Oscar nominations once again miss the mark

As time has gone by, I've grown less and less enamored with the Oscars. By which I mean the annual orgy of self-congratulation that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sponsors.

The event used to be my Super Bowl, my Final Four, my Olympics, my … enough with the sports analogies. You get the idea. I used to gather with a small group of friends, make drink-fueled bets and scream and high-five the room based on who won what (and who gave the worst acceptance speeches).

But no more. It may because movies, overall, have become so much … well, less. It may because I have become ever more — hard as this may seem to believe — cynical. And impatient. And disinclined to let myself get carried away by the magic of movies, mainly because there is so much less about them that is capable of carrying me away.

There it is, though. And I doubt anything is going to change for 2015. The Oscar nominations just came out and here are my reactions:

1. Only eight nominees for Best Picture. I was never a big fan of the Academy's expanding the long-held practice of nominating five movies for the top award. But once they expanded it to 10, which they did in 2009, then they should keep it. "Foxcatcher" and "Unbroken" are certainly as deserving of Oscars as, say, "The Imitation Game" or "The Theory of Everything."

2. No Best Actor nomination for David Oyelowo ("Selma"). As much as I like Steve Carell, I would have given that spot to Oyelowo. Carell pulled off a good performance, but it seemed as much about makeup as anything. And I've been open about how shallow the film is about just who any of the "Foxcatcher" characters are and what motivates them. Oyelowo, for his part, virtually channeled Martin Luther King.

3. Mark Ruffalo over Channing Tatum for Best Supporting Actor. I guess the argument here is that Tatum was more a lead actor than supporting, but think back to 1995 and John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, two actors with an equal amount of screen time, yet Travolta was regarded as lead and Jackson supporting. Oscar does what it wants, regardless of logic. Let me just say that Tatum's performance, devoid of makeup, is riveting. And Ruffalo? Meh.

4. No Best Director nomination for Ava DuVernay. As much as I like Wes Anderson, his "Grand Budapest Hotel" is basically the same film he has been directing for the last decade. And it depends on a terrific, nuanced performance by Ralph Fiennes. Even if you think Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" is the work of a "minimally talented spoiled brat," you can't say the same of DuVernay, whom I would have voted for over Anderson or Morten Tyldum ("The Imitation Game").

5. No Animated Feature nomination for "The Lego Movie." Yes, it was product placement. But that was part of the satire. One of the funniest, cleverest, most biting examples of satire the year had to offer … yet no nomination. Yet "How to Train Your Dragon 2" gets mentioned? This is the Citizens United syndrome in action.

I could go on. No Documentary Feature nomination of "Life Itself"? No Editing nomination for the single-take-imitator "Birdman"? Nothing beyond Adapted Screenplay and Costume Design for "Inherent Vice"? But I've made my point.

Neil Patrick Harris is set to host the Oscars broadcast. I'd prefer Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Better yet, Ricky Gervais.