The 2012 Golden Globe nominations are in, officially kicking awards season into high gear. Voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (or HFPA), the Golden Globes are always a bit more relaxed and laid back than the Oscars, doling out awards for the best comedies and comedic performances of the year, as well as separate awards for television. This year's batch of movie nominations are, as usual, a mixed bag of expected titles, some surprises and not really a lot of snubs (unless you expected The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 to make the list). This year's awards will broadcast live on January 15th, 2012, and be hosted by Ricky Gervais.

Biggest surprises? Not really a whole lot of surprises, but many films did get a little boost in terms of their awards presence and potential Oscar nominations, like 50/50, The Ides of March, My Week with Marilyn and Midnight in Paris. Many feel the HFPA like to suck up to big celebrities so they'll show up to their awards ceremony, which may be why we see nominations for both Angelina Jolie's film In the Land of Blood and Honey (for Best Foreign Language Film) and Madonna's film W.E., given a Best Score nod.

As far as major snubs go, Fandango readers listed Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) as the biggest snub in our daily poll, followed by Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Nick Nolte (Warrior), The Tree of Life and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which is a bit of an odd one because it hasn't even come out yet. Also noticeably absent were nominations for The Muppets, which definitely deserved either a Best Song nod, or a spot in the Best Film - Comedy or Musical category. 

Everything else was pretty much expected, and it'll be interesting to see which of these wild cards (and this is a year with many wild cards) use their Globe nomination as a launching pad for Oscar consideration. Regardless, chalk this up as a year with no clear frontrunner, leaving plenty of space for surprise come crunch time.

Check out the 2012 movie-related nominations below, and let us know what you think. 

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Descandants

The Help

Hugo

The Ides of March

Moneyball

War Horse

Best Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical

50/50

The Artist

Bridesmaids

Carnage

Midnight in Paris

My Week with Marilyn


Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

George Clooney - The Descendants

Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar

Michael Fassbender - Shame

Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Ryan Gosling - The Ides of March


Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis, The Help

Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin


Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical

Jodie Foster, Carnage

Charlize Theron, Young Adult

Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids

Michelle WIlliams, My Week With Marilyn

Kate Winslet, Carnage

 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Brendan Gleeson, The Guard

Joseph Gordon Levitt, 50/50

Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love

Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris


Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Berenice Bejo, The Artist

Jessica Chastain , The Help

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer, The Help

Shailene Woodley, The Descendants


Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn

Albert Brooks, Drive

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

Christopher Plummer, Beginners


Best Director - Motion Picture

Woody Allen, Midnight In Paris

George Clooney, The Ides of March

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Martin Scorsese, Hugo


Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

Midnight in Paris

The Ides of March

The Artist

The Descendants

Moneyball


Best Animated Feature Film

The Adventures of Tintin

Arthur Christmas

Cars 2

Puss in Boots

Rango


Best Foreign Language Film

Flowers of War

The Land of Blood and Honey

The Kid with A Bike

A Separation

The Skin I Live In

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Artist, Ludovic Bource

W.E., Abel Korzeniowski

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Hugo, Howard Shore

War Horse, John Williams


Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"Lay Your Head Down," Albert Nobbs

"Hello Hello," Gnomeo and Juliet

"The Living Proof," The Help

"The Keeper," Machine Gun Preacher

"Masterpiece," W.E.