Oscar nods announced

For the first time ever, I saw the announcement of the nominations for the Academy Awards while it was happening - at 5:30 a.m. pst. It happened to be on while I was at the gym this morning, on CNN, and I couldn't keep from watching.

Lucky for me, they made the experience very visual so I didn't need the volume. The biggest surprise to me was the nomination of not five, but 10 movies for the best picture category. It seems a little bit like cheating for the Academy to include 10 movies instead of narrowing it down more. But at the same time, I guess the longer list gives an opportunity for more movies to claim an Oscar nod. After all, Disney Pixar's "Up" is nominated and animated movies rarely ever make make it into the best picture category. I have seen four of the nominated movies - "Up," "Up in the Air," "Avatar" and "The Blind Side." Three other of the movies are on my list of movies to see soon, "District 9," "Hurt Locker" and "An Education." The only one on the list I don't want to see is "Precious" since I've read some reviews that mention the graphic and disturbing content in it.

I thought "Invictus" would get a nod, especially since there were 10 pictures instead of 5. But it didn't get one, even though Morgan Freeman was nominated for a best actor and Matt Damon was nominated for best supporting actor for their performances in it.

With so many nominees in the category, it's hard to say what movie will win. Of the movies I've seen, my guess is "Avatar" for the groundbreaking technology or "Up in the Air" for its timely storyline about unemployment and the human connection.

As for the other categories, my votes are as follows:

Best actor - George Clooney, "Up in the Air." It was the best performance I've ever seen from Clooney.

Best actress - Helen Mirren, "The Last Station." She's just amazing in everything I've ever seen her in so I am sure she is great in this, though I haven't seen it yet.

Best supporting actress - I am torn between Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, but I think Farmiga gets the edge for her performance in "Up in the Air" for her monologue about what she wants in a man.

Best animated feature film - "Up" is the best cartoon I've seen in years. It made men I know cry when they saw it. Enough said.

Best art direction - It's got to go to "Avatar" which created a whole new world of cinema.

Best cinematography -This will probably also go to "Avatar" since it's shot amazingly.

Best directing - Though I am partial to Jason Reitman, of "Up in the Air," I think James Cameron will get the win for "Avatar."

Of course, we won't know the results until March. But for now, check out the other categories and nominations at the Oscar Web site.