“12 Years a Slave’ and “American Hustle” lead the pack of this year’s Golden Globes nominees. Both movies, which seem primed for awards season, each received seven nominations each. As for the rest, while there were some predictable selections there were no egregious offenses (will anyone every forget “The Tourist’ nomination in 2010?). But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to talk about. So here are a few thoughts and observations.

• Let me get this out of the way first – the snubbing of “Mud” was the biggest frustration. On the other hand it shouldn’t surprise me. “Take Shelter“, another film from Jeff Nichols, was snubbed in 2011 as was Michael Shannon for his amazing performance. Film critic Roger Moore pointed out to me that “Mud” probably wasn’t edgy enough for them. What a shame. It’s an almost criminal ommision.
• Staying with the snubs, where on earth is Mads Mikkelsen? I know the awards type have this weird concept of confining the foreign films to their one category (a small handful of exceptions excluded), but this is a pretty glaring ommision. Mikkelsen was amazing in “The Hunt” and not nominating him is most definitely a shameful snub.
• I loved seeing Greta Gerwig get a nod for her work in “Frances Ha“. Let’s be serious, she has absolutely no chance of winning but the nomination is deserved. Gerwig may only play these eccentric, slightly neurotic characters but she does it REALLY well.
• I knew it wouldn’t happen but Geoffrey Rush should have been nominated for his supporting work in “The Book Thief“. I could say the same for Emily Watson and young Sophie Nélisse. But Rush was just phenomenal and he was such a strong point in this underappreciated film.
• Voter favorite David O. Russell once again finds his film nominated in multiple categories. So far he’s only managed to bring home the big awards for his actors and actresses. Some have said the challenge for him is breaking through and winning Best Director and Best Picture. For me his biggest challenge is making a movie without a boatload of f-bombs.
• Is there anyone on planet earth who didn’t believe “Blue is the Warmest Color” would be nominated? Let me be fair, I haven’t seen it and I’ll probably never see it. But as sure as the sun shines during the day, it was going to be nominated. The Hollywood Foreign Press and the Academy actively search out films like this.
• It’s odd that Julie Delpy gets nominated for “Before Midnight” and Ethan Hawke gets snubbed. On the other hand, it’s odd that the weakest film in the trilogy (I’m know, I’m one of the few who think that) is the first to finally get recognized by the awards folks.
• The black community is well represented by some fantastic and deserving nominations. While I did have a few issues with “12 Years a Slave” there was nothing wrong with Chiwetel Ejiofor’s work. Absolutely brilliant. And Lupita Nyong’o was just as good giving a truly heartfelt performance. And it was wonderful to see Barkhad Abdi get recognized for his work in “Captain Phillips“. I’m also a huge fan of Idris Elba but I haven’t seen “Mandela”.
• Tom Hanks gets nominated for “Saving Mr. Banks” but not “Captain Phillips“? That’s surprising. He was wonderful in “Captain Phillips” and I can’t imagine him being any better in “Saving Mr. Banks”. We shall see.
• Congrats to Oscar Isaac. Here is an actor that is much better than the notice he has received. Some of his choices have been questionable but his talent isn’t. I’m glad to see the Coen brothers gave him an opportunity and the awards folks gave him recognition.

So much more could be said but I’ll end it there. It case you missed it, here are the film nominees. I would love to here your thoughts on my thoughts or the nominees in general. Let the awards season begin!!!

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“12 Years a Slave”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Philomena”
“Rush”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”
Kate Winslet, “Labor Day”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Idris Elba, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Tom Hanks, “Saving Mr. Banks”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford, “All Is Lost”

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“American Hustle”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”
“The Wolf Of Wall Street”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”
Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Her”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2″
“Frozen”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“The Great Beauty”
“The Hunt”
“The Past”
“The Wind Rises”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

Daniel Brühl, “Rush”
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Spike Jonze, “Her”
Bob Nelson, “Nebraska”
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan, “Philomena”
John Ridley, “12 Years A Slave”
Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost”
Alex Heffes, “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom”
Steven Price, “Gravity”
John Williams, “The Book Thief”
Hans Zimmer, “12 Years A Slave”