The Oscar award nominations were unveiled today with surprisingly deserved nominations. Leading the pack was James Cameron’s epic ‘Avatar’ and Katheryn Bigalow’s ‘The Hurt Locker’ both with 9 nominations each.

Unlike last year’s controversial snub of ‘Dark Knight’ from all major awards, The Academy has learnt their lesson and given deserved movies a chance regardless of genre. ‘District 9′ is a nominee for Best Picture as well as ‘Up’ thanks to the increase in maximum nominees for the category to 10. But what makes me most happy? ‘Inglourious Basterds’ was nominated for 8 Oscars including Screenplay, Director and Picture and those are the most deserved nominations in the list. All other nominees deserved their nominations.

My only gripes? Star Trek was nominated for Best Visual Effects over 2012. Although the movie was no Oscar material, the effects were much more awe-inspiring that Star Trek. Also, 500 Days of Summer was snubbed big time along with Moon. But enough of me, what do you think of the nominations?

Full list of nominees after the jump.

Best Picture
AVATAR
THE BLIND SIDE
DISTRICT 9
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
A SERIOUS MAN
UP
UP IN THE AIR

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
George Clooney, UP IN THE AIR
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Morgan Freeman, INVICTUS
Jeremy Renner, THE HURT LOCKER

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon, INVICTUS
Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER
Christopher Plummer, THE LAST STATION
Stanley Tucci, THE LOVELY BONES
Christoph Waltz, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock, THE BLIND SIDE
Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION
Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION
Gabourey Sibide, PRECIOUS
Meryl Streep, JULIE & JULIA

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz, NINE
Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR
Maggie Gyllenhaal, CRAZY HEART
Anna Kendrick, UP IN THE AIR
Mo’Nique, PRECIOUS

Animated Feature Film
CORALINE
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
THE SECRET OF KELLS
UP

Art Direction
AVATAR
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Cinematography
AVATAR
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
THE WHITE RIBBON

Costume Design
BRIGHT STAR
COCO BEFORE CHANEL
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS
NINE
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Directing
James Cameron, AVATAR
Kathryn Bigelow, THE HURT LOCKER
Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Lee Daniels, PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman, UP IN THE AIR

Documentary Feature
BURMA VJ
THE COVE
FOOD, INC.
THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA: DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS
WHICH WAY HOME

Documentary Short
CHINA’S UNNATURAL DISASTER: THE TEARS OF SICHUAN PROVINCE
THE LAST CAMPAIGN OF GOVERNOR BOOTH GARDNER
THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT
MUSIC BY PRUDENCE
RABBIT A LA BERLIN

Film Editing
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS

Foreign Language Film
AJAMI, Israel
EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS, Argentina
THE MILK OF SORROW, Peru
UN PROPHETE, France
THE WHITE RIBBON, Germany

Makeup
IL DIVO
STAR TREK
THE YOUNG VICTORIA

Music (Original Score)
James Horner, AVATAR
Alexandre Desplat, FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, THE HURT LOCKER
Hans Zimmer, SHERLOCK HOLMES
Michael Giacchino, UP

Music (Original Song)
“Almost There”, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
“Down in New Orleans”, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
“Loin de Paname”, PARIS 36
“Take it All”, NINE
“The Weary Kind”, CRAZY HEART

Short Film (Animated)
FRENCH ROAST
GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY
THE LADY AND THE REAPER
LOGORAMA
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH

Short Film (Live Action)
THE DOOR
INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA
KAVI
MIRACLE FISH
THE NEW TENANTS

Sound Editing
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
UP

Sound Mixing
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
STAR TREK
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Visual Effects
AVATAR
DISTRICT 9
STAR TREK

Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, DISTRICT 9
Nick Hornby, AN EDUCATION
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, IN THE LOOP
Geoffrey Fletcher, PRECIOUS
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, UP IN THE AIR

Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, THE HURT LOCKER
Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moveman, THE MESSENGER
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A SERIOUS MAN
Bob Peterson and Pete Docter, UP