Delayed Post-Mortem On The Oscars

• What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
• Didn't get a chance to see the results show tonight, but I downloaded it so I'll watch it as soon as I can. Don't totally have a good read on who's going.
• I finished the latest Stephen King, Duma Key, this morning. It's quite reminiscent of Salem's Lot (which, if you're a King fan, you know is a tremendous compliment) in how it ends and how it's truly horrifying and not just scary. His last two, this one and Lisey's Story, have been really, really, really good.
• Saw Atonement tonight. Since I've now seen all of last year's nominees, more on that in a bit.
• Random Thoughts/Links:
• We're going on a casino cruise tomorrow (it sails into international waters and then you can gamble). They may have a sportsbook, not sure. Probably a good thing we're going during the day so I can't get pissed off from losing on tomorrow night's tourney games.
• Basically, yesterday we went on this thing where we see a timeshare, get a sales presentation, and then we get a gift. At the end, they trot out the closer, who berates you about why you need to buy at their property. The place was really nice, but I kept saying "no" in various ways because I already have one, I'm trying to be fiscally conservative while looking for a house, and so on. The guy kept hammering me and hammering me as I got angrier and angrier. By the end, my leg was bouncing to use up the energy that I was going to draw upon to scream at the guy to tell him to just stop and let us go. He had earlier said that if we said, "no," we'd get a handshake and a smile. After at least fifteen "nos," I got a handshake and a bunch of sarcastic remarks as he walked away. Good guy. By the way, this was Festiva Resorts -- you have to wonder how valuable their product really is if he reduced it to $5,200 from $30,000 in ten minutes or so. Festiva Resorts, the closer's name was Jack. Dick.
• Your List Sucks! -- Ranking The Best Picture Nominees:
• 5. There Will Be Blood -- I really liked all of this year's movies, so no shame in being fifth. Well, I really liked them, but I only really really liked four. Daniel Day Lewis turned in an all-time great performance, but it was just a bit too boring in the middle.
• 4. Michael Clayton -- Not your typical Best Picture kind of movie. Fast-paced, exciting, great twists; it's very enjoyable and highly recommended.
• 3. Atonement -- If I had seen this before the Oscars, there's no doubt I would have picked which would win Best Score. Whereas in There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men the scenery is a character, the music is the standout here. The way that the score is integrated (in ways I can't even begin to explain) with the story is phenomenal and something I've never seen before. There's also The Shot -- a 5-1/2 minute tracking shot through a hellish army camp that I thought had to be CGI because of the intricacy, but was, in fact, not. The acting is very good and I thought the controversial ending actually worked pretty well. Most of all, this is definitely not a chick flick.
• 2. Juno -- It's so earnest and funny and touching. I think I put this barely over Atonement and I'm having second thoughts about it (though of course, I just watched that one). It has the largest re-watch potential, by far, of any of these films.
• 1. No Country For Old Men -- Like I said, the best movie I've seen in a number of years. It's head and shoulders above the rest. It's out on DVD now, so freaking see it already!