Well, I was off writing for the paper during the last big wave of Oscar winners, filing after Day-Lewis and then again with a revision following 'No Country" getting best picture.

A few thoughts:

– Very efficient telecast. Ran only 20 minutes past its scheduled conclusion (and no sane person believes they're going to do it all in their scheduled three hours anyway). But the determination to keep acceptance speeches short was at times cruel, and I appreciated Jon Stewart's bringing back Marketa Irglova so she could talk.

– International night, wasn't it? Day-Lewis and Swinton are native Londoners, Bardem is Spanish, Cotillard French. I'll have more about that in tomorrow's Beacon Journal column.

– I can live with "No Country" as best picture, although I would have been just as satisfied with "There Will Be Blood" or "Juno" (and probably a bit more gleeful about "Juno"). Nice that "Juno" at least got best original screenplay.

– Day-Lewis was indeed deserving, and in the best-actor clips, they used that baptism scene which is really an "oh, give him the Oscar" moment in the movie. Still, Tommy Lee Jones was unbelievable in "In the Valley of Elah," and I would have easily accepted his winning.

– Javier Bardem, really good. No problem with the win, although my sentimental side would have liked to see Hal Holbrook up there, because he was terrific in "Into the Wild," and he has had a long distinguished career. Nor would I have objected to Casey Affleck, except that he's really the lead in his movie.

And now for some grumping.

– You've heard me about Marion Cotillard, but I'm going to say it again. Not remotely deserving. Mannered performance, labored film. Can't wait to see how high this is next year in the worst-best-actress-winner polls.

–Tilda Swinton? Tilda Swinton? Twitchy performance. Not in a league with Amy Ryan or Cate Blanchett. And I'd have put Taraji P. Henson in the nominees' list before Swinton, and probably some others whom I cannot think of at the moment.

Let me leave this post with a link to my piece in today's Beacon Journal about worthwhile movies overlooked by the Oscars this year.

And a reminder to watch "A Raisin in the Sun" Monday night. Fine production. My review is here.

Cameron Diaz for cinematography, a word that she has trouble saying..

Winner: "There Will Be Blood." Robert Elswit says it belongs to Paul Thomas Anderson — and that they are standing on the shoulders of Daniel Day-Lewis.

Hilary Swank introduces the "in memoriam" piece.

Amy Adams for original score. Winner: Dario Marianelli for "Atonement." Who says it was very long walk to the stage.

Soldiers in Iraq announce documentary short-subject winner. Cleveland soldier among them. Winner: "Freeheld."

Tom Hanks does documentary feature. Winner: "Taxi to the Dark Side."

I'm taking a break for a bit. Will return.

More stuff, after the jump, and after I finish gagging over Marion Cotillard's win …

Stewart, decent bit about playing video game on the big Oscar screen.

Colin Farrell, to introduce another best-song nominee. From "Once," yes, it is "Falling Slowly." Performed by Hansard and Irglova, with a big string section. Haven't I mentioned that I love this song? (Movie's swell, too.) Nice performance generally, although it appears that Hansard is having trouble staying in sync with Irglova, since he keeps looking back at her.

Still love the song, but the big orchestral finish is a mistake.

Nicholson introduces clips from best-picture winners over the years.

Renee Zellweger for editing award. Winner: "The Bourne Ultimatum." Stewart: "Someone just took the lead in their Oscar pool based on a guess."

Nicole Kidman. Necklace is off center. She appears in praise of production designer Robert Boyle, who is 98 and still doing things. Taped piece with him explaining production design, "a physical interpretation of the script." Receiving honorary Oscar, helped to the lectern. Standing ovation from people who hope they might still have a career at the age of 98. Or 58. Boyle takes his time, and they don't dare put up music on him. He's living history, and shows it as he recalls the people he's worked with.

Penelope Cruz. Foreign-language film award. Winner: "The Counterfeiters" (Austria).

Patrick Dempsey of "Enchanted" to introduce the third nominated song from "Enchanted." "So Close." I didn't catch the name of the singer, but he doesn't sound good. Sounds almost as if he's shaking off a case of the flu, or is badly undermiked. Improves in the latter stages — well, not consistently — so maybe there is a mike issue.

John Travolta to present best-song Oscar. Winner: "Falling Slowly." I just yelled. A lot.
And see the movie. Hansard: "Make art! Make art!" Irglova gets cut off by the music.

After the break, Stewart brings Irglova back out to give her acceptance speech. Nice move.

Another parade of previous-winner clips. Forest Whitaker presents.

Marion Cotillard wins. Ick. Yuck. As I have said before, I would give this to anyone else in the category, including Laura Linney, and I haven't even seen her performance. Cotillard is way excited. "Thank you, life, thank you, love. It is true there are angels in this city."

Jessica Alba and more after the jump …

Alba does the technical awards recap. Stewart notes that Alba and Blanchett are pregnant, making two pregnant women at the ceremony. "Then again, the night is still young, and Jack is here."

Josh Brolin and James McAvoy, quoting famous lines from movies. Best adapted screenplay. Brolin does what he admits is the worst Nicholson impression ever, apologizes to Nicholson (who doesn't appear to have listened), and offers to buy Jack a drink after. Winners: The Coen brothers for "No Country." Their excitement is, um, understated. Kind of the way I'd expect the Black Keys to accept an Oscar.

MPAA honcho reviews the Oscars process, with some whimsical clips of people deciding to vote. Stewart says, "I always thought it was superdelegates."

Miley Cyrus, wearing the shade of red that is a recurring dress theme tonight. Introduces another "Enchanted" song, "That's How You Know."Sung by the adorable Kristin Chenoweth! (But still, "Falling Slowly.") Most elaborate number so far. Not very interesting outside the movie, though.

Stewart revisits the pregnant-actress joke: adds Nicole Kidman, announces "the baby goes to …" and awards it to Angelina Jolie. Then introduces Halle Berry (who is also pregnant) and Judi Dench, but they don't appear. Replaced by Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen, who will supposedly do the Berry-Dench lines. But first argue about which should get to be Berry, until it's time to announce the winner for sound editing. Winner: "The Bourne Ultimatum." Very rambling and muddle acceptance speech leading into the go-away music. Back to Jonah and Seth, doing more of the Halle-Judi bit, before the Oscar for sound mixing. Winner: "The Bourne Ultimatum." One of the winning guys is a little wobbly onstage, and doesn't get to say anything before the microphone is cut off.

Clips from previous winners. Alan Arkin to present.

Tilda Swinton wins. Akh. She's in some Harry Potter-ish dress. As you know from my "Oscar Watch" posts, she's not my choice. Not even close. I've got some people I would have nominated before her. And among the nominees, I would have gone with two or three before her. Fun acceptance speech, though.

Back to the show. Stewart jokes about Bardem's Spanish. Intros a montage we might have seen if the writers strike continued …

"Oscar's salute to binoculars and periscopes." Kind of funny. Then "Bad dreams: An Oscar Salute." "Wow, that really would have been a waste of your time."

Keri Russell. (The bride approves of her dress.) Introduces the next song, from "August Rush," a movie with … Keri Russell. Big treatment, including choir. But kind of tepid overall. I'm still cheering for "Falling Slowly."

Owen Wilson. Live-action short film. Winner: "Le Mozart des Pickpockets." Owen has a little trouble with the title. Winner says, "I don't really speak English" but he is "very 'appy." And speaks French. Oscars are a global village tonight, aren't they?

Jerry Seinfeld as his Bee Movie character, with amusing bit about his "earlier work" — bee scenes in other movies. Animated short films. Considering the titles' challenging his pronunciation ability, Seinfeld is fortunate that the winner is "Peter & The Wolf."

Clips of former winners, capped by Cuba Gooding Jr. shouting off his finish-up music.
Presenter: Jennifer Hudson. Reads her lines with little emotion.

Clips of nominees. Hal Holbrook is killing me in his clip.

Javier Bardem wins. (Or "Harvier," as Hudson says it.) No upset here.

Bardem says "this is pretty amazing" and "I have to speak fast, man." Acknowledges his bad haircut in the movie. Speaks in Spanish to his mother.

It's 8:30 and we're in the fancy opening, …

I kind of like the use of all the different images from movies, although the pace makes it feel a little like a theme-park ride. Roll call of sponsors, then Jon Stewart.

Stewart brings up the writers strike and it being over. "Tonight, welcome to the makeup sex." Vanity Fair joke, not bad. Reference to a "four or five" hour ceremony. Grim movie recap; "thank God for teen pregnancy." Javier Bardem hair joke; OK if there hadn't been a few zillion Bardem hair jokes already. Good line about "Away From Her" and Hillary Clinton. Excellent line about "Norbit" being nominated — that the academy too often overlooks "movies that aren't good." Hoary Dennis Hopper joke. Decent line about keeping Iraq war movies in theaters — and a nasty little one about Oscar and John McCain. Best line so far: Normally, when you see a woman or a black man as president, "an asteroid is about to hit the Statue of Liberty."

Wesley Snipes in the house. With Spike Lee.

Jennifer Garner as first presenter. Costume design. Winner: "Elizabeth: The Golden Age."
Alexandra Byrne accepts, concisely.

Flashback, of Barbra Streisand's tie win, with taped reminiscence by Streisand. Because, you know, the ceremony just isn't long enough with the presentations and acceptances.
And commercials.

Clooney. Struggling a bit with his lines. Clips and photos of "80 years of Oscars." The use of "My Heart Will Go On" is a bit much, especially since there's a lot of real emotion here without it.

Stewart, watching "Lawrence of Arabia" on his iPhone. Good gag.

Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell. Animated features. Nice piece with Carell acting as if these are documentaries. Carell drops one, two s-words. You think the Parents Television Council is scrambling to get out an outraged e-mail?

Winner: "Ratatouille." Brad Bird thanks his junior-high guidance counselor, for "perfect training in the movie business." Gets the wrap-it-up warning, and then the finish-up music.

Katherine Heigl. Nervoiiouos, and with really bad makeup, especially when you're giving out the makeup Oscar. Winner: "La Vie en Rose." One winner is brief, the other not, and she gets the finish-up music before being done.

First best-song performance. "Happy Working Song," from "Enchanted." Stewart starts to sing it — then introduces Amy Adams. I would see her in any Broadway musical I can think of. And it's a nicely simple presentation: just her onstage. Very well done, even though it's not my best-song fave. ("Falling Slowly," please.)

Flashback: Catherine Zeta-Jones, with reminiscences by her and hubby Michael Douglas, and a clip of him winning an Oscar.

Commercials, including one for Channel 5's news. They really like hidden-camera stories.

Dwayne Johnson (no "The Rock" tonight). Best visual effects. Not bad with a line about thinking the face-melting scene in "Raiders" was real. Winner: "The Golden Compass." The effects were good in that film, but the movie was bad, much worse than "Transformers" or "Pirates of the Caribbean." But the winning guys are quite euphoric. And beat the finish-up music.

Cate Blanchett. Art direction. Winner: "Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." Well deserved. They get finish-up music.

Good Stewart riff on Cate Blanchett.

Here's how it will work tonight: I'll be posting notes here while the Oscars telecasts are in progress. I'll take a break around 11 to write something for tomorrow's Beacon Journal, then return here until the telecast is over, when I'll have to write an update for the paper. Then I'll sum up here. So follow along, if you want, after the jump. …

"The stars are arriving for a night to remember," announcer declares. Recap of best-pic nominees. Intro of host: Regis Philbin. With Shaun Robinson and Samantha Harris.

First interview: George Clooney. Clip from "Michael Clayton." The bride is grumbling about not seeing gowns. Mollified at seeing the outfit on Clooney's girlfriend. Regis sucks up to Clooney by reminding him of how he sucked up to him earlier. There is no point to any of this.

Clip of Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose." Then interviewed by Robinson, who delights over her gown — and reminds her that "Edith Piaf died (awkward pause) before you were even born." Cotillard's English is accented but OK. Robinson declares her "absolutely fantastic" in her movie.

Harris with John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston. Not nominated, but they chat about "Hairspray" anyway.

Laura Linney, best actress nominee, clip from "The Savages." She gets to talk to Regis. She's great, her movie's great, the rest of the cast is great, says Regis, and Linney gets about 10 words.

Javier Bardem, with Robinson. They talk hair. Bardem's Spanish accent pronounced, especially in comparison to the clip from "No Country." He gets to say hello to people in Spain.

Miley Cyrus. Again. She also got Walters, and she's not nominated for anything except A Way To Get Kids To Watch.

Shots: Mickey Rooney, Helen Mirren, Katherine Heigl, Faye Dunaway…

Harris with Jennifer Garner. After some chatter about "Juno," they talk about Garner's gown.

Regis with Mirren. He asks if she's seen the movies with the best-actor noms, since she's giving that award. She says "most of them," and indicates some unhappiness with the roles for women.

Robinson with Daniel Day-Lewis. The bride groans over Day-Lewis's wife's gown. "Everybody just loved your performance," Robinson says.

Regis with Cameron Diaz. She's excited to be there. Regis brings up her working with Day-Lewis on "Gangs of New York." She discusses. We're about 16 minutes into the pre-show and I am worn out, jaded, bored, impatient.

Harris with Amy Adams. Harris brings up that Adams will be performing for a billion people. "Trying to make me nervous?" she says. She seems very nice.

Regis with Sarah Golden, who has been in the bleachers for more than 20 years and knows how to talk. Regis talks with contest winners.

Shots: Tilda Swinton, Bardem, Steve Carell… Commercial.

More celeb shots. Robinson talks to Ellen Page. Nothing interesting. Harris with Hilary Swank. More gown talk. Regis backstage with singers and dancers from the "Enchanted" number. (At least he notes that it's a Disney movie.) He tries to terrify and inspire them.

Harris notes "the red carpet is beginning to thin out" then throws to Regis with Oscars musical director Bill Conti. Who, amusingly, launches into an extended anecdote that proves to be all he gets to say. The show keeps moving. Back to Robinson and Harris, who have no one to talk to, so back to Regis, who offers a look at the theater, and heads down to the front row. Points to actors but says "I know a lot of people are standing in front of them." I think he refered to "Xavier" Bardem. But he gets a sound bite from Jack Nicholson, in his shades.

And for all this we lose a half-hour of sleep tonight. Couldn't we leave this nonsense to cable and start the ceremony sooner?

I expect to write steadily here at 8 p.m. when the official pre-show begins, and have been taking care of some other business and other TV since. (Tiger Woods strikes again!) Besides, the early coverage is so excruciating. Ryan Seacrest, dressed like hip young priest who talks to youth, talking about rain and another red-carpet denizen leaning into him. Barbara Walters, seeming soooooooo old and stuffy and out of it. (I don't care whether she gets the Moldy Peaches, and I don't want to hear her singing with Ellen Page.) Back for serious business in a few.

Overview: One nomination, best song for "Falling Slowly."

I have this odd fantasy involving "Once" and "Juno" …

In this fantasy, "Juno" does not exist. (Hey, relax. I like the movie a lot, as I said in an earlier post.) In that world, Oscar nominators looking for a quirky little independent film, a successor to "Little Miss Sunshine" if you will, don't have a "Juno" to be drawn to. So, instead, they discover "Once," and it becomes an Oscar darling.

Now, I know that there are numerous reasons why this would not happen, other than the way "Juno" really does exist. "Once" does not have any recognizable American actors, and it hasn't made more than $100 million at the U.S. box office, and the accents at times are even harder to understand than some of "Juno's" slang. But "Once" remains a fine film, and one that deserves far more than its measly single nomination for best song.

Not that I object to that nomination. "Falling Slowly" has been stuck in my head ever since I finally saw the movie. I know many people discovered the song before the movie, via the Frames. But I heard the soundtrack before I saw the film, and was far less entertained than I was after I saw "Once." The songs are a sublime fit within the movie, and their place in my memory now is based on how touching they were in context. (Even then, not all the songs work. But most do.)

For those of you tuning in late, "Once" involves a Dublin musician (Glen Hansard) who is drifting musically and emotionally. Then he meets a Czech woman (Marketa Irglova) who brings out both his creativity and his ability to feel love again. His idea of love, and of their relationship, is different from hers. But they both find their way to a place where, if romance is not possible, then at least the joy of making music is. (As I watched, I kept thinking that a more Hollywood approach to the same story would get us, well, "Music and Lyrics" — cute in its way but nowhere near as thoughtful or touching as "Once.")

While Hansard is good enough as an actor (and fine as the real-life musician that he is), it's Irglova who takes over the picture with her charm and her intelligence. But both of them work because of a smart script and a look that is scruffily realistic. Check out the movie on DVD, then get the soundtrack.

(Photo from Variety)

Overview: Two nominations, for cinematography and for best supporting actor (Casey Affleck as Robert Ford).

In my last post, I mentioned the tough luck Tommy Lee Jones has had when it comes to the Oscars. It could also be a tough year for Casey Affleck, who will have to crawl over the scary frame of Javier Bardem to get an award.

But, as with Jones, I wouldn't mind if he did. …

I should mention that I watched "Jesse James" on DVD, and not all in one sitting. I concede that because much criticism has been leveled at its length (2 hours, 40 minutes). With the watching spread out the way I did it, the length does not seem as onerous, and the rich visual details can be lingered over, the nuances of the performances by Affleck and Brad Pitt (as Jesse James) appreciated without a lot of watch-checking. Not all of it is that good — the tone of Sam Rockwell's performance really throws me — but there are plenty of positive things about it.

And before I get to Affleck, I have to say that Pitt is as good as I have ever seen him, making use of the cool screen-idol image but giving it layers of weariness and near-madness. He's sort of like Gregory Peck in "The Gunfighter" if you stripped away all the preachiness. Very good, and good overall.

But Affleck is the revelation, especially when I consider his much blander performance in "Gone Baby Gone." If we're being realistic, he is also the movie's lead, regardless of what Pitt's status or the motion picture academy indicates. It is his obsession with celebrity, James' and his own, that drives the movie. In the end, it is what happens to Ford after he gains his fame that gives the movie its enduring impact.

That, and it looks great, of course.

Never fear, I think Bardem was marvelous in "No Country for Old Men," too. So was Hal Holbrook in "Into the Wild." This is a tough category. But Affleck deserves to be standing smack in the middle of it; he's not just some also-ran filling a space.

I used my theoretical day off to squeeze in the one best-picture nominee I had not seen. Thoughts after the jump (including some spoilers if you have not seen it).

Overview: Seven Oscar nominations. Best picture, art direction, cinematography, costume design, adapted screenplay, original music score and best supporting actress (Saoirse Ronan). …

"Atonement" reeks of what Oscar so often likes — the grand scale, the literate dialogue (and literary background), the British accents. It is all supposed to feel meaningful and serious, especially as a contemplation of the power of words. If at times it seems more than a little dull, then we are supposed to believe that's our fault for being such oafs.

But it is too calculating a piece for my taste, a movie that seeks redemption through its final scenes, a trick ending.

I don't have a problem with trick endings (I love "The Usual Suspects." for one, and liked the trick in "The Sixth Sense."). But the trick in "Atonement" came painfully late in the process. If the bulk of the movie is indeed Briony's last novel, then it is not a good one, with its disjointed narration and wooden dialogue. (The concocted post-Dunkirk scene with Briony, Cecelia and Robbie felt unwieldy and false even before the novel's revelation.) Even if the revelation is supposed to explain away the flaws preceding it, the flaws are still tough to sit through.

The movie is, in short, a hash. Scenes leading up to Robbie's arrest are from one film. The overlong wartime sequences belong in a different one (and the change from the arrest to wartime is abrupt.) Then, of course, there is the tragic real-life tale buried by the novel's attempt at happiness.

But instead of continuing to complain, let me turn to the Oscar-worthiness of the piece. With three grand contenders for best picture ("Juno," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood"), "Atonement" is an also-ran. As I said, it has a lot of things that Oscar voters like. But where I could stand it if any of the big three won, a win by "Atonement" or "Michael Clayton" would be a big Oscar misstep.

Supporting actress: Ronan as the young Briony was impressive. But not as much as Amy Ryan and Cate Blanchett. (And, when we're considering young up and comers, I would give Dakota Blue Richards of "The Golden Compass" a nod over Ronan. Only Richards was in an even worse movie, and would have had to contend in the best-actress category to boot. But, as usual, I digress.)

Adapted screeplay: I have been bad about reading source material, not that that matters a lot. After all, I have skimmed "Oil," the Upton Sinclair novel that inspired "There Will Be Blood," and the connection between book and film is minimal. (And the movie is better than the book.) So I will just say that "Blood" and "No Country" — and "Away From Her," for that matter — are better movies than "Atonement."

Art direction: To the extent that I understand such things, I'd go first to "There Will Be Blood" or "Sweeney Todd." Cinematography: I prefer "There Will Be Blood," "No Country for Old Men" and "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford." Costume design: If you want to give "Atonement" something, I suppose this is as good a place as any. Music score, ditto.

In other words, I'm not going to be worrying much about those categories on Oscar night.

Overview: Four nominations: best picture, director (Jason Reitman), lead actress (Ellen Page), original screenplay (Diablo Cody). Comments after the jump.

Going into "Juno," I was suspecting it was this year's "Little Miss Sunshine" (which I liked a lot), a seemingly modest little indie with a capable but hardly star-laden ensemble cast, some laughs and some smarts.

And "Juno" proved to be all those things and much, much more.

We can start, of course, with the cast, which demonstrates (as if we had to be reminded) that a lot of people with healthy TV careers are still effective on the big screen — even if Hollywood snobbery looks down on them. J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Michael Cera — all game on, and Simmons, Bateman and Garner all would have made reasonable choices for Oscar nominations.

(OK, you're asking, how do I make room for them. Well, in supporting actor, I dump Tom Wilkinson from "Michael Clayton" … and then it gets tough. Seeming favorite Javier Bardem, Hal Holbrook, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Casey Affleck, all really good, too. But let's say Affleck should have been in the lead-actor category given how much he's the focus of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and, since the academy thinks this way, too, Hoffman already has an Oscar. So I could elbow them aside for Simmons and Bateman.

(As for supporting actress, I dump Tilda Swinton from "Michael Clayton." But I have this other problem: I have been thinking a lot about how very good Taraji P. Henson was in "Talk to Me" (shown below with the also-overlooked Don Cheadle) and would have put her ahead of Swinton and probably Ruby Dee. Amy Ryan and Cate Blanchett stay in the pack, and I haven't seen "Atonement" yet. Maybe tomorrow. So I might move Dee along with Swinton to make room for Henson and Garner. Not that this makes any difference in anything other than my version of Fantasy Oscars. This is just my way of indicating preferences.)

Getting back to "Juno" where it is actually nominated, as much as I like "There Will Be Blood" and "No Country for Old Men," "Juno" has now elbowed into my top three and — depending on my mood — top one or two. It was that good.

Not to everyone's taste, to be sure. I laughed quite often, and got some heart tugs to boot. On the other hand, a reader called me a couple of weeks ago to discuss how much she disliked the movie, how unfunny she thought it was, how (according to her) no one in the theater was laughing. There were laughs at the daytime screening the bride and I attended, but they were a little scattershot.

Still, I'm on board with it. Downloaded the soundtrack after seeing it, too, and am considering downloading "If I Were a Carpenter," the weird Carpenters tribute that the Sonic Youth song in "Juno" came from. (Also Cranberries, others.)

OK, best actress: Cate Blanchett is fine in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (as she is fine in so many things), but if I'm giving her an Oscar this year, it's for "I'm Not There." Also, this "Elizabeth" isn't that good a movie, and "Juno" overall is very good, so Page gets the nod over Blanchett. Julie Christie is fine in "Away From Her," but Page is better. Haven't seen Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose" or Laura Linney in "The Savages," so I can't say how they match up. (My one qualifier about Page is that I don't remember seeing her in anything else, so I can't say if this was a big stretch for her. But I'm not sure that's necessary to win an acting Oscar; I didn't feel that Jennifer Hudson was stepping way out of character in "Dreamgirls," but she was a dominating screen presence.)

Best director: Much tougher, since I have already indicated that I have three best pictures closely matched, and I love the work of the Coen brothers generally, and a lot of what Paul Thomas Anderson has done. And I haven't seen "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Stiil, Jason Reitman is definitely ahead of "Michael Clayton's" Tony Gilroy. So this one is a head-scratcher.

Original screenplay: Again, haven't seen "The Savages," or "Lars and the Real Girl." Am working my way through "Ratatouille," and based on what I have seen, "Juno" gets the nod. And I have made my lack of enthusiasm for "Michael Clayton" quite clear. So "Juno" is ahead of it, too.

I know, I need to see more movies. Working on it. In any case, right now I feel very happy about "Juno" and want it to get some kind of Oscar love.

Overview: Two nominations, for best supporting actress (Ruby Dee) and art direction. Notes, with possible plot spoilers, after the jump …

Overview continued: "American Gangster" is a rather fictionalized version of the story of drug kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), an honest cop battling the New York drug trade and its attendant corruption.

In another year, I could see this doing much better than two Oscar nominations.

Not only does it star two previous winners, it was a sizable commercial success; its $130 million box-office take was bigger than that of any best-picture nominee (although "Juno" is at $100 million and still selling tickets). Indeed, according to Box Office Mojo, "Gangster's" gross means that Ruby Dee by herself gets credit for almost as much money as the other four nominees combined. After Dee, the next most commercial supporting-actress nominee is Tilda Swinton in "Michael Clayton," which has taken in about $42 million.

And you could go beyond Washington, Crowe and Dee for potential nominees; Josh Brolin has a showy supporting role in "Gangster," which with his turn in "No Country for Old Men" should have made him seem more award-worthy to the Oscar folks.

Moreover, "American Gangster" has echoes of many fine movies, including "The Godfather," "Scarface," "New Jack City" and other films about this period, like "Serpico" and "Prince of the City." Unfortunately, in spite of a promising first hour, the movie fails to maintain its momentum for its full 2 1/2-hour length. Nor does the movie always appear to be certain about what it is. The title suggests that it is about Lucas, but Roberts gets considerable screen time; I have to wonder if this is a matter of increasing the part to allow for an actor of Crowe's stature, or a commercial calculation offering a major white character as an audience draw when an African-American is at center stage. In any case, it doesn't work; the Roberts story takes away from the far more interesting account of Washington. When the two actors finally intersect late in the film, there are few sparks — and the ending feels too hasty.

(By the way, all this is based on my viewing "American Gangster" on DVD, much as I did with "Michael Clayton." Although the DVD release includes an extended, unrated version, I watched the theatrical version, to gauge the movie as the academy would have.)

So, I can see where the movie got brushed aside by some formidable contenders. (Well, mostly formidable contenders. See my tepid reaction to "Michael Clayton" in a previous Oscar post.) Why, then, did Ruby Dee, as Lucas's mother, get nominated?

She is good. She has been consistently good over her long career. And while she has relatively little screen time, she does get one of those big Oscar-telecast-excerpt scenes, where she slaps Washington and makes you feel it. And, for people who believe in cheering their hometown heroes, she was born in Cleveland. (As I have pointed out elsewhere, Cleveland has two acting nominees this year, the other being Hal Holbrook.)

But, having seen four of the five contenders in this category, I think any award going to Dee would be largely sentimental or a career-achievement award, since this is her first nomination.

I would not put Swinton ahead of Dee, but neither would I put Dee ahead of Cate Blanchett ("I'm Not There") or Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby Gone"). Since I have not yet seen "Atonment," I can't yet rate Saoirse Ronan. But with Blanchett and Ryan giving scary-good performances, this is a tough category to turn over to Dee.

As for the art-direction nomination, I will pretend no expertise.