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Check out these Updates from Armchair Commentary for February 2, 2010.

Oscar Nominations: Five Surprises February 2, 2010 I'm still a bit bleary-eyed from this morning's 5:30 a.m. call, but this year's Oscar nominees have been announced. Avatar and The Hurt Locker, as expected, tied for the most nominations with nine each. You can see the full list and nab the ones already available for pre-order, and meanwhile ponder these surprises: 1) The Blind Side in the Best Picture race? Really?! Over Star Trek, A Single Man, Invictus, and a host of other films that made the top 10 lists other than this one? (Seriously, I would have been less surprised over The Hangover being mentioned instead.) My big fear here is that this nod will cinch Sandra Bullock the Best Actress crown over Meryl Streep, whom, it must be said, I am really rooting for this year, because despite her 16 record nominations, the woman last won in 1982. That's also only a 0.125 batting average. There weren't just gasps this morning upon the inclusion; there was also a bit of stuttering. 2) No Clint Eastwood in the Best Director category. The awards buzz for Invictus has been slowly fading since its opening, which had strong but not wild reviews. Despite its nods for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, it was not only shut out of the Best Picture race but copped no nod for the evergreen nominee. 3) Maggie Gyllenhaal edges out Julianne Moore for Best Supporting Actress. There were no late-breaking upsets in the acting categories, but this was the first showing of Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart) in awards season over the four times-nominated Moore. Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) also had an outside shot, considering she got the SAG nomination instead of Moore. Still, it's a pleasant surprise for Gyllenhaal, who always does great work. 4) What is The Secret of Kells? The producers of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Ponyo, and many other overlooked animated films all scratched their heads over the inclusion of this Irish tale about monks and Vikings. 5) The strength of The Last Station in the acting categories, especially 1) No one ever talks about this film, and 2) it also was not nominated for anything else. The Young Victoria's Emily Blunt is left to watch at home (or perhaps present at the awards) with her adorable fiance as grand dame Helen Mirren instead takes her place in the Best Actress race. And kudos to Christopher Plummer, who, with a nod for Best Supporting Actor has received his very first career Oscar nomination at the age of 80. --Ellen

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