You know what's whacked? All five of the Best Picture nominees were released in the last two weeks in December. The Academy's short memory is well-known, but I don't know if it's ever been this extreme. Usually *something* gets nominated from earlier in the year and sometimes even wins. This year, *November* (traditionally within "safe" Oscar ground) was too early. "Far From Heaven" was an early favorite -- I was calling it a sure thing before Chicago and The Hours asserted their dominance -- but eventually passed the torch to fresher fads.

To a point, the Academy's reputation for short memory is undeserved. Films seen as Oscar-worthy are often held until the end of the year, and so one could argue that the best films of the year truly *are* released at the end of it. But this year is totally whacked in that regard. My expectation is that, in a few years, the most treasured (or even remembered) movies of 2002 won't have a lot of overlap with what's getting hype right now.