By Max Kyburz

On the morning the Oscar nominations were announced, The A.V. Club, my blog of preference, posted the full listing with the moniker “The Oscars want you to know they agree with what everybody else said.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning after months of feverish speculation from film buffs across the globe. As the days got closer to the big day, the pieces began to fall into place. Bloggers began to post their predictions for what would be included and what would be ignored. Now the nominations have been unveiled, and if you pay attention to other preceding awards shows, you may find yourself shrugging and saying, “Meh.”

In the big daddy category of Best Picture of the Year, it’s basically the same paradigm as last year – a few really good movies, a few very average ones, an overrated Coen Bros. movie and a Pixar movie. Not many surprises here. As they did last year, the Academy decided to employ the ten Best Picture nominee system, which they unearthed, I suppose, in order to seem less “clique-ish.” They are as follows: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, The King’s Speech (which has garnered twelve nominations, the most this year), 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter’s Bone.

Only one surprise made itself available for Best Actor as Javier Bardem (Biutiful) joins Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and James Franco (127 Hours). This has probably been the least controversial non-technical category, though there has been some outspoken dissent over Ryan Gosling’s name missing for his role in the controversial Blue Valentine. His co-star Michelle Williams, however, was nominated for Best Actress, as were Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) and main contender Natalie Portman (Black Swan).

The snubs are getting the most attention. The most backlash has been towards the exclusion of Inception ringleader Christopher Nolan from Best Director, which is disappointing considering the magnitude of the film in question. Nolan’s absence may hurt Inception‘s chances of taking Best Picture. Anyone who’s seen it will argue that although he is nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Inception does not exist without its compelling vision.

Not much love either for Mila Kunis, whose turn as Natalie Portman’s foil (and possible bedfellow) from Black Swan guaranteed her a spot in the Best Supporting Actress category in every awards show but this one. That’s not to say that it makes the running less interesting; there’s still Amy Adams (The Fighter), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom). The Supporting Actor/Actress categories are almost always unpredictable, ensuring a good deal of excitement and suspense.

I nod approvingly at the Academy for remembering Dogtooth in the Best Foreign Language Film category, a film I hold in higher regard for any of the ten nominated for Best Picture. Considering its stark portrayals of incest and domestic violence (emotional and physical) I am genuinely surprised at its inclusion; its content is so inflammatory that this little Greek film would have been ignored entirely had it been America-made. Whether it has a chance, who knows; it’s up against Biutiful (Alejandro González Iñárritu), In a Better World (Susanne Bier), Incendies (Denis Velleneuve) and Outside the Law (Rachid Bouchared).

The Oscars have always been the most exciting when films are in the running that keep us loyal viewers in suspense. It would be nice to have some surprise upsets to keep us talking – we haven’t had anything like that since Crash won in 2006. I’d give you my predictions for who will take home the gold, but that will come at a later time. Although judging by the results of all the other bajillion awards shows that have happened already, you probably know what they are.

The 83rd Academy Awards will be held Feb. 27th on ABC, and will be hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Is there anything the man won’t do?