Anyone who’s come into contact with any news source today is no doubt aware that the Oscar nominations are out. Here begins a long few weeks of lobbying, smear campaigns, and general sucking up as the current darlings of Hollywood look to their fellow Academy members for validation. It’s always fun to watch even if the eventual winners are crushing disappointments – someone explain to me how Bill Murray wasn’t Best Actor for Lost in Translation and A Beautiful Mind was better than Fellowship of the Ring, please.

I’ve briefly perused the list and there aren’t any big surprises. Batman Begins’ nomination for cinematography is well deserved (no doubt its genre precluded any other categories), Wallace and Gromit will surely keep up the English end with a Best Animated Feature win, and I can humbly accept that a Best Picture nomination for Serenity would have been too much to ask, even if my rampant fanboyism will continue. Joaquin Phoenix is about the least surprising Best Actor nom ever when you look at the hype, and George Clooney will definitely be partying tonight thanks to some major recognition for Good Night, And Good Luck.

What’s utterly hilarious is that Star Wars hasn’t even got a nomination for visual effects. Yay to the Academy on that one, and kudos to the Razzies for nominating Hayden. Was Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds worthy of a Worst Actor, though?