2011 Oscar noms aren’t all right, just OK

Don’t know if he did it this morning, but my friend Tim — who shared several Sundance experiences with me — used to get up early so he could see host an Oscar-announcement party.

Not for me. I love the Oscars, but not that early. And, really, not this year.

Not a whole lot of surprises, I guess, with this year’s picks . The usual suspect directors: Aronofsky (whose name I clearly have trouble spelling correctly), Russell, Fincher and the Coens.

When you go back to 10 Best Picture nominees, you water down an already thin group. But for the life of me, I just don’t understand “The Kids Are All Right.” “True Grit” I get; not only did the Coens direct it, but a couple of my friends loved it. So OK. But that other bit of flotsam, which pretends to portray a “modern family” but really just is a study of three screwed-up would-be adults and the surprisingly normal children from their blended mix?

As my daughter says, “Why make the movie about an affair when it could be about these people connecting on a realistic level?” Exactly.

Here are my favorite nominations:

Christian Bale for Best Supporting Actor: The guy has never been better in a movie. Head case, sure, but he makes his character feel … authentic.

John Hawkes for Best Supporting Actor: As the hard-ass uncle in “Winter’s Bone,” the little-known character actor finally gets his due.

Hailee Steinfeld: As the mainstay of “True Grit,” she held her own with Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon.

Javier Bardem for Best Actor for “Biutiful”: Haven’t seen the film, but I just love Javier.

“Restrepo” for Best Documentary: Sebastian Junger’s book makes a riveting film.

Now prepare yourself for a month of hype.

Below : Some TV types present the nominations.