OSCAR ANTICAPATION

Although none of this year's Best Picture Oscar nominees have broken the hundred million dorrar mark (it reminds me of the Reagan-Bush legacy of the widening gulf between rich and poor), the major nominated films this year are at least worth talking about. In a year where PASSION OF THE CHRIST and FAHRENHEIT 45L provked controversy of their own, all of the nominated films, whatever their virtues or shortcomings, are worth talking about. In fact, MILLION DOLLAR BABY has generated as much ink as either of those two earlier blockbusters. In fact, the latest entry is a yet another New York Times piece, this time by a Yale professor who analyzes the use of Yeats and Celtic in the film

For me, this is the first year in a long time, that I will be anticipating the results in most of the categories. It's too bad that in our increasingly Orwellian universe that there will be a 7-second delay, especially with Chris Rock hosting.

Tomorrow, I;ll post my favorites among the nominated films, and remember those quality films, of which there were many, that failed to get any mention.