Damn, out of everything in those lists of movies in all of those categories, the only films I've seen are Rango, Bridesmaids and Drive.

Anyway, I was a bit bummed to discover this was just a ballot for the actual Oscars, and not something more personal to DiF and the community's tastes. Like Ewing, I'm pretty upset that Drive, for all its achievements and popularity (especially for the kind of movie it actually is, versus the one that was marketed), only got a lousy (although still deserved) sound editing nomination. That's some bullshit right there.

I voted for a few of the topics, but not all of them, as I've not yet seen the artist, the descendents or dragon tattoo. Dragon tattoo is one that I have no excuse for. The others - and many of the movies nominated for stuff this year - didn't play near me because I live in redneckville alabama where the three (!) 16-or-more-screens (!) theaters here all played the exact same ten movies at any given time, most of them being either the latest crappy horror movie or the latest crappy action movie or the latest crappy comedy about people having sex and throwing up.

But they did play The Help - which is pretty damn good - and Dragon Tattoo. So, for instance, "Actress in a leading role"...  all of those movies are playing right now, and only those two I mentioned have played here. If it's not out on DVD and it's listed on this chart somewhere, then odds are I haven't seen it due to it not playing here.

I really need to look into the logistics, costs and availability of funding for running my own theater. This is one of the most populated areas in Alabama, and the closest thing to an arthouse theater here is over two hours away.

I just realized I saw no new movies last year, I was busy watching other movies.

I think I saw Your Highness and that was bad, I saw Paul which was okay, that's it I think.

I voted in all categories, but I've only seen about half of the films nominated.  There were several snubs that left those category votes feeling false.  Oh well.  Off topic, but I really enjoyes the Bake Off Intermission - now I've got to see Real Steel.

Also, can someone make a sequel to Real Steel that involves the theft of a movie and call it Reel Steal?  Sorry for the bad joke.

I'm expecting The Artist to walk away with a ton of awards, followed by Scorsese winning for Best Director and Allen for Best Original Screenplay.

I've heard that it will either be The Artist or Hugo. I loved every minute of The Artist, and I'd be very happy to see it win Best Picture.

Hugo is not good, on the other hand, but it might win because of the "Film History" aspect coupled with Scorsese.

Was The Help really that good? It struck me as something akin to The Blind Side, filled with White Guilt and a cheesy moral. But I haven't seen it yet, so I could be proven wrong.

We're gonna leave this up until Oscar day.

Not too late to vote. 

I'd argue that The Artist is a lot more self-aware than Karina would believe, but I could be naïve myself.