I can feel and hear the Oscar air hissing out of the Jarhead balloon….sssssssssssssss. I’m not just talking about my own opinion of Sam Mendes’ Gulf War non-drama — it’s being written off across the board. It was noted last Friday (10.28) in a lead-in to a blog-riff by Steve Pond on the L.A. Times Oscar site “The Envelope”, that Jarhead may be the first Oscar casualty of the season. “Reviews are starting to come in and so far it’s not looking good,” wrote Pond. “While Jarhead was assumed to be a strong contender as well, initial reviews in both the Hollywood trade papers were lukewarm enough to cast serious doubts on the movie’s Oscar chances.” There are admirers, granted (Maxim‘s Pete Hammond and someone else…Joel Siegel?…are calling it the Cat’s Meow), but the tide is clearly running against Jarhead at this stage.