Let's just get this out of the way up front: Great job, Academy! That the AMPAS found room for everything from Winter's Bone to Toy Story 3 to the ferocious performance given by Movieline favorite Jacki Weaver means they deserve a bit of kudos. (If you're one of those, "Yawn, I'm too cool for the Oscars!" people, just go back to bed today.) Of course that doesn't mean many, many deserving nominees were left out in the cold this morning. Ahead, the six biggest from the major categories.
BEST PICTURE: The Town
It's tough to say The Town was snubbed -- after all, it was a late comer to the Oscar party, and many people didn't take it very seriously as a contender -- but it does feel like the type of big, expertly made genre film the expansion to ten Best Picture nominees was made to accommodate. That said, what would The Town replace on this roster? Winter's Bone? Toy Story 3? Inception? Yeah, not really. If the Academy didn't find room for Shutter Island, they certainly weren't going to find room for Ben Affleck's heist thriller.
BEST DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan, Inception
That sound you heard at 8:45 a.m. was every fanboy in America spitting up their Cap'n Crunch. Thought to be not only a lock for a nomination, but a possible upset victor, Christopher Nolan was snubbed once again by the Oscars -- this despite owning three Directors Guild nominations. The Inception hater-on-er in me would say that if Nolan didn't get an Oscar nomination for the superior work he did in The Dark Knight, then why would he get one for the muddled-but-cool work he did in Inception, but this is still shocking nonetheless. That said: Which of the five other nominees would you have left off the list? Perhaps David O. Russell, but it's clear that The Fighter had huge Academy support. Just not enough for Marky Mark...
BEST ACTOR: Mark Wahlberg, The Fighter
You can have your Ryan Gosling snub. For me, the big omission in the Best Actor category was Mark Wahlberg. As Micky Ward, he's the foundation of The Fighter, and at least part of the reason why Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo can all call themselves 2011 Oscar nominees as of this moment. Here's the big difference between Gosling and Wahlberg: You expect one to be outstanding, always; you expect the other to say hi to your mother. The Oscars don't grade on a curve, except that they kind of do. Of the two "young" performers, Wahlberg was the most surprising, and thus, most deserving.
BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
I'll just say it: Julianne Moore was better in The Kids Are All Right than Annette Bening. Unfortunately, fortune favors the Bening bold, and that -- plus the muddled idea of whether Moore was a supporting or lead performer -- doomed her free-spirited work. Like the New York Jets, maybe next year, Jules!
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
See, also: Armie Hammer and Justin Timberlake. Is the troika of Social Network supporting snubs a result of vote splitting, or some deep-seated blow back against what was the assumed favorite for so much of the season? Considering The Social Network only received eight nominations to the 12 of The King's Speech perhaps a little of both. For his part, Garfield was wonderful in The Social Network, but he's too passive until the third act. But what a third act! No matter, though; he'll console himself in the webs of Spider-man.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Another category where you can't fault any of the five nominees, but it does feel a bit unfortunate that Mila Kunis was overlooked for her tricky Black Swan work. After all, she has to go through many of the same beats as Natalie Portman, but without any of the depth and screen time. That Kunis is able to make it work is a testament to her performance. In the end, this snub just might be a case of, "Who else would you leave off?"
Enough from me, though -- let's open this up to the peanut gallery! Which snubs did you consider the most egregious? Barbara Hershey? Matt Damon? Robert Duvall? Daft Punk for Best Original Score? Yogi Bear for Best Picture? Let 'em rip in the comments below!