As you already know, I have an unhealthy obsession with Jean Dujardin's eyebrows. So rather than rant and blather on about the 2012 Oscar nominations, I'll let The Artist's facial hair do the talking for me. Until I get home from work this evening when I'll probably start blathering on anyway - because that, apparently, is what the internet is for.

Mostly, the Oscar nominations this year are as we all expected. But not quite. To begin with, Hugo is leading the pack. Yes, Martin Scorsese's Hugo has 11 nominations compared to Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist, which has 10. Add to that Melissa McCarthy's Best Supporting Actress nod for Bridesmaids...

... not that Melissa stands a chance against The Artist's Bérénice Bejo, who has been bumped from Best Actress - presumably to give Meryl Streep a clean run with The Iron Lady.

Other surprises came in the form of Tintin not being nominated for Best Animated Film and Drive not getting a nod for Best Score. But none of that can be compared to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting nominated for Best Picture. And the fact that Shame has a sum total of 0 nominations - including Michael Fassbender for Best Actor. Which makes Steve McQueen's masterpiece technically worse than W.E., which was nominated for Best Costume Design.

But in good news, Spielberg got shafted for War Horse, too, making room for Terrence Malick's wonderful The Tree of Life in the Best Director race. Also, Rooney Mara and Gary Oldman are both up for lead acting awards - adding some sex appeal to the expected mix of The Help's Viola Davis and The Descendants' George Clooney. Plus Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn, of course.

And while it's great to see A Separation nominated for Best Original Screenplay, as well as Tinker Tailor getting a well-deserved Best Adapted Screenplay nod, there's still lots to raise your eyebrows at.

To recap: nothing for Shame. Nothing for Drive. Nothing for We Need to Talk About Kevin. And nothing for Take Shelter or Martha Marcy May Marlene. All of them have fewer Oscar nominations than Transformers 3.

So in short, it's pretty much business as usual. You can lower your eyebrows now.

Read on  for the full list of 2012 Oscar nominees. 

Best Film

The Artist

The Descendants

War Horse

Moneyball

The Tree Of Life

The Help

Midnight In Paris

Hugo

Extremely Close And Incredibly Close

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Alexander Payne (The Descendants)

Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

Woody Allen (Midnight In Paris)

Terrence Malick (The Tree Of Life)

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

George Clooney (The Descendants)

Demian Bachir (A Better Life)

Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Best Actress

Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)

Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

Viola Davis (The Help)

Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)

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 Supporting Actress

Berenice Bijou (The Artist)

Jessica Chastain (The Help)

Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)

Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)

Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Best Animated Feature

A Cat In Paris

Chico & Rita

Kung Fu Panda 2

Puss In Boots

Rango

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 Costume Design

Anonymous

The Artist

Hugo

Jane Eyre

W.E.

Best Documentary

Hell And Back Again

If A Tree Falls Short: A Story Of The Earth Liberation 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 Editing

The Artist

The Descendants

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

Best Foreign Film

Bullhead

Footnote

In Darkness

Monsieur Lazhar

A Separation

Best Music (Score)

The Adventures Of Tintin

The Artist

Hugo

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

War Horse

Best Music (Song)

The Muppets - A Man or a Muppet

Rio

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 Sound Editing

Drive

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

War Horse

Best Sound Mixing

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

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

Best Screenplay (Adapted)

The Descendants

Hugo

The Ides Of March

Moneyball

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Screenplay (Original)

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Margin Call

Midnight In Paris

A Separation

The 84th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, will take place on Sunday 26th February. Stay tuned for the return of #Oscarnomnomnom cupcake-competing showdown..