Regular blog readers have seen my notes on some of the Oscar nominees, including "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood." But there were quite a few nominees I have not seen yet. So my plan over the coming weeks is to see them and post notes, especially about whether they strike me as the best in their nominated categories. Last night, for example, I watched "Michael Clayton" and I expect to have comments here soon, possibly as early as tonight. I have set aside my DVDs of nominees, and plan some trips back to theaters as well. If time permits, I will revisit movies I have already seen. Anything in particular you folks are curious about?

You can find the nominees list here. I've just begun looking and may post some more thoughts later. On the local side, good times for Cleveland's own Hal Holbrook, nominated for "Into the Wild," and for Cleveland's Ruby Dee, nominated for "American Gangster."
Paul Thomas Anderson, son of Cleveland legend Ernie "Ghoulardi" Anderson, is also looking at a good night since "There Will Be Blood" is up for a bunch of major awards.

I wrote a long column on Oscars odds & ends for tomorrow's Beacon Journal, and thought it was going to be posted today over at Ohio.com. Haven't seen it yet but will add a link here once it's up.

Since my notes from earlier appear to have disappeared — and thanks for the tip, George, but I haven't found anything — I'm just going to post from here on (just after Little Miss Sunshine got original screenplay) and revisit the earlier stuff later.

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DISASTER. Something ate almost all my first 3 hours of blogging, and now I have to file. I'll try to reconstruct some notes later.

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And its name is Oscar. Possible Sunday-night spoilers, after the jump …

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No mockery here. We're talking about movies that have won kudos from AARP. Here's the press release:

AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine, today announced the winners of its sixth annual Movies for Grownups Awards. From Best Movie to Breakaway Accomplishment to Best Actor and Actress, AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups Awards honors a range of cinematic accomplishments in 13 categories, all of which are featured in the March/April issue, available February 1, 2007.

Top honors went to The Last King of Scotland—an unblinking look at the rise and brutal reign of Uganda strongman Idi Amin—which was named this year’s Best Movie for Grownups. …

Donald Sutherland was awarded Best Actor 50 and Over for his role as a defiant Parkinson’s patient in Aurora Borealis. And Helen Mirren, starring as Queen Elizabeth in the days surrounding the death of Princess Diana in The Queen, was named Best Actress 50 and Over. Clint Eastwood took the top honor as best director for his two-part World War II saga, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima.

The 2007 Movies For Grown-Ups Award winners will be presented with the coveted La Chaise d’Or trophy—The Golden Chair—a whimsical trophy in the shape of a Barcalounger, at a private gala awards dinner held at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles on February 6, 2007.

For years I've been talking about the Chamber of Commerce theory of entertainment awards. Basically it says that organizations issue awards based on what they think makes them look good — socially responsible, politically aware, far-ranging — instead of what actually is good. Of course, other factors can also come into play, among them sentiment and the need to honor previously overlooked careers, but when in doubt, the Chamber of Commerce theory explains a lot.
I'm still scanning this morning's Oscar nominations but there appears to be a lot of Chamber of Commerce action — the bump for "Blood Diamond" in the major acting categories, for example; the overlooking of "Dreamgirls" for best picture and director; the nodding to independent film with "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Half Nelson," the acknowledgment of the international importance of film.
A few more notes: Mark Walhberg was very good in "The Departed" but Alec Baldwin stole the movie.

Jennifer Hudson may have been submitted as a supporting actress but let's be real: "Dreamgirls" is her movie. Let me say it again: "Dreamgirls" is her movie.

Never underestimate Clint Eastwood.

You've got a fair number of Oscar contenders on DVD or headed that way, including "Little Miss Sunshine," "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Jesus Camp," with the anticipated post-Oscar bump making the likes of "The Queen" and "Babel" more accessible in theaters.

I planned to add more to this as I took a closer look at the nominations, but ended up writing up those notes for Wednesday's Beacon Journal. You can find that piece here.

Here's the link to the podcast George Thomas and I did after the Oscars ended:

http://www.ohiomm.com/podcasts/movies/oscars2005/post_oscars.mp3

It was a fun chat, if one tainted by a lack of sleep. At some point in our conversation it felt as if I had used the words "I mean" at the beginning of, oh, just about every sentence. And I suspect there is enough overlapping dialogue — I also remember saying "Go ahead" a lot — to make this sound like our own little Robert Altman homage.

I give Jon Stewart about a C minus as host. Not a strong monologue, and he seemed determined not to venture too far from his lectern. Too many better-on-paper jokes.

Having had a moment to think about it, I'm a little surprised that the political content was as muted as it was, given the Iraq war and the way a lot of Hollywood feels about President Bush.

Relatively efficient telecast, coming in at 3 1/2 hours.  But you have to wonder why the movie academy keeps claiming that it will finish in three hours.

Good stuff: Opening sketch, Clooney's acceptance, Ben Stiller, Lily and Meryl, Reese's acceptance, the "Pimp" acceptance.

Bad stuff: Three high points were in the first hour. Misspelling Will Ferrell's name. Lauren Bacall. "Pimp" overly edited for broadcast. (Make that "Pimp" edited for broadcast, period. If the words scare the academy, then put some content rules in the nomination process.) Cutting off the best-picture producers.

Preshow: Thank goodness for Keira Knightley. Should have been more finery on view. Wish I had recorded Joan Rivers's chat with Ludacris.

Look later for a podcast from me and George Thomas. You're a beautiful audience! Goodnight!

I so hope Jon Stewart wasn't kidding about running out of film clips.

I like Lily and Meryl making affectionate fun of Robert Altman's directing style. It's better than his acceptance speech, although the old fox manages to get in plugs for his latest play and movie. Of course, I also love a lot of Altman's movies. (Memo: See if "Brewster McCloud" is on Netflix.) I also know that Altman's career has included stretches in television — the wonderful "Tanner '88, a nifty "Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" — but you don't get to hear about that on the movie industry's night.

But we did get more film clips!

And yes, they have held "Pimp" for late in the East-Coast evening.

Ludacris introduces the song. At least he's in "Hustle & Flow." And what was that, 3 seconds before we got an audio drop? Toned-done lyrics. But THIS is a real Oscar song performance, thanks to the cheeseball Vegasy choreography and costumes. OK, now go rent the movie and see how it should be done.

IT WINS THE OSCAR!!!!! And the acceptance speech comes not only with a bleep but a really boisterous expression of joy from the accepters. Now you really have to see the movie. Stewart nails it, saying that's how you accept an Oscar.

Oh, no, not another attack-ad parody. Time to see if … yup, Cavs won.

Best things about the Oscars at this point: It's moving along, so we may finish at a reasonable hour. And that "Hard Out Here for a Pimp" win has energized Stewart; good line about Martin Scorsese.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, shielding his eyes with the award announcement. It's almost as if his character in "Magnolia" won the Oscar. (And Hoffman's been owed one since that movie, and before.) Extra points for citing Van Morrison.

John Travolta had a little trouble with the word "memoirs."

Reese Witherspoon. (I hate those voice-overs offering tidbits about the winners.) Oh, she's such a sweetie. The camera's on her husband — AND she remembers to thank him! Nice line: "I'm just trying to matter."

Adapted screenplay. Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback." McMurtry is one of my writing gods, so I am glad to see him win, well, anything, even a movie that recalls "Lonesome Dove" — and pales next to it. But it's good to hear him remind the people watching television to read, too.

"Crash" for original screenplay. Paul Haggis gets an Oscar. Could this please, please lead to the release of "EZ Streets" on DVD — and maybe a revival of it?

This ceremony is now longer than it was last year, but still within reasonable Oscar limits. (The record is apparently 4 hours and 16 minutes.)

Ang Lee wins. Not a bad acceptance speech, but not one for the ages.

Nicholson has his fun. And ends up out of sync with the nominee clips for it.

Oh, gosh, "Crash" wins best picture. The people are almost as excited as the guys who won best song. It's an amazing movie, by the way — and, I have to say it, better than "Brokeback."

And now that Paul Haggis has won another Oscar, the "EZ Streets" DVD is mandatory.

The loud music is cutting off the best-picture acceptance. THE BEST PICTURE ACCEPTANCE. For pete's sakem, it's the biggest award of the night, and this telecast is not setting a record for length unless the acceptance goes another hour. And they sure had time for some more commercials.

Stewart's joke about the Oscar statue and democracy was a little funny. Or I had just saved up a sympathy chuckle.

Best supporting actress. Memo to self: Time to take the shrink wrap off that "Constant Gardener" DVD and finally watch it. Or get that old paperback of the novel off the shelf and finally read it.

Coming up; the second nominated song. Dare we hope for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"? Or will ABC hold that back for after 10 p.m. (still 7 p.m. on the West Coast).

Commercials. Cavs up 3 in the third.

I love Lauren Bacall's old movies. So sad to see her labor through this "film noir" segment. But in a show that usually runs long, I don't get the point of this segment, except to drive a lot of people to Netflix. And for a genre known for its pace and urgency, the piece feels slow.

I think the Stewart material is coming off as too writerly. I can see the attack-ads parody looking good on paper. Not so good onscreen.

Terrence Howard. Give him an Oscar. I don't care if he won one. Just give him one. Take that talkative makeup guy's. This is Terrence Howard, folks. He's a great actor. Look at his movies — and look how dull he seems here. That's how great an actor he is.

"March of the Penguins" wins. The guys are carrying penguin dolls. What is this, prop night? And it's amazing what a bum's rush the recipients get — Jennifer Lopez is coming onstage as they're still heading off.

Not the "pimp" song yet. But a good one, from "Crash." Kathleen York's a decent actress ("The West Wing") but obviously a strong singer, too. Remember her as Naomi Judd in the "Love Can Build a Bridge" TV-movie?

A series of clips from issues movies makes sense this year, I suppose, And I welcome any excuse to see a clip from "To Kill a Mockingbird." On the other hand, it brings us back to what George Clooney was talking about in his acceptance speech — and reminds us how very long it has been since he made his remarks.

First good comment from Stewart in some time — looking at the clips and saying "and none of those issue was ever a problem again." But Stewart has me thinking of Tiger Woods at Doral today — going to the last hole, knowing that he can bogey and still win the thing. Stewart does not have that luxury. He needs a whole bunch of birdies to turn around his performance.

Stewart's line is even better now that the Academy guy is being windily self-righteous about Hollywood, And it would have been great if Stewart had saved it until after this guy gave his speech. (And what was that whole go-to-the-theaters plea? Don't the studios make tons of money from the DVD's, too?)

Jake Gyllenhaal introduces a segment on epics. And takes ANOTHER shot at watching movies on DVD. Dude, there are movies I would never see if it weren't for DVD. And with a decent-sized set and the lights out — the way we watched "Walk the Line" on Saturday night — it's still a very involving experience. Moreover, I didn't have to ask anyone to be quiet, wonder if my shoes would come unstuck from the floor and remember to bring my debit card in case we wanted popcorn.

And on that rant, we end the second hour.

Show opens with just the sort of fancy tech that this year's best-picture nominees are a reaction against.

Good opening gag with Billy Crystal and Chris Rock (and first "Brokeback" joke of the night), followed by a nice recap of previous hosts. Stewart with Halle is a good gag, too. We're off to a decent start.

Stewart's struggling with the monologue, though. By the Dick Cheney joke, he's getting sympathy applause. I'm sitting at home, and still found myself giving him a sympathy chuckle. The "gay westerns" clip reel had possibilities, but still fell flat.

And now .. the first award. Best supporting actor. George Clooney. "All right, so I'm not winning director," he says, admitting what all the Oscar strategy-analysts in the audience are thinking. And he gives a pretty good speech, setting the bar early for the other acceptances.

Tom Hanks is a very funny man. But not in the acceptance-speech bit.

I was going to get some cake for the visual-effects award, only I had to stay when Ben Stiller came out in the green suit. And the effects-that-isn't-there gag is kind of amusing.

Blah, blah. The bowties on the Wallace & Gromit guys are cute but the adding them to the Oscars is forced.

Ooh, ooh, best song! Do horrors await? Well, there is whatever has happened to Dolly Parton's face. But the song itself is bland, and blandly presented.

I am losing track of how many times the camera has shown Jack Nicholson. Surely someone was clapping along to Dolly's song without looking either awkward (like Jack) or uncomfortable.

Chicken Little. Find a picture of "American Idol's" Kevin Covais, See how apt is Heather Cox's comparison of the two.

All right, around the best-costume stuff, I began to fade. Went elsewhere online for a moment. Cavs trail at the half by two.

Russell Crowe. He may have a bad rep in some circles, but he cleans up for the Oscars.

Want proof that comic actors have trouble getting respect from the movie industry? The Oscar graphic misspelled Will Ferrell's last name, Unfortunately, the makeup joke — with Steve Carell — didn't offer much reason to correct the spelling.

And we have gotten through the first hour — ending with a long acceptance speech from some makeup guy,

Felicity Huffman chats. Which, of course, gives ABC an excuse to show off other actresses from "Desperate Housewives." Felicity gets teary at the sight, tells ABC flack that "you ruined my makeup." Fair enough. This show is ruining my evening.

The clip from "Good Night, and Good Luck" is messed up. David Strathairn is terse, opening up for a question about the smoking he has to do in the movie. I've been a Strathairn fan going back to his years in the John Sayles repetory company.

Wow, Jake Gyllenhaal is noting that redundant questions lead to stock answers! No doubt he has stocked up for the night.

ABC is devoting a lot of promo time to "Miracle Workers."

Ah, more honesty: Rachel Weisz admits that she has no answer to a question about what advice her obstetrician gave her. (She's pregnant.) Then says, "I was about to make something up."

Fashion overview — only the few gowns involved are ones that we saw earlier in the preshow.

Eric Bana, asked what he hopes to see: "I hope to see a lot of blood spilled." If they let the actors cut loose tonight, this might be fun after all.