i remember last year's spilled latte noms were way worse than the oscars list. it's always like we add two or three names to each category that are great choices, but in the process subtract two or three names that HAVE to be there. the artist overlooked for best picture AND best director? come on. meryl streep snubbed for iron lady? stop.

the only real improvements here are that we recognized drive and take shelter. that's about it. oh, and shame (though the best picture nom is a bit overboard). our best actor noms are far and away superior to the oscars. not even close. so we should pat ourselves on the back there. but we basically gave it all back by snubbing streep and glenn close in the actress category. and our best pic list is extremely shaky. everything else is a wash. i can see a scenario where our winners could end up being better than the oscars, perhaps significantly so (if they decide to go the hugo/clooney/davis route, while we go drive/fassbender/mara). but as far as the noms go, advantage academy. we lose again.