Bafta turns to escapism with award nominations
When you peruse the list of Bafta nominations you're struck by what an eclectic list it is!
It's been a year of massive old fashioned Hollywood blockbusters - see La La Land, and the smaller, much lower budget human dramas - see Moonlight and I, Daniel Blake.
And there's a fantasy epic in there too with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the stunning and truly chilling horror film Under The Shadow.
In the case of the latter three, they are all British films; Under The Shadow intriguingly is Iranian language but British made and is the British entry in the Oscars Foreign Language category this year.
The Bafta voters, like their Golden Globe counterparts, are obviously looking out for escapism when it comes to La La Land. Its 11 nominations mean this is the film that is going to dominate the awards season, having picked up a record 7 Golden Globes at the weekend.
Its romance an antidote to the tumultuous world we live in.
But then we have Moonlight, set in a drug-torn neighbourhood in the US - a human drama about a young black boy growing up and coming to terms with his sexuality. It cost around $3 million, a tenth of the budget of La La Land.
The Baftas tend to lean towards British talent in their nominations so it's good to see Emily Blunt with a Best Actress nominations for Girl On A Train.
But leading the British charge is I, Daniel Blake.
It is 50 years since Ken Loach won a Bafta, and now I, Daniel Blake - his searing examination of the reality of life on welfare benefits - is up for Best film and Outstanding British Film and has 5 nominations in all.
Could this mean an Oscar nomination? Well a lot of Bafta voters are also Oscar voters so you can't discount his chances.
It's one of most varied years I can remember - whatever mood you're in, this year certainly, there is a film for you.