The nominations are in

And I can't say I am very happy about it.

Miss Bender's intimates understand her love of all things Oscar. Loyal readers know that I have begun to slip in my old age in my acceptance of not actually seeing all the nominated pictures if I hadn't intended to see them in the first place. But for many years I was devout about this rule (you can call it rigid, but don't try to make me say it), but I wasted some important hours on
this
this
dear god, this please bathe

And as I said last year, I don't have all day to sit at the movies. It's cold in there, the food is gross, and frankly, the sound is too loud. And I am 80. But let's stick with the topic.

This time of year, I can usually count on having seen most of the contenders. Maybe 1 or 2 late-qualifying releases, and just need to catch up. This year I have not seen... 4 of them. 4 of 5. 4/5, if you will. I am trending downward.

Just last weekend, as Otto and I were picking a picture, I said, "ucch, I never want to see that." "Which?" he said. "There will be blood in this country of old men." (This is a game we play where we combine the movie titles, but will never surpass last year's "The Good German Shepard.") And now here we are. I have to see them both. And honestly...I think they are the same movie. This would be like Babel and Traffic being nominated in the same year.

I will post my Oscar picks after I have seen them all, but right now I want to pout a bit. I do want to see Juno, and it is under 100 minutes. I have seen Michael Clayton. So far it is my pick. It is Oscar worthy and tries to do something new with the corporate liability plot. And I haven't seen the others. That will not stop me from making preliminary comment. It's what you signed on for.

Atonement? Ok... but is there anything here we haven't heard before? Isn't this Legends of the Fall for girls?

Juno? Right, all the buzz is good. Fresh air on an old story. But this might be all script and no cinema, and my standards for best in show are broader than that.

No Country for yahyahyah... Is it possible that Javier Bardem is over exposed? I haven't forgiven him for Love in the Time of Cholera. And he looks like Buster Brown.

making that little collage just raised so many questions about Buster Brown...

There will be Blood. Here is where I take a position on something I know nothing about. I saw the length -- 158 minutes -- and decided I didn't need to know anything else. Synopsis: "When he breaks his leg when he finally finds the silver ore, he drags himself to town to sell it." I am hoping they mean the ore, and not his leg.

My early prediction is that the movie about oil probably wins. But DD-L just brings the taste of Gangs of New York back into my mouth.