The nominations for this year's Oscars were announced this morning and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tapped exactly who you thought they would. That's not a bad thing. There were some surprises though. Here's a full list of the nominees.

Critical darlings like The Artist, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Hugo, and The Descendants were showered with nominations. I can't believe that Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, and Meryl Streep are all up for Oscars. That never happens. Hugo, Scorsese's 3D movie that is an old man's idea of what kids would want to see, has the most nominations with 11.

The biggest shock was that with the Academy's new impossible to understand nominating system, we have nine Best Picture nominees. Traditionally five films were tapped, but for the past two years the list expanded to 10. This was the first year the new system, which allows anywhere from five to 10 nominations, was used and it seems the new math favors lots of nominees. The category was initially opened up to include more blockbusters and fan favorites which gooses the ratings for the awards show broadcast. Instead, we just added room for movies like Tree of Life, War Horse, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Sure, they all did well, but they're no Harry Potter.

The only other true shocks were a nod for Demián Bichir for Best Actor for A Better Life (which I had to look up on IMDb to remember what it was) and a Best Supporting Actor nod for Nick Nolte for Warrior, which everyone thought was a mixed martial arts schlockfest based on the way it was marketed. Let's get to the list.

Best Picture
 War Horse
 The Artist
 Moneyball
 The Descendants
 Tree of Life
 Midnight in Paris
 The Help
 Hugo
 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Actress
 Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
 Viola Davis, The Help
 Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
 Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
 Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Actor
 Demián Bichir, A Better Life
 George Clooney, The Descendants
 Jean Dujardin, The Artist
 Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
 Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Supporting Actress
 Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
 Jessica Chastain, The Help
 Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
 Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
 Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Supporting Actor
 Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
 Jonah Hill, Moneyball
 Nick Nolte, Warrior
 Christopher Plummer, Beginners
 Max von Sydow Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Director
 Michele Hazanavicius, The Artist
 Alexander Payne, The Descendants
 Martin Scorsese, Hugo
 Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
 Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Best Original Screenplay
 Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
 Annie Mumolo Kristin Wiig, Bridesmaids
 J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
 Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
 Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay
 Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
 John Logan, Hugo
 George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, Ides of March
 Steven Zallian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin, Moneyball
 Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Foreign Film
 Bullhead
 Footnote
 In Darkness
 Monseiur Lazar
 A Separation

Best Animated Feature
 A Cat in Paris
 Chico & Rita
 Kung Fu Panda 2
 Puss in Boots
 Rango

Best Animated Short
 Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short
 Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Best Art Direction
 The Artist
 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
 Hugo
 Midnight in Paris
 War Horse

Best Cinematography
 The Artist
 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
 Hugo
 The Tree of Life
 War Horse

Best Costumes
 Anonymous
 The Artist
 Hugo
 Jane Eyre
 W.E.

Best Documentary Feature
 Hell and Back Again
 If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Libration Front
 Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
 Pina
 Undefeated

Best Documentary Short
 The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
 God is the Bigger Elvis
 Incident in New Baghdad
 Saving Face
 The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Film Editing
 The Artist
 The Descendants
 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
 Hugo
 Moneyball

Best Makeup
 Albert Nobbs
 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
 The Iron Lady

Best Original Score
 The Adventures of TinTin
 The Artist
 Hugo
 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
 War Horse

Best Original Song
 "Man or Muppet", The Muppets
 "Real in Rio", Rio

Best Sound Editing
 Drive
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
 Hugo
 Transformers: Dark of the Moon
 War Horse

Best Visual Effects
 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
 Hugo
 Real Steel
 Rise of the Planet of the Apes
 Transformers: Dark of the Moon

[Image via AP]