Monday, May 27, 2013

Ranking the Best Picture Oscar Lineups of the 2000s


I've still got over 100 Best Picture nominees to see, but I've seen most from recent decades. Keep in mind, these are my rankings of the Best Picture lineups, and not the winners. (Note: I thought the 2010s were too short to rank at the moment.) Winners are in bold and pictured below.

10. 2008

Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire

9. 2004

Nominees: The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray, Sideways

8. 2000

Nominees: Chocolat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, Gladiator, Traffic

7. 2005

Nominees: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich

6. 2009

Nominees: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

5. 2003

Nominees: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit

4. 2006

Nominees: Babel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen

3. 2001

Nominees: A Beautiful Mind, Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge!

2. 2002

Nominees: Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Pianist

1. 2007

Nominees: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood

8 comments:

  1. Yeah, you got the #1 right!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you agree. It was an easy choice, though. ;)

      Delete
  2. I think you made the right choice. There isn't a bad movie in that bunch, and several are underrated. It's surprising to see how many forgettable movies received Best Picture nominations. Yikes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The top choice was the easiest one, as the other years tend to have some mediocre nominees. Haha. The Academy is very good at making those choices. I still can't believe The Blind Side was nominated.

      Delete
  3. I just realized that 2009 has two movies w/ the word 'UP' as nominees, ahah. I still don't know how Chicago won that year, I don't even remember much of it anymore. Of course I'm glad Gladiator won in 2000!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, and they're airborne in both "Up" films. :) I actually don't have a problem with Chicago winning, but it doesn't even make my 2002 top ten list. Always happy to see more support for Gladiator. :)

      Delete
  4. Great post. 2007 is easily the strongest. Whatta fantastic year. For me, 2001 might be the worst. Given what other films were released that year, I thought the Best Pic nominees could’ve been stronger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks man. Yeah, I like all of 2001's slate, but you make a good point. Plus, I was really surprised at how the years ended up in the rankings. It's hard to place them accurately. At least 2007 was a clear standout.

      Delete