The nominations have been announced today for the 81st Annual Academy Awards and the Oscar buzz has officially started. Yes, I have to really check out Slumdog Millionaire because I keep hearing good things about that movie, plus it received 10 nominations. I’m surprised to see that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button received 13 nominations. The special effects and acting were fine, but the story just dragged on for 3 hours, which you can read my full review here. Was Benjamin Button a drag for you?

Well I’m happy to hear that The Dark Knight received 8 nominations including Heath Ledger for best supporting role. One of my other favorites of 2008, WALL-E, received 6 nominations including best animated feature and original screenplay. I hope WALL-E beats the shit out of Kung Fu Panda. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, but Jack Black really killed it for me as the clumsy bear that somehow saved the kingdom by being annoying.

You can check out the complete list below.

Leading Actor
Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn in “Milk”
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin in “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road”

Leading Actress
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in “Doubt”
Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis in “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

Best Animated Feature
“Bolt”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

Art Direction
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

Cinematography
“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Costume Design
“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
“Milk”
“Revolutionary Road”

Director
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” David Fincher
“Frost/Nixon” Ron Howard
“Milk” Gus Van Sant
“The Reader” Stephen Daldry
“Slumdog Millionaire” Danny Boyle

Documentary
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

Documentary Short
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“The Witness – From the Balcony of Room 306”

Editing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Foreign Language Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex” – Germany
“The Class” – France
“Departures” – Japan
“Revanche” – Austria
“Waltz with Bashir” – Israel

Makeup
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

Original Score
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Defiance”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

Original Song
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Picture
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Animated Short
“La Maison en Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory – Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up

Best Live Action Short
“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphalt”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

Sound Editing
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Sound Mixing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

Visual Effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

Adapted Screenplay
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Original Screenplay
“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Milk”
“WALL-E”

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