The score for "Atonement" is indeed very fine and worthy of its nomination.  It may even be the best of the nominees, but with all due respect to the Oscar winner Dario Marianelli (ANOTHER non-U.S. American), the award is moot this year, and the winner would not be out of line in making a stink about it on stage.  Through some antiquated rules and some suspicious maneuvering, several scores were disqualified from the category (some with very short notice) because certain passages contained elements that appeared in previous scores of the composer and/or were deemed too song-driven.  What this has to do with celebrating excellence in film, I don't know and I hope will be addressed before the next nominating season begins.

And now, the docs...

Nice touch, bringing in the troops, Tom Hanks and the Oscar telecast producers.  It's especially appropriate for the Documentary Feature category, where so many of the films weave through stories of our men and women in uniform.

If you read my interview earlier today, you'll know I'm rooting for "Taxi to the Dark Side."  I can't say for sure that it's the best of the nominated films, but I know it's great and I want to say that I know an Oscar winner from tonight.

I'd also be happy with "No End In Sight," despite its wandering into some unfortunate pedantic territory.

And the winner is...

Alex Gibney and "Taxi!"

Hey everybody... I know an Oscar winner from tonight!!