Every year I feel the same way about the Academy Award nominations. I'm hopeful for my favorite movies to get the exposure and respect they deserve and without fail, this hardly ever happens. This year is no different. Here are my initial reactions to the nominations:

HITS:

- Silver Linings Playbook- I'm so glad the nominations for this film will get more people to see it. It is one of my favorite movies of the year. The fact that it got a nomination in all the acting categories says how good the performances are.

- Daniel Day-Lewis - Best Actor - A formality. He should win this going away.

- Christoph Waltz- Best supporting actor - He was the heart of Django. I hung on every line he delivered.

- Skyfall- Cinematography - The most beautiful film I saw this year. Also, in a weak year for scores, I'm glad it got nominated for best original song by Adele and best score.

- Prometheus- Visual Effects - The most stunning visuals of the year for me.

- Moonrise Kingdom - Original screenplay - Such a heartwarming film that more people need to see.

MISSES:

- The Master- I'm very surprised it didn't get nominated for best picture and cinematography.

- Brave- I don't understand why this was nominated for best animated film. I thought this was the worst Pixar movie they have ever made. The second half of it was a mess.

- Best Director- Leaving Affeck, Bigelow, and Tarantino out was a mistake. Seems like the academy is setting up Spielberg to win.

- Looper- I was hoping it would get a screenplay nod; especially over Lincoln, which I thought was the weakest part of that movie.

- Cloud Atlas- To weave all the story lines together without making the movie a disaster is a marvel.

- Leonardo DiCaprio- He should be nominated for best supporting actor in Django. He stole the scenes he was in.

- Dark Knight Rises- Really? Not one nomination? It should have at least got a nod for best score and an argument could be made for sound and sound editing as well.

I will post my top 10 movies of 2012 in a few days. I still have a couple of movies left to see. Until then...