. Viola Davis as the mother of the molested child in Doubt. Taraji P. Henson as a loving adoptive parent in The Curious Case for Benjamin Button. Making the 5th slot is actress Marisa Tomei who plays a stripper in the movie The Wrestler.

Best Actor: Richard Jenkins who was the early favourite went into the quiet zone during Golden Globe, Bafta, Critics and everything letting stars like Leonardo Dicaprio and Clint Eastwood to get the oscar buzz. However, he proves that quality is all that matters by knocking out the 2 heavyweights and earned himself a rightful spot in the top 5. Hollywood favourite Sean Penn's name being read out was like hearing Paris Hilton's name on E! Entertainment. There was nothing surprising to see him get nominated for his portrayal as the wonderful gay activist Harvey Milk in Milk. Frank Langella is a Tony Award winner vying for an Oscar. Many have said that this tony award winning role is the last chance for Frank to win an Oscar. Brad Pitt is also being nominated for his best to date role as the guy who aged backwards and learning about love and death. Critic's favourite Mickey Rourke is giving Sean a run for his money as being the forseen 5th nominee in this category after giving somewhat his best performance in a hollywood comeback story. Look out for him.

Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin is nominated for his role as the man who kinda didnt "like" Harvey Milk in Milk. Robert Downey Junior is nominated for a role where he is a dude who is disguised as a dude to act as another dude in Tropic Thunder. Academy Award favourite Phillip Seymour Hoffman is also nominated for his turn as the Priest who is being accused of molesting a boy in Doubt. Having to fight with Meryl Streep on screen and not look like a idiot is tough work, besides, this heavyweight was the winner of Best Actor in 2006. Heath Ledger, the name that everyone (me) would not be happy to not hear his name being announced in the nominee list. Having won the Golden Globe already for his portrayal as The Joker, Heath joins the ranks of being the 7th posthumus nominated actor. Only one has won till date. Here is an interesting one, Michael Shannon who portrayed a mentalist in Revolutionary Road was oversee-ed by many voters in the early season. Names like Tom Cruise, and Ralph Fiennes hogged the awards season with the other 4 previously named but Shannon proves to be a star to be watched.

Right that's all for now.