With today's release of Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, the Oscar race just got a whole lot more interesting. As Roger Ebert puts it: "What happened was, Eastwood showed it to Warner Bros., which had no plans for an Oscar campaign until studio executives realized they had an amazing movie on their hands. The first press screenings were held only two weeks ago, and word began to spread: Tear up your Oscar predictions and start over again." Sample ecstatic reviews can be found here and here. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm very encouraged. When was the last time we were surprised by an American masterpiece?