Perhaps the academy gang was just trying to soak in that tricky ending that gives viewers a lot to talk about on the way home.

At any rate, "No Country" played better than Todd Haynes' critically acclaimed Bob Dylan experiment, "I'm Not There."

It lived up to its title and gathered a much smaller academy group that saw a few walkouts, according to two members who were both unimpressed -- even by Cate Blanchett's bravura supporting turn as one of six Dylans.

Tough crowd.

"I think the only people who will like this thing are the ones who love this guy's music," one academy voter told us.

Uh, right.

This from the same group who gave Dylan an Oscar for best song just seven years ago. How quickly they forget!

As the academy's official screenings go dark this weekend, the Oscar race is preparing to enter the home stretch, at least as far as unveiling remaining contenders for the press is concerned.

Immediately after Thanksgiving, "Sweeney Todd" (Dec. 21), still in final sound mixing, starts junkets in London and almost daily press screenings on the Paramount lot, while "Charlie Wilson's War" (Dec. 25) launches the first of several on Monday.

"Golden Compass" (Dec. 7) and "The Bucket List" (Dec. 25) began screenings in earnest this week, as did Denzel Washington's "The Great Debaters" (Dec. 25), a movie with big advance buzz that is still in post-production and won't have a final print until early December, which has caused publicists to scramble and re-schedule a planned DGA date, among others.

Even after a couple of early digital screenings a few weeks ago, perfectionist Washington was still in the editing room trimming about seven minutes from the film to get it as tight as possible.

Finally, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, what better time can there be to compile our list of the five biggest turkeys ever nominated for the best picture Oscar?

"The Alamo" (1960): John Wayne's overblown western epic that became the recipient of perhaps the most misguided Oscar campaign in history.

"Doctor Dolittle" (1967): Rex Harrison's talk-singing musical misfire received nine nominations in an example of block voting by its studio, Fox, which pushed the Audrey Hepburn gem "Two for the Road" (only a screenplay nomination) aside in order to pump up its December family flop.

"Three Coins in the Fountain" (1954): A hit song and lush Roman locations somehow catapulted this widescreen soap opera into the top category.

"The Robe" (1953): A dreary Richard Burton costume drama that only got attention because of its historical status as the first film presented in Cinemascope, which had the studio proclaiming the end of the 3D era as "you see it without glasses!"

"Mutiny On The Bounty" (1962): A bloated remake of the 1935 best picture winner that managed to ride Marlon Brando's notoriety into seven nominations, got him his own island and a prized best picture slot over the likes of "The Manchurian Candidate," "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "The Miracle Worker," to name just three.

We don't give thanks for those gobblers, but we do for all the truly deserving contenders to come as The Season takes a few days off to enjoy that other season.