"Triple-Nominee George Clooney..."

...and other crap you're tired of hearing on tonight's 78th Annual Academy Awards!

I mistakenly thought Jon Stewart might actually inspire some self-deprecation on the part of Hollywood, but instead mostly what we've gotten is self-importance. I guess there really is a conspiracy to only nominate "topical" films because we were treated to a five-minute presentation on how Hollywood has enlightened us over the years with its take on all of society's ills. Man, all of hicks sure do owe a lot to Hollywood!

(Just in case you don't "get it," the Best Song Oscar was just won by "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp." How novel!)

Anyway, I celebrated the silly buildup to the Oscars with a little film festival of my own this weekend, which included the following flicks:

• Lost in Translation
• Walk the Line
• Rebecca
• White (Three Colors Trilogy, Part II)
• Boogie Nights
• A Room With A View
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Notorious
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Pride & Prejudice

I don't know if Notorious actually won anything, but I dig ol' Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman (and Hitchcock in his "romantic intrigue" phase). Come to think of it, did Eternal Sunshine get completely shut out also (Original Screenplay maybe)?

Anyway, I love all those films, even if Hollywood is really hard to take on Oscar night.