There is a lot to take in this year, as is the case usually, and Oscar nominations are proof that you never know exactly what to expect from this morning, no matter how much thought goes into predictions. Here goes:

-The best surprise far and away was Marion Cotillard getting nominated. Talk about an incredible performance worthy of recognition that I’m stoked got in. A great film (Two Days, One Night) and a great performance being recognized.

Read our interview with Marion Cotillard and our review of Two Days, One Night (Deux Jours, Une Nuit).

–Foxcatcher becomes the first film since they expanded the number of nominees to get a Best Director nomination without a Best Picture nod. Very interesting, kudos to Bennett Miller for being so well respected. I am very excited that both Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo found their way toward nominations. It’s clear that this film was incredibly well received, and it is surprising that it didn’t land Best Picture considering this.

Read our interview with director Bennett Miller, Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and screenwriters Max E. Frye and Dan Futterman, as well as our review of Foxcatcher.

-With that in mind, this is the first time since the Academy changed their rules that there are 8 nominees. All the past years have 9. The films that suffered: Nightcrawler and Foxcatcher

Read our interview with Jake Gyllenhaal and our review of Nightcrawler.

-Best Actor shook things up by bringing in Bradley Cooper for his 3^rd straight nomination. Considering it was only a few years ago that The Hangover surged his career, the guy has done quite well for himself. While it’s his gain, unfortunately David Oyelowo and Jake Gyllenhaal really missed out as a result, leading up to the next point…

–Selma managed to only get a Best Song nomination and Best Picture. That’s pretty insane objectively. I am very happy the film got recognized, but it definitely should’ve made its way into other categories. If anything, this is an indication of how important the screeners are and long term campaigning. If Selma had joined the party earlier, it may have been looking at a few more. But it’s also not worth ignoring that controversy hindered its success as well, which for anyone who enjoyed it (like myself), is a real shame. We still live in a world where no non-white female director has ever been nominated (and this year, Ava Duvernay really deserved it).

–The Lego Movie got snubbed big time for Best Animated feature. That is so disappointing on a multitude of levels. It did manage Best Song, but that’s hardly compensation. Personally, this is the biggest snub.

-Looking further afield however, the Documentary category really let a lot of people down. Overlooking Life Itself and The Overnighters is pretty unforgivable. I’m not even a huge Life Itself fan, but overlooking a Roger Ebert tribute is a really sad decision. A strong year of documentaries is not well reflected in the movies they selected.

Read our reviews of The Overnighters and Life Itself.

-A quick rundown of all the other surprise nom’s: Laura Dern for Wild, Beyond the Lights for Song, and Inherent Vice for Screenplay and Costume Design. These are all nominations that few people actually saw coming, and it has to be quite exciting for all of those represented films.

-Lastly, I’ll talk about who can win. There is an unbroken rule that no film has ever won Best Picture without an Editing nomination, and Birdman missed that one. Admittedly, the film is an exception in that its style masked the editing, but that certainly didn’t mean there wasn’t any. With that being said, I don’t see any film winning at this point other than Boyhood, with The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Imitation Game being the only major vote stealers.

Read our review of Boyhood.

Much more discussion lies ahead. Awards season Phase 1 is officially over–bring on Phase 2!

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