In all of its categories, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences does not always get it right. Including and especially Best Picture, whose winners have been the subject of numerous debates over the years. A movie can go wrong for a variety of reasons, and upsets happen. It could be offensive, inaccurate historically, produced by The Weinstein Company (or someone else whose reputation causes viewers discomfort), or simply boring. It could be any one of the four, and a movie may also have other issues that prevent it from ageing as well as its critics claim. However, for the purposes of this list, let's concentrate on boring. Poor pacing, characters the audience does not identify with, a failure to suspend disbelief, and other factors can all contribute to a story's dull appearance.
A ceremony that is so important to people's careers and American culture—to the point where even the speeches of the winners can cause controversy—has an inconsistent track record when it awards its top prize. However, just because a film appears to be too boring to win Best Picture or any other Oscar does not mean that it is boring in general. It might even be a pretty good movie, but it shouldn't be considered the year's best, like No Country for Old Men and Parasite.
10. "The King's Speech" from 2010
Most of the time, a movie about royalty has people competing for power, fighting wars, or telling a story with big goals. This one is about a future king practicing his public speaking skills, not The King's Speech. There might not be the greatest stakes in the world. Now, it's true that the speech he has to give at the end will be about Great Britain declaring war on Germany in 1939, so that's a big deal. In addition, it's not often that we see movies about how to overcome stammering.
Geoffrey Rush plays the speech therapist, Colin Firth plays the Duke of York (who will play King George VI), and Helena Bonham Carter plays the Duchess of York (who will play Queen Elizabeth). Also, this historical drama is very well made, so it's not like it got 12 Oscar nominations for no reason. It also did exceptionally well at the box office. However, the question remains: has The King's Speech been viewed as many times as some of its fellow Best Picture nominees—Black Swan, The Fighter, The Social Network, Winter's Bone, and Toy Story 3—? Most likely not.
9. 'CODA' (2021)
The movie CODA isn't bad, but it's very, very predictable. Ruby, portrayed by Emilia Jones, is a senior in high school who has to deal with insecurities, school bullying, embarrassing parents, professional issues that interfere with her plans for college, and boy trouble. We've all seen this before, but not as a child of deaf adults (unless you've seen La Famille Bélier, the French-Belgian film it is based on).
The film succeeds in being both funny and a little touching due to the nuances of living in a family of deaf people. These tropes of coming-of-age narrative bring much-needed freshness to them all. It would have been better at both if some of these story beats didn't end so quickly or if certain scenes didn't feel like they were made up by the script. For example, Ruby's family watching her audition from the balcony is a little too much, even though they're so warm and welcoming.
8. "The Hurt Locker" from 2008
While Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars with The Hurt Locker, the film has also become one of the most contentious war movies ever due to its depiction of an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) during the Iraq War. Although Jeremy Renner gives an excellent performance as Staff Sergeant William James, veterans have criticized the Best Picture winner for numerous inaccuracies. This does not imply that the film is in any way flawed, nor that it is the only war film to sacrifice specifics for dramatic effect (not really). However, it makes it more difficult to take some of it seriously.
When the main character is trying to defuse a bomb that the audience knows won't kill him (the movie isn't even close to being over yet), it's hard to build that much tension. As a result, the film is most effective as a study of addiction, particularly the experience of a veteran who is dissatisfied with civilian life in comparison to the high stakes of his craft. When you add in the fact that this movie takes a little longer than two hours and ten minutes, especially because of the overdone ending, it doesn't feel like a war movie you should watch multiple times.
7. "Nomadland" (2020)
Frances McDormand plays a woman who moves out of Nevada because of financial difficulties and drives across the country in a van in Nomadland. With her performance, McDormand won Best Actress, and Chloé Zhao made history by becoming the second woman and first person of color to win Best Director. Their acclaim is due, and the film absolutely deserves the greatest credit for its realism. Because there isn't much to the story, the movie feels longer than it needs to be. It often has the impression that Nomadland is attempting to be a documentary about people living in their vehicles, which can be both positive and negative at times. It's not the most eye-catching road movie to watch our protagonist cook, eat, use the bathroom, and drive around.
6. 2001's "A Beautiful Mind"
One of the most disturbing Best Picture winners is unquestionably A Beautiful Mind, and this is largely due to the premise of the film. It tells the story of a brilliant mathematician who battles paranoid schizophrenia. Russell Crowe gives a very convincing performance, which helps us better understand someone whose life is so severely impacted by this condition. However, the generic score emphasizes that it is presented in Ron Howard's rather conventional, sentimental, and crowd-pleasing style. Despite its subject, A Beautiful Mind still feels like a generic biopic about a socially awkward genius who overcomes significant obstacles with the help of his wife, Jennifer Connelly. Overall, it's a good movie, but it won in a year that might not have been the best for the Academy.
5. "Green Book" (2018)
Green Book somehow won the Academy Award for Best Picture in the same category two years after Moonlight did. While Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen disappear into their characters, the story itself is very formulaic, repetitive, and the themes are not at all subtle. A gay, wealthy, and extremely educated Black man and a racist Italian man who can barely write travel together through the deep South and become friends. This movie is about class as much as it is about race, oversimplifying both to the point where we are aware, before they even begin their road trip, that every obstacle will be overcome quickly. A happy conclusion is certain.
4. "The Shape of Water"
The Shape of Water by Guillermo del Toro is bizarre in a way that is more confusing than it is interesting. Why do gory images and scenes of masturbation appear in a film that is so fairy tale-like and nostalgic? Even though it has good performances and is strange, that does not make it interesting. The Shape of Water is a very Oscar-bait-y love letter to cinema because the main character, played by Sally Hawkins, is a mute woman who enjoys tap dancing and old movies.
It is difficult for this story to feel relatable or to let things sink in because the editing feels rushed and its characters are portrayed in an unrealistic emotional register. Guillermo del Toro has always made weird things, but this one isn't as charming as it should be. It's more of an experiment with ideas and style than anything else. It was nominated for 13 Oscars and won four of them, beating out better movies like Call Me By Your Name, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, and more for Best Picture. However, most people just think of it as the movie where a woman falls in love with a fish at this point.
3. 'Crash' (2004)
Crash tells a number of stories about a variety of Los Angeles residents, making it easily one of the worst Best Picture nominees ever. As the movie progresses, their prejudices will all be challenged, and the characters' stories will converge in both large and small ways. Despite the fact that Crash was shot on location and attempts to present realistic depictions of a diverse city's inhabitants, the story and message are unsuccessful due to the screenplay's frustratingly contrived nature. In a similar vein, the viewer loses interest in both the message it conveys about the human condition and this shoddy excuse for a plot.
2. "Chicago" from 2002
It is extremely difficult to capture on film the charm of a stage musical. Naturally, the best musical movies make it look easy, and one would expect a Best Picture winner based on a well-known play like Chicago. Sadly, Chicago always has the impression of being merely stage adaptation. Roxie Hart, played by Renée Zellweger, kills her lover after he rejects her. It's funny how she tells the police she would kill him again, but the movie feels too far removed from the action for the musical's humor to even come close to being funny.
1. "The Artist," from 2011
Because, of course, they did, many critics and the Academy adored The Artist. Movies that pay homage to other movies, particularly older ones, are wildly popular in Hollywood. All of it screams Silent Era: the silly and overused music, dancing, gags (like dancing behind a screen so we can only see her feet), black-and-white, and melodramatic story. Or, to put it another way, gestures at it, but not in a way that suggests that The Artist even intends to distinguish itself from any of those works.
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