Oscar Nominations 2011: Time for Trivial Categories & Nominees?

When it comes to Oscar nominations for 2011 everyone is talking about who the big winners will be, but not many are mentioning the lesser categories.  While no category is trivial really, what about the other ones that don't get talked about?  The categories besides Best Actor, Actress, supporting roles and Best Picture can be just as important to those who've yet to win!

A complete list of Oscar nominees is given by NJ.com which will be live blogging tonight's ceremony. These nominees include the standout movies that keep getting mentioned such as "True Grit," "King's Speech," "Social Network" and "Black Swan."  Yet looking beyond those yields the less-talked about motion pictures that deserve just as much spotlight.

For categories and Oscar nominees that get less chatter, foreign language film might be a good start.  The category features one film that people may have mentioned in passing with Javier Bardem up for Best Actor in Mexico's "Biutiful."  Also in the category are "Dogtooth" from Greece, "In a Better World" from Denmark, "Incendies" from Canada and "Outside the Law" from Algeria.  The movies in this group can offer a unique look at different films from across the globe and these are often better than some of the Best Picture nominees, if subtitles aren't too annoying.

Many people think snorefest when the word documentary is mentioned, since it could conjure up visions of sitting in history class and watching a lengthy movie about this war or that particular political movement.  However, there's some compelling entries in the category for this year's Academy Awards.  These include "Restrepo," "Inside Job," "Waste Land," Gasland" and the favorite, "Exit through the Gift Shop," a look at the world of guerrilla street art as filmed by videographer Thierry Guetta.

Makeup is always important in film and while it has played a big part in movies like "Alice in Wonderland" and even "The King's Speech," neither of these or any big films are up for the award.  Instead, "Barney's Version," "The Way Back" and "The Wolfman" will be vying for the award.

Also, another interesting tidbit heading into the 2011 Oscars is that the blockbuster Hollywood film, "Iron Man 2" is up for an award, competing for Best Visual Effects with the likes of "Hereafter," "Inception" and "Harry Potter."  Many people may not have expected "Wolfman" or "Iron Man" to be showing up at Oscars night in addition to last year's Halloween parties.

While nobody is talking about many of these awards, that doesn't make them any less important.  Some of the best moments and most heartfelt speeches come from the winners who are finally getting their big moment in the spotlight.  These could very well provide some of those moments with the Oscar nominations for 2011.

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