news flash

So I didn't finish my golden boy selections before the Oscar nominations. Oops.

The nominations were announced this morning, and I came into work late so I could watch the broadcast. That's about as nerdy as I get (I wish ...), but I've been doing that since I was in middle school. The nominations are normally when the big surprises happen, and to here it live makes it all the more exciting. This year was no exception, with big shut-outs and surprising inclusions. Here's what people (Hollywood people, at least) will be talking about today:

- No The Dark Knight. Despite eight nominations (including Heath Ledger's foregone win in Supporting Actor), the superhero flick was snubbed in the Best Director and Best Picture categories. Bummer, as included the groundbreaking film would have virtually guaranteed improved ratings. Also, it's the best film of the year.

- Instead, we get The Reader. After Manohla Dargis' dismissive review in the Times when the film opened, I thought that this one was all hype and hot air. Guess I was wrong. Looks like Harvey Weinstein has re-asserted some of his mid-90s magic for getting obscure titles attention. I need to see this one.

- Kate Winslet, not a double nominee, gets a lead nomination for The Reader, not Revolutionary Road. So much for the Golden Globes being a predictive force. People expected Winslet to be named in the supporting category for The Reader (though everyone who has seen the picture agrees that it is a lead performance). So even though the campaigns said one thing, the academy thought for themselves. Cheers.

- Michael Shannon nominated for Revolutionary Road. By far the best element of this underwhelming melodrama (aside from the also-nominated production design ... seriously I DiCaprio and Winslet would be fighting and all I could think of was how I wanted their toaster), was Shannon's brief, ferocious turn as their mentally unstable neighbor. He's a New York theater actor (so good in Sidney Lumet's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead last year), so it's a treat to see him included.

- Best Actress. This was the hardest category to peg. I really thought that critical favorites Sally Hawkins and Kristin Scott Thomas (in my favorite performance of the year) would make it, as would Cate Blanchett because, well, she's Cate Blanchett. Instead, Melissa Leo surprised for the indie Frozen River (which is fine, but very Lifetime), and Angelina Jolie actually made the cut for Changeling (a good performance in an awful movie). I thought Jolie would be snubbed because she didn't make it for better work in A Mighty Heart last year. They must have felt bad about that.

OK. Enough is enough! I'll keep you posted with my picks. I still need to see The Reader and Frost/Nixon, though I doubt anything will come close to my ardor for Milk (yay for including Josh Brolin).

"monsoon sweep, string-in left, ready right Cradle-out, drill-9 shiver, ends chuff, broadside option, flow-and-go."

At least the Don DeLillo's football plays have words like "monsoon" in them.

I'm in the throws of party preparation at the moment ... I'm making that dip we always ate at special occasions at my house ... I've already had to run to the store for more mayonnaise. Ha. Anyway, if you're not watching the Oscars tonight you're being quite silly. I'm continuing the family tradition of having a party. I'm quite excited, of course.

"that was all, just a kiss between paragraphs."

I thought today's Tuesday top five should be Oscar-related. The ceremony will go on this Sunday (thank goodness they settled that strike) and as I've mentioned before, I grew up with Oscar parties. It's nostalgia, americana, glitz and lore. I'm toying with having a get-together myself, but I'm on the fence. I don't know if my friends are that into it, but I'm sure if I sell it as a sequin and botox extravaganza (with wine, no less), they'll at least show.

Speaking of sequins, the outfits at these things are half the fun. So, here we go, my ceremonial countdown of the five most outrageous Oscar outfits (according to me, and outrageous not necessarily meaning bad).

1. Cher, as a goth pinata. The year? Trivial. This is our past, present and future. She hasn't aged, so why should we date the picture. It's Cher at her most Cher. This is why we love and cherish, and why it's so much less fun without her.

2. The Amex Dress. The motley Australian duo to the right won the Best Costume Oscar for the smashing The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (which is you haven't seen, you really shouldn't be reading this blog). We shouldn't have been that surprised at Lizzi Gardener's attire, as she did outfit Guy Pearce in a dress made of flip flops for that film. It did cause quite the stir in 1994 ... and how many other costume designers do we still gab about today? Looking at this picture now, though, I wonder why we didn't make a bigger stink about her design partner's apparent lack of pants. Talk about a double standard.

3. Charlize Theron, now co-starring with a giant, black bow. First off, I love her. A few years ago, she not only had to deal with snarky pundits bemoaning her nomination for North Country, but she showed up in couture and the fashionistas started in as well. It's a bold, very runway look, and I applaud it. Outrageous? Of course. Awful? Puh-leeze.

4. Geena Davis vs. a rufflied, white train. Within five years, she was in Cutthroat Island. Need I say more?

5. It's ... Cher, again! I just couldn't help it. Different hat. Different decade. Same face! Eeep!

this happened too

I had planned to do a hefty Oscar nomination wrap-up entry, but the Heath Ledger business put a damper on a normally shameless, self-congratulatory frenzy of a day.

My parents always had an Oscar party when I was growing up. My dad started throwing them in college. Something tells me it was probably the only annual Oscar party Sherman, TX. Anyway, the Oscars have always meant celebration to my family. The day was always filled with preparation, the smells of my mom's special dishes, and the arrival of, at least in the years we lived in Dallas, a lot of Junior Leaguers with big hair and strong perfume. Most movie fans get into the yearly derby, but for me, it's family lore.

This year, the nominations offered few surprises. Atonement snuck into the top five ... I really thought it would go the way of Cold Mountain, a pretty, literary epic with high awards aspirations that failed to garner a Best Picture nomination. That means Sean Penn's soulful Into the Wild got snubbed (only receiving mentions for editing and supporting actor Hal Holbrook, who could well win), which is too bad.

The acting categories offered a few good mentions. I was excited to see Viggo Mortensen finally receive Academy attention (he should have made it for A History of Violence a few years ago). And while I disliked Eastern Promises enough to walk out, what I saw of his performance was impressive.

It was also nice to see Laura Linney make it into the Actress race. Overall, The Savages was pretty mediocre, but Linney is expert as always, playing a tattered, unraveling version of her role in You Can Count on Me. She's one of the best working, so it's nice to see her recognized. Also in that category, I'm a bit surprised to see Cate Blanchett (a double nominee this year) make it in for the drag queen walk-off that was Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Blanchett's my favorite, but even I think this is a bit much. Instead, they should have recognized (the admittedly overexposed) Angelina Jolie, for impressive work in A Mighty Heart.

Other gripes? Where's Zodiac's sublime editing, cinematography and art direction (not to mention Robert Downey Jr.)? Or the Simpsons Movie for animated feature? Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd? Jennifer Jason Leigh in Margot at the Wedding?

That's my take, what's yours?