Peter, I’m no fan of the Oscars myself, and I think your post is spot-on. But I have to disagree with you about Michael Clayton. Tony Gilroy–the Bourne writer whose career has been pretty undistinguished except for the remarkable Dolores Claiborne–shocked me with his razor-sharp script: the corp-speak, Tom Wilkinson’s demented opening monologue, Tilda Swinton’s allusive, fear-choked vileness. And the direction was equally impressive: energetic but restrained. This is to say nothing of the fact that Gilroy coaxed a real performance out of George Clooney, who normally can’t act his way out a paper bag. And all this from a first-timer! I’d have to say it was the best American purebred thriller I’ve seen since the criminally underrated Spartan.