I don’t know if it was just me but when Anne Hathaway read out the nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards, I was stunned to see Miley Cyrus overlooked for a golden statute despite her ground-breaking ‘Hanna Montana: The Movie’. Ok, just me then…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock on Pandora you’ll know about the visually stunning, sci-fi smash Avatar, where everyone lives happily ever after (oh come on, my hamster could have written that script!). But despite its record-breaking commercial success it will have to share the spotlight with The Hurt Locker, an edgy independent Iraq thriller, both movies receiving 9 nominations. It’s popcorn versus politics!

What makes this David and Goliath battle even more interesting is the fact James Cameron and director of The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow, were once husband and wife. Talk about battling with your ex! With no woman having ever walked away with the best director prize and the Academy rarely dividing their prize assets – best picture and best director – in settlement of a split, something is going to have to give.

And let’s not forget Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds lurking ominously in the background with 8 nominations. He who would love nothing more than to spoil a good party, especially since he’s taken to looking like a plastic Elvis impersonator recently!

The decision to include 10 films in the Best Picture category this year instead of the usual 5 has allowed the successes of highly original District 9 and Pixar’s animated masterpiece, Up, to continue their vigil of hope and gain some well-deserved exposure. However, not on the list are two favorites of mine this year: Star Trek & The Hangover which won best comedy at the Globes. I guess the Academy doesn’t take comedy seriously, huh!

Lots of familiar faces and old time favorites on the best actor and actress list of nominees: George Clooney (Up in the Air), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart – yawn!), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Meryl Streep (Julie/Julia)…but there’s one name sadly missing: Robert Downey Jr. who won a Golden Globe for his performance in Sherlock Holmes. Interestingly, there are no acting nominations for any of James Cameron’s Avatar cast (go figure!).

Already Hollywood’s worst kept secret, the envelope containing the supporting actor & actress is already sealed with the Academy seeming certain to go with Mo’Nique for her amazingly poignant role in Precious and Christoph Waltz as a scary, inglourious Nazi basterd.

We’ll be following the Oscar race (and all the lobbying going around) until it airs, March 7, on ABC.  In the meantime check this link for the complete list of nominees and tell us who you think deserves to win and who will win.