Cinematic Concerns

... which I won't talk about, actually. They're all disappointingly dull and predictable, right down to the obligatory annual nod to anything and everything made by the Coen brothers (though I salute the nomination on young actress Hailee Steinfeld, who hasn't been nominated much this awards season, though she should be).

No, instead, I will just mention the Rising Star Award, which continues its streak as being the ONLY nominations of any category of any awards show that makes 100% perfect sense.

This year's nominees for the Rising Star Award are:

Gemma Arterton
You barely see her in Casino Royale, then suddenly she appears in two major fantasy adventure movies in quick succession – Clash Of The Titans and Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time. Which ain't much of a stretch on her acting skills, but then there's the little seen small town British comedy Tamara Drewe (which I have yet to see too).

Andrew Garfield
I've had my eye on this fellow since Lions For Lambs in 2007 (just like I had my eye on James McAvoy long before The Chronicles Of Narnia), and was surprised to find out that he's British-born - in fact he then lived in the US, so he's fluent in both accents. Then I saw Boy A, and that cemented his prestige in my mind, so I was always on the lookout for stuff he's in. Already he's playing the big stakes with likely nominations for his role in the Best Picture frontrunner and an upcoming superhero role.

Tom Hardy
Obviously this British actor struck it big this year in Inception, surprisingly making an impression despite his very much minor role. Mostly I remember him as one of the young, skinny American soldiers in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down.

Aaron Johnson
He lands the slightly talked about role as the young John Lennon in the small British film Nowhere Boy, then lands the even bigger role of Kick-Ass in the American superhero comedy Kick-Ass ... before he even turned 20. On top of that, he romanced his 40-year-old director, they get pregnant, and engaged, and is now a father ... yes, by 20.

Emma Stone
You may remember her in The House Bunny. Halfway a Mila Kunis lookalike (they should play sisters one day ... maybe they already have, since both are in Friends With Benefits with Justin Timberlake), she broke out this year with the witty comedy Easy A. Despite being the only American on this list, she's probably the least well-known name here ... but perhaps not for long.