Oscars! Reactions! Kunis!

I remember I had a blog today and decided to return to it. For what? The Oscars, naturally.

I obsess over the Oscars every year and, in true fan girl fashion, do my best to see at least every nominated movie, and also every nominated performance. I've done pretty well this year pre-nominations, with only 127 Hours and Winter's Bone left on my list. Thus, how eager I was to hear the nominations this morning.

For some reason I woke up with Mila Kunis in my head. Like, all I wanted to do was get to the office and see the nominations just to confirm whether she had or had not been nominated. It was startling, my care for Kunis, especially given the fact that all I've done throughout awards season is bemoan how much attention she's been getting for her supporting role in Black Swan. I mean, look, she's fine in the movie, but I just didn't see what all the hype was about. She basically played Mila Kunis—aloof, funny, sarcastic—albeit a version of herself who dances ballet, likes trashy back tattoos, and noms on ladies.

She didn't get nominated, and initially I felt victorious in her snub ("See, the academy agrees with me!") But then I felt sort of sad for The Kunis. Not generally regarded as a reputable dramatic thespian, she probably felt artistically vindicated, even though no one's slighted her comedy career thus far. Still, she was on That 70's Show. She voiced Meg on Family Guy. She was, er, ya know in other stuff. Then all of a sudden she has dramatic cred and just when she thinks she's got the last star, that gold star, on her progress chart she comes up short. She's probably still happy with how it's all played out, and God knows how many scripts have already come her way with juicy parts, but it probably stung a bit. Stung just enough.

As for the rest, there weren't too many surprises, though I would have liked to have seen Mark Wahlberg finally get nominated. Poor guy just seems to aaaaalmost get there, and then, in the year when he had a legitimate shot, he gets beat out by a Spanish Lothario and scrawny kid. I haven't seen Biutiful, so I guess I can't be too hard on Javier Bardem, but he just get's more annoying, for whatever reason. Maybe it's his connection to Julia Roberts, who never seems to shut up about him. And, GOD, her. Just, her. Stop smiling and laughing and thinking you are so hilaaaarious and just go away. (Leave Notting Hill, though. Thanks.)

As for Jesse Eisenberg, I won't shortchange him reining in a performance written by Aaron Sorkin and then directed by David Fincher, but he's a freshman in Hollywood and lacks pedigree. He might me smug too. I can't tell.

The winners won't be shocking: The Social Network, Firth, Portman, Bale and Leo. All of whom quite deserving but when are we going to get another Adrien Brody moment? If I were ever going to win an Oscar that's how I would want it to happen. I've dreamed about it. I even have the speech written already. Maybe one day you'll hear it.

Toods.

Seth