Every other year, we have a much-hyped occasion in which the best of the best in their line of work strive to go for the gold. But for those of us who aren’t glued to the TV during the summer or winter Olympics — all apologies to Shaun White and Michael Phelps — the yearly awards ceremony of choice is the Oscars. With the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards recently announced, it’s all movie fans can do to wait until the tail end of February to find out who’s taking home the statuettes. In an ongoing commentary about the awards, we’ll break down who’s up for the big prizes, and who’s going to bring one of the coveted trophies home. First talking point: those who should have been nominated and came up empty in some of the more prominent categories.

Best Animated Feature

With few movies eligible, there weren’t many pictures that were in the running, but at least one had an almost guaranteed spot on the list. Though it may have been the weakest Pixar movie to date, it’s almost unfathomable that Cars 2 received absolutely nothing from the Powers That Be. That probably won’t be a problem with the upcoming Brave, but the continued escapades of Lightning McQueen and Mater might have warranted at least a courtesy nod. Then again, it’s the only way the studio will learn not to coast. As for others that were ignored, the beautiful, colorful Rio and the joyous holiday excursion Arthur Christmas were both pleasant enough, but even more worthy among potential nominees was The Adventures of Tintin, even if Oscar voters can’t decide how they feel about motion capture animation. It’s no wonder Andy Serkis couldn’t get an acting nomination for his inspired take on monkeying around in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Best Supporting Actress

With The Descendants receiving acknowledgment in most of the big categories, you’d think more of the cast besides George Clooney would have something good coming. Among the oversights are Shailene Woodley as his sullen teenage daughter and Judy Greer in a small, but crucial role as a jilted woman whose spouse has been cheating on her with Clooney’s wife. A category that tends to honor the comedic actresses more than the staunchly dramatic leaning of the leads had plenty to pick from this year with underrated showings from the likes of Jennifer Aniston in Horrible Bosses and Elizabeth Banks in Our Idiot Brother — both bitchy and manipulative, both hilarious. More seriously, the Academy’s favoring of the female-centric cast of The Help still managed to miss one of the movie’s best performances, with Cicely Tyson’s heartbreaking turn as Emma Stone’s aging nanny providing some of the film’s best moments.

Best Supporting Actor

When a funnyman goes dark, that often translates to attention for breaking boundaries. That being said, why was there no love left for Albert Brooks as the murderous gangster of Drive? The jocular actor’s strong left turn behind the wheel helped make the aloof crime drama all the more intense, as did Ron Perlman, to a lesser extent, as Brooks’ associate. This may sound like a longshot, but Eddie Murphy’s street hood in Tower Heist could have been Oscar-worthy. But between his flakiness about hosting the ceremony and his temper tantrum, the single time he was nominated and lost, it is no wonder the Academy is hesitant to give him anything. That theory doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone — Mark Strong hasn’t badmouthed anybody, yet he still wasn’t shortlisted for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. A wealth of supporting male roles in The Ides of March went unnoticed, including Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also, considering the acclaim for Crazy, Stupid, Love, it’s somewhat of a shocker Ryan Gosling went without any nominations for his cool, collected lothario, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg (more on him later).

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