Award season is truly upon us. In a month’s time it will be over and the cinema will be packed with also-rans and padding until the blockbusters attempt to empty our wallets. The biggest news story of this week is of course the announcement of the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards. You can check out the full list of nominees here.

Here at Screenhead, we decided to briefly analyse the award and make note of the good surprises, the bad ones, and remind you all that just because someone doesn’t get an Oscar nom, that doesn’t mean they’re inferior to the final five of each category.

The one ommission in this year’s awards that has been stirring up the internet forums was Christopher Nolan for his highly successful Inception. While the movie had a fascinating premise (so much so that it was nominated for Best Original Screenplay) and largely positive reviews, one can argue that outside of the realm of visuals the film didn’t quite work. And of course, the Academy of voters are largely resistant to “blockbusters”, which rarely pick up Oscars. The recent decision to allow 10 nominees for Best Film feels like a comrpomise to amend that issue. Nevertheless, David Fincher will be the one making the speech with gold statuette in hand.

The most disappointing ommission was in the Best Supporting Actress category. Lesley Manville delivered one of the most brilliant performances in years, as the deluded Mary in Mike Leigh’s Another Year. Mary is a somewhat uneducated admin assistant who puts ona mask of endless joy and optimism, but each day is a battle with the realisation that she is getting on in years. She relies on her co-worker Gerri and often savours Gerri and her husband’s relationship. She also secretly wants to seduce Gerri’s son and resent him when he gets a girlfriend. Manville could have played the borderline alcoholic Mary as a total trainwreck, but ensures enough self-awareness and warmth to induce sympathy in the audience. She is a fascinating character in a fascinating film, and it’s a shame Manville was denied an Oscar nomination. Her performance is far more memorable than Helen Bonham Carter’s permenant look of sympathy in The King’s Speech, or Amy Ryan who may win for her role in The Fighter, but only because she’s playing against type.

While The Town performed well in the box office, many were disappointed that it was denied a Best Picture nom. But it is surprising to see Jeremy Renner (who was genuinely good in The Hurt Locker) in the Best Supporting Actor category. His character is essentially a cultural stereotype. He’s the vicious lower-class pal of the protagonist, the one who claims to be the hero’s buddy but would murder him in a heartbeat. Renner’s performance does lend a menace to the role, but it’s actually quite forgettable. Surely there were better options than this? Andrew Garfield was one of the few good things about The Social Network and his lack of nomination is somewhat puzzling.

Not all is wrong with the awards, however. Sometimes the Oscars can truly surprise. And while this year’s batch of nominees have been somewhat predictable, it was a delight to see the little-seen Greek arthouse film Dogtooth get a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category. The film is a disturbing but darkly comic story of a man who keeps his three children completely separated from society, feeding them lies and playing strange games to keep them distracted. Of course, their innate curiosity leads them to push the boundaries of their situation, and the film is a brilliant exploration of humanity’s inability to endure imprisonment on any level.

It’s also heartening to see semi-indie films like Black Swan and The Fighter get so much accolade. And not only that, but they’re also making plenty of money at the box office (Aronofsky’s pic has passed the $100m mark worldwide), suggesting that sometimes the risks do pay off. The fearless performance Natalie Portman delivers helps too.

No one is going to agree with the Oscars. The subjectivity of art will guarantee that. So while outrage is a natural reaction, a better one is to not rely on the Academy Awards as a sign of quality, and look beyond the general (and often flawed) consensus and you might find some true gems.