Starting with the arcane logic of the Academy and working outwards, Flak's film writers are taking on the year in movies with the Oscars as their springboard. Their dialogue will be updated daily as the conversation progresses.

Feb. 19

Scenes Better Left Unseen, or Making a Scene Part II

• Overrating Mulholland Drive, the pens and liver spots in A Beautiful Mind, Ron Howard, L.A. Confidential, ultraviolence, The Royal Tenenbaums, neck-snapping in Kiss of the Dragon, glass jaws in The Princess and the Warrior, flashbacks in K-PAX, Julia's lips in Ocean's Eleven, rusty plot devices in Joy Ride, the mainstreaming of twist endings, A Beautiful Mind and Dragonfly

Adventures in Flyover Land, or The Movie Seasons Part II

• The San Francisco film scene, the sorry state of the theatre industry, the importance of buzz and how to negate it, Iris, favoritism and not favoritism, the prohibitive costs of film exhibition, the Madison film scene, pork and film distribution, (Oscar) seasonal affective disorder

The Peanut Gallery, or More Than a Few of Our Least Favorite Things

• Ultra-dumbness in Swordfish and Tomb Raider, arrogance and Robert De Niro in 15 Minutes and The Score, Not Another Teen Movie and the death knell of an exploitation genre, too dumb for lowbrow in Saving Silverman and Tomcats, Shallow Hal, questions and fierce defenses of brow altitude, Zoolander, Blazing Saddles to Pootie Tang, The Pledge, Blow, Waking Life, A.I, Monster's Ball

Feb. 18

Funny Valentines, or A Little 'Bout Livin' and a Lot About Love

• The year in love, In the Mood for Love, Suzhou River, Vertigo, Amelie, a whole lotta love, Moulin Rouge, The Man Who Wasn't There, Hannibal vs. Serendipity, Monsters, Inc. and I Am Sam, just what went wrong with Vanilla Sky

Making a Scene, or Flak's Movie Mix Tape

• Vacuum cleaners in Ghost World, ball bearings (and facial hair) in Swordfish, automatic lamps in Amelie, cat chat in Vanilla Sky, "Peaches" in Sexy Beast, snoring in Monsters, Inc., double entendres in Hedwig, single entrendres in Wet Hot American Summer, brawling in Bridget Jones's Diary, vulgarity in The Anniversary Party, the Antichrist in Donnie Darko, player-hating in Gosford Park, scalpings in The Last Castle, emergency response in The Royal Tenenbaums, crying in Mulholland Drive, soaking in A.I, sacrifice in Hannibal, graffiti in Joy Ride, cellular mischief in Jurassic Park III, something in Kiss of the Dragon, more sacrifice in Fellowship of the Ring, lots in The Man Who Wasn't There and Ocean's Eleven, running around in Memento, organ donation in Monkeybone, birdcages in Monster's Ball, clubbing in Osmosis Jones, surgery in The Princess and the Warrior, delivery in Series 7, high comedy in The Animal, Brendan Fraser

The Movie Seasons, or Why Are They Asking Me to See Rollerball?

• What's in theaters, why it's in theaters, why what's not in theaters isn't in theaters, release schedules, exceptions to the rules, the three movie seasons, Birthday Girl and politics, John Q and more politics, the complete January-February breakdown, looking ahead to March but not to Ice Age

Feb. 14

Knowing the Score, or John Williams vs. John Williams

• John Williams, A.I, Harry Potter, jingoism, James Horner, A Beautiful Mind, gimme awards and prestige, major themes, digesting movies, Vertigo, found music, pastiche and postmodernity

Best Picture, or All Bets Are On

• Black Hawk Down, Ridley Scott, Hollywood's 9/11 tribute, getting Gosford Park, not getting Gosford Park, the fifth slot, past Best Pictures, Captain Obvious, the Golden Globes, the director/picture split revisted, the Oscarness checklist, role-love, holy fools, A Beautiful Mind, the World Sports Exchange, Anthony Rapp, the bohemian life, Monster's Ball, miscasting, Bridget Jones's Diary

… And the Best Pictures, or Oscar the Grouch

• Best-of lists, small movie towns, movies about movies (but not about movies), Memento, the dominance of the puzzle movie, 1999 vs. 2001, gimmickry vs. heart, Mulholland Drive, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, story arcs, The Princess and the Warrior

The Only Game in Town? or Not Every AFI List is Laughable

• Oscars, The Golden Globes, the AFI Awards, the best list of the year, equal time for comedies

The Year in Fright, or Embracing the Other(s)

• From From Hell to Donnie Darko, horror movies and the arthouse, The Exorcist, Halloween, Oscar and genre, horror and innovators, the national mood and impending doom

Feb. 13

The Big Picture, or Trying to Think Like the Academy

• Predictions, favorites vs. nominees, Best Picture but not Best Director, Best Director but not Best Picture, categories than less than five nominees, In the Bedroom, M*A*S*H, auteur appreciation, lunch

Technical Categories, or I Don't Know if it's Art Direction, But I Like It

• Best Art Direction, Ghost World, The Royal Tenenbaums, Best Makeup, stage makeup vs. prosthetics, Planet of the Apes, sexy monkeys, The Fellowship of the Rings, Amélie, Dogme 95 and the French New Wave, Bilbo and Galadriel

The Acting Awards, or Watts a Girl Gotta Do to Get Some Recognition?

• Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive, Best Actress, I Am Sam, Sean Penn, Rain Man, Tank Girl, Kramer vs. Kramer, Billy Bob Thornton, The Man Who Wasn't There, Monster's Ball, splitting the vote, Gene Hackman, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Steve Buscemi, Vanilla Sky, Cameron Diaz's career, buy-one-get-one-free nominations, A.I., The Straight Story, young Hollywood, Spielberg as the Great Satan, the Coen Brothers

Film Music, or I've Been Working Like a Log

• Best Song, Paul McCartney, Bjork, Eliot Smith, "Come What May," Dancer in the Dark, Jonathan Richman, Air, The Virgin Suicides, Blueshammer, Wes Anderson, Cameron Crowe, Quentin Tarantino, Curtis Hanson, Randy Newman, Ghost World, Cat Stevens, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Harold and Maude, Kingpin, Pixar, High Fidelity, "Christmas Time is Here," Peter Gabriel and the Vanilla Sky trailer, connisseurship and autobiography, Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Best Animated Feature, or Shrek Shrek Shrek Shrek Shrek Shrek Shrek

• Best Animated Film, Disney and its laurels, Shrek, Metropolis, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, the foreign film ghetto, The Princess Bride, Pixar v. PDI, hype, Waking Life, children's movies, sophistication, the Oscars and the People's Choice Awards, context, Oscars for past grievances, Boo and Monsters Inc.

Feb. 12

Predictions v. Nominees