They've arrived! Nominations morning is to Oscar nerds what Christmas morning is to an optimistic young child. Both enthusiastically hop out of bed in a world where all things are theoretically possible and everything is awesome (or not if you're The Lego Movie, apparently). Though, as always, the Academy is like the distant relative who never looked at your Christmas wish list and ends up giving you things you don't actually want and forgetting to get you some of the things you wanted most.

In the end, a Wes Anderson movie that was released last March and a daring artistic vision from Alejandro G. Iñárritu lead the pack with nine nominations for The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman, respectively - and our frontrunner is still probably an intimate film by Richard Linklater that began production over a decade ago. The Academy may have made some poor choices, but those facts are still kind of incredible when you stand back from the noise and ponder that that is what this year's race has boiled down to. Though The Imitation Game might still render all that uniqueness moot and barrel right down the middle towards a consensus victory. We'll know soon enough.

The CineDrunk crew hashed out our initial thoughts in a brief podcast below, recorded right after the nominations were announced. If you'd like to see what my final predictions looked like click here. Check out the full list of 2014 Oscar nominees and commentary after the jump!

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

My Predictions: 8/8. I agonized over what film to put in spot #9, though it turned out not to matter!
Missed the Cut: Foxcatcher was probably closest given the other major nominations it received (and was my #9).
Analysis: Finally the votes broke down in a way that yielded a nominee field other than nine (which is the number we've had the last three years since the rule change allowed for anywhere from five to ten nominees here). Not an embarrassing lineup considering the films that stood a chance, though our list of top films would look very different.

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

My Predictions: 3/5. I dropped Tyldum in the hopes Selma's Ava DuVernay might make history and incorrectly assumed Damien Chazelle would get a nod for Whiplash.
Missed the Cut: A lengthy list of fine directors, including the aforementioned DuVernay.
Analysis: For the first time since the Best Picture field was expanded we've got a "lone director" nomination (a director nominated though their film is not)! I was pleased to see Bennett Miller sneak in over tough competition and glad that Eastwood didn't take a slot. Linklater will likely cruise to victory here even if Boyhood falls short elsewhere.

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

My Predictions: 3/5. I was never confident in Carell and didn't see Cooper going the distance.
Miss the Cut: Jake Gyllenhaal, David Oyelowo, Ralph Fiennes.
Analysis: B Coops makes it three-in-a-row after nominations for Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle. There were always bound to be some high-profile snubs here, but Keaton and Redmayne are still the top contenders for the win.

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Jennifer Aniston couldn't duplicate her SAG and Golden Globe nominations here, and Amy Adams finally missed out after a long string of successes.
Analysis: Very happy that Cotillard was recognized for her subtle but excellent work in a foreign film that wasn't even shortlisted for the Foreign Language Film Oscar. Julianne Moore remains on track to land her long-awaited statue with ease.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

My Predictions: 5/5.
Missed the Cut: No one. This category coalesced into this batch of five early on.
Analysis: While several of these performances are worthy nominees, this category is a snooze fest. Simmons will continue to win every award this year.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Laura Dern (Wild)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Jessica Chastain, Rene Russo (who I thought might sneak in)
Analysis: Despite almost zero attention from other awards' groups early in the season, Laura Dern edged her way in, and I was very happy to hear her name called. This is still Arquette's to lose.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler

My Predictions: 5/5.
Missed the Cut: Selma, Mr. Turner
Analysis: A solid lineup with an actual race for the win.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Gone Girl, Wild
Analysis: Gone Girl missing here was one of the biggest snubs of the morning. I expected Wild would miss, though it still stings. The Imitation Game is probably the default winner.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: The Lego Movie (the morning's biggest shock), The Book of Life
Analysis: Many, including me, assumed the well-liked giant commercial The Lego Movie was the one to beat here. Oops. Maybe Disney wins again with Big Hero 6 or they give it to How to Train Your Dragon 2 after not awarding the first one (which was up against Toy Story 3)?

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Tangerines (Estonia)
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
Wild Tales (Aregentina)

My Predictions: 5/5.
Missed the Cut: Force Majeure (Sweden) was the most high profile film to miss
Analysis: Hopefully Ida can pull out the win here, though I suppose I have to get around to seeing all the other nominees first. Congrats to Estonia and Mauritania who earn their first nominations this year!

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CITIZENFOUR
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: The popular Life Itself about legendary film critic Roger Ebert.
Analysis: Though the film about Ebert missed, Finding Vivian Maier is co-directed by Gene Siskel's nephew. So there's that. CITIZENFOUR is the frontrunner.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Unbroken

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Interstellar, Nightcrawler, The Imitation Game, Selma
Analysis: A fantastic lineup. Unbroken marks Roger Deakins' 12th nomination here. He has yet to win. Emmanuel Lubezski finally won last year for Gravity, and it looks like he'll do it again with Birdman.

BEST FILM EDITING
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Birdman, Nightcrawler, Gone Girl
Analysis: A respectable list. Boyhood out front for the win.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner

My Predictions: 5/5.
Missed the Cut: Birdman, Big Eyes, Maleficent, The Hobbit, Unbroken
Analysis: A Wes Anderson film at long last scores a nomination in this field, and it looks like the probable winner, too.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything
Analysis: Either Colleen Atwood (Into the Woods) or Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel) will likely net their 4th Oscar.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Gone Girl, Unbroken, Under the Skin
Analysis: Globe winner The Theory of Everything is well liked enough to take a win here unless Alexandre Desplat can translate either of his nominations (The Grand Budapest Hotel or The Imitation Game) into a win.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Everything is Awesome" (The Lego Movie)
"Glory" (Selma)
"Grateful" (Beyond the Lights)
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me)
"Lost Stars" (Begin Again)

My Predictions: 3/5. I incorrectly predicted "Everything is Awesome" would be snubbed, which was silly - though The Lego Movie did get snubbed today...just not here.
Missed the Cut: Lots of songs that no one has heard of or likely ever will.
Analysis: At least we'll be able to call Selma an Academy Award winning film after it wins (deservingly) this race. Sentimental voters might wish to reward country legend Glen Campbell.

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

My Predictions: 3/3.
Missed the Cut: The Theory of Everything, Noah, Maleficent
Analysis: Glad I went 100% here, though the Academy narrows the field to seven before selecting three as nominees so it's not the most difficult to predict. Not sure why this is now the only category with less than five nominees each year - every movie has makeup and hair that can be judged, yes?

BEST SOUND MIXING
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash

My Predictions: 3/5.

BEST SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken

My Predictions: 4/5.
Missed the Cut: Guardians of the Galaxy (which I thought might show up in both Sound categories)
Analysis: I expect American Sniper will earn recognition in these fields over Interstellar. Peter Jackson's Middle Earth franchise ends with just one nomination here.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past

My Predictions: 4/5. Correctly called the first nomination for the X-Men series, but did not expect The Hobbit to drop out.
Missed the Cut: The Hobbit, Godzilla, Maleficent
Analysis: Probably Interstellar's to lose. This is the first time since 2007 that a Best Picture nominee does not show up in this field.

I managed 3/5 in each of the three short film categories, which isn't half bad.

The 87th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, February 22nd at 7pm ET. We'll have lots more coverage of the season (including our official Oscar Menu) over the next month. Stay tuned!