The Academy Award nominations were announced two weeks ago, and another year brings another collection of non-shockers: Lincoln, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook, Amour and Argo lead a group of strong contenders, while mildly surprising choices like Life of Pi, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Django Unchained finish the list.The lack of support for Argo and Zero Dark Thirty in the Best Director category more or less confirms Lincolns success in the Best Picture category, although any upset would be a welcome one.A less enjoyable surprise about this list is the knowledge of what wasnt nominated.So many incredible films opened in 2012, and I dont think its a stretch to argue that Django Unchained and Beasts of the Southern Wild are seriously messy, though entertaining, movies that occupy spots more deserving of Looper, Moonrise Kingdom, or even the supremely undervalued Perks of Being a Wallflower.And no film released in 2012 was more severely overlooked or generally unappreciated as Paul Thomas Andersons The Master.Appearing on the surface as a cinematic takedown of Scientology and cult worship, The Master, at its core, is about the relationship between two men, both lost and damaged in a post-war world.The film, taking place in 1952, follows Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a traumatized veteran who finds himself entangled in the ground-floor developments of a movement known as The Cause. The movement is headed by a charming, enigmatic figure known as Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), or, as he is known as, The Master.The Master was the best film of 2012. It asks questions that no other films asked and showed pain and emotion that no other films dared display. Despite appearnces, the film is not about Scientology not even a little.It uses the cult setting of The Cause as a means to an end an intense, close-quarters dissection of the painfully warped dynamic between two men on separate odysseys. It also retains a common trait of Paul Thomas Andersons films: it loves its characters.Phoenix is not drawn as a hero, nor Hoffman a villain. The film is a habitat for these two characters, and the audience, to live, breathe and bounce off the walls in. Its a purposefully broken and scattered work.It asks, even begs, to be seen more than once.The Master is released on DVD and Blu-ray February 26. I recommend you seek it out, and give yourself over to it. Should you do so, youll find a confusing piece of work, but also a hauntingly lucid dream of a film.Keep in mind, though, The Master was not nominated for Best Picture. How good could it be?