How is everyone? Derek here! The Oscar nominations for 2008 cinema have been revealed this morning and i can say that it is bittersweet. Here's the list and after that i will go into some personal opinions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“The Class”
“Depatures”
“Revanche”
“Waltz with Bashir”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best Music (Original Song)
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

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

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

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

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306″

Best Short Film (Animated)
“La Maison de Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory - Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up”

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

I haven't seen the The Reader so i guess I can't say too much about it. But I will tell you what I'm missing on the best picture winner list. The Dark Knight, Revolutionary Road, and Wall-E. Did I want these movies to win if they got nominated? Well, no to The Dark Knight and Revolutionary Road and possibly yes to Wall-E. As of now my favorite movie of the year (minus those Superhero Summer Blockbusters I have such an affinity for) is Frost/Nixon. Do I think it will win? No. I think we are looking at a Slumdog year. Which I am totally happy and fine with because it is my second favorite movie of the year.

One of my biggest hopefuls this year was missing in the Best Actor Category. Where's Leo??? Leonardo DiCaprio gave an outstanding performance in Revolutionary Road. The first performance Ive seen in a long time from him where I wasn't thinking "I'm watching Leo act." I was instead thinking "Man, Frank Wheeler has got one effed up life." However, I'm rooting for Rourke on this one.

I'm glad we don't have any Gran Torino nominations which other awards and hype was leading me to believe. Outside of being totally sweet, that movie was awful.

I was surprised not to see Australia nab a Cinematography nod.

I was glad to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army pick up a nod for Best Makeup.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the most overrated movie of the year in my opinion. It's walking with 13 nods, the most given to any movie this year. If it wins anything I hope its in the technical aspects of film making.

Where's The Boss? I can't believe he didn't get a nomination for is song fro The Wrestler.

And there you have my banter.

I will dive a little deeper into some of these movies when I give my Oscar Movies Mini-Review.