The 2016 Academy Award Nominations came out and unlike previous years, I’m not sure how to react. Over the years, there’s always snubs and disappointments and that comes with any awards but this year seems different. While there are still questionable decisions, it seems that, dare I say it, the Academy might have actually gotten (most of it) right.

The Revenant is the big winner (if there ever could be one) today, leading the way with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. This was not a shock considering it’s been one long awards circuit gushing over the movie. That and no one tries to mess with the movie with a giant bear. Close behind is a great surprise with Mad Max: Fury Road earning 10 nominations. While it has been getting great press and was arguably the best movie of the summer, blockbusters never typically get recognized on this big of scale, especially in the Best Picture category (see: The Dark Knight). The Martian follows with seven nominations, despite director Ridley Scott not snagging one himself (more on that later). Other notables were Spotlight with six nominations and The Big Short (somewhat surprisingly in my opinion) coming in with five nominations.

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