Sunday, January 18, 2015

My Top 10 Least Favorite Best Picture Winners of All-Time

        Throughout the 86 years (this year's Oscars haven't happened yet) of The Oscars there have been some amazing films that were honored with the biggest prize of the night Best Picture. However there have been some films that have come along and surprisingly won the award when a lot of people thought that it should have gone to another movie(s). With that being said I'm going to bring you my top 10 undeserving best picture winners of all-time and the films that it won over for that particular year. so without further ado...





10. Dances with Wolves (1990)- won over Awakenings, Ghost, The Godfather Part III and Goodfellas
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        This film just has a really boring story, but I will give the film credit for being very beautiful and wonderfully directed, but the award should have gone to Goodfellas.  Union lieutenant John W. Dunbar (played by Kevin Costner) attempts to kill himself on a suicide mission, but instead becomes an unintentional hero. His actions lead to his reassignment to a remote post in remote South Dakota, where he encounters the Sioux. Attracted by the natural simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind to join them, taking on the name Dances with Wolves. Soon, Dances with Wolves has become a welcome member of the tribe and fallen in love with a white woman who has been raised amongst the tribe. His peaceful existence is threatened, however, when Union soldiers arrive with designs on the Sioux land. Dances with Wolves was nominated for 12 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Film Editing and Best Original Score while winning 7 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score) and it has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.




9. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)- won over Born of the 4th of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams and My Left Foot
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        This film just has another boring story and the acting is pretty bad plus it is very overrated and it did not deserve to win the award for Best Picture over the other four extraordinary films. Driving Miss Daisy affectionately covers the 25-year relationship between a wealthy, strong-willed Southern matron (played by Jessica Tandy) and her equally indomitable Black chauffeur, Hoke (played by Morgan Freeman). Both employer and employee are outsiders, Hoke because of the color of his skin, Miss Daisy because she is Jewish in a WASP-dominated society. At the same time, Hoke cannot fathom Miss Daisy's cloistered inability to grasp the social changes that are sweeping the South in the 1960s. Nor can Miss Daisy understand why Hoke's "people" are so indignant. It is only when Hoke is retired and Miss Daisy is confined to a home for the elderly that the two fully realize that they've been friends and kindred spirits all along. Driving Miss Daisy was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Makeup, Best costume Design, Best and Best Film Editing while winning 4 (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Makeup and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 81% percent on rottentomatoes.com.




8. Gandhi (1982)- won over E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Missing, Tootsie and The Verdict 
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        I actually like this movie, but the award should've have went to E.T..  Mohandas K. Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. Gandhi was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing while winning 8 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography) and it has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.




7. Chariots of Fire (1981)- won over Atlantic City, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Reds
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        This film has a lot of good intentions, but it just doesn't interest me and when you go up against films like Reds, Raiders of the Lost Ark and On Golden Pond you shouldn't win the award. Eric Liddell (played by Ian Charleson), a serious Christian Scotsman, believes that he has to succeed as a testament to his undying religious faith. Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross), is a Jewish Englishman who wants desperately to be accepted and prove to the world that Jews are not inferior. Chariots of fire was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score while winning 4 (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score) and it has a rating of 84% on rottentomatoes.com.




6. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)- won over The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader
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        Listen a lot of people like this film and some parts of the film I do too, but it shouldn't have won and it should've lost to a film that wasn't even nominated for Best Picture The Dark Knight. Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20-million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Intrigued by Jamal's story, the jaded police inspector begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the inspector and 60 million viewers are about to find out. Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score, two nominations for Best Original Song, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing while winning 8 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Score and Best Original Song




5. How Green was My Valley (1941)- won over Citizen Kane, Blossoms in the Dust, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Hold Back the Dawn, The Little Foxes, The Maltese Falcon, One Foot in Heaven, Sergeant York and Suspicion
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        Look when you win the award over a film (Citizen Kane) that a lot of people think is the greatest film of all-time you probably don't deserve the award. How Green Was My Valley revolves around the life of the Morgans, a Welsh mining family, as told through the eyes of its youngest child Huw (played by Roddy McDowall). Over the years, the family struggles to survive through unionization, strikes, and child abuse. As they do so, their hometown and its culture begins to slowly decline. Donald Crisp portrays Gwilym, the patriarch of the Morgan household, who dreams of a better life for young Huw. How Green Was My Valley was nominated for 10 Academy Award including Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score and Best Sound while winning 5 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction) and it has a rating of 89% on rottentomatoes.com.




4. Crash (2005)- won over Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck and Munich 
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        Look this film presents a strong political message, but this film had no business winning the award in 2005 over Capote, Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck and Munich. Graham (played by Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (played by Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (played by Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (played by Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (played by Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (played by Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (played by Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (played by Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (played by Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (played by Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (played by Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (played by Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family. Crash was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Song while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Original Screenplay and it has a rating of 75% on rottentomatoes.com.




3. Shakespeare in Love (1998)- won over Saving Private Ryan, Life is Beautiful, The Thin Red Line and Elizabeth
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        This is an interesting film, but it still undeservingly beat out one of the greatest films of all-time Saving Private Ryan. William Shakespeare (played by Joseph Fiennes) is on a cold streak. Not only is he writing for Philip Henslowe (played by Geoffrey Rush), owner of "The Rose," a theatre whose doors are about to be closed by sadistic creditors, but he's got a nasty case of writer's block. Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years. In fact, he hasn't written much of anything recently. Thus, the Bard finds himself in quite a bind when Henslowe, desperate to stave off another round of hot-coals-to-feet application, stakes The Rose's solvency on Shakespeare's new comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter." The problem is, "Romeo" is safely "locked away" in Shakespeare's head, which is to say that not a word of it is written. Meanwhile, the lovely Lady Viola (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) is an ardent theatre-goer -- scandalous for a woman of her breeding -- who especially admires Shakespeare's plays and, not incidentally, Bill himself. Alas, she's about to be sold as property into a loveless marriage by her mercenary father and shipped off to a Virginia tobacco plantation. But not before dressing up as a young man and winning the part of Romeo in the embryonic play. Shakespeare soon discovers the deception and goes along with it, using the blossoming love affair to ignite his muse. As William and Viola's romance grows in intensity and spirals towards its inevitable culmination, so, too, does the farcical comedy about Romeo and pirates transform into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare in Love was nominated for 13 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Original Score and Best Original Screenplay while winning 7 (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.




2. Chicago (2002)- won over The Pianist, Gangs of New York, The Hours and The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
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        This film is so overrated and it did not deserve to win the award over The Pianist, Gangs of New York, The Hours and The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers. n the mid-'20s, Roxie Hart (played by Renee Zellweger) is a small-time chorus dancer married to a well-meaning dunderhead named Amos (played by John C. Reilly). Roxie is having an affair on the side with Fred Casley (played by Dominic West), a smooth talker who insists he can make her a star. However, Fred strings Roxie along a bit too far for his own good, and when she realizes that his promises are empty, she becomes enraged and murders Fred in cold blood. Roxie soon finds herself behind bars alongside Velma Kelly (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones), a sexy vaudeville star who used to perform with her sister until Velma discovered that her sister had been sleeping with her husband. Velma shot them both dead, and, after scheming prison matron "Mama" Morton hooks Velma up with hotshot lawyer Billy Flynn (played by Richard Gere), Velma becomes the new Queen of the scandal sheets. Roxie is just shrewd enough to realize that her poor fortune could also bring her fame, so she convinces Amos to also hire Flynn. Soon Flynn is splashing Roxie's story -- or, more accurately, a highly melodramatic revision of Roxie's story -- all over the gutter press, and Roxy and Velma are soon battling neck-to-neck over who can win greater fame through the headlines. Chicago was nominated for 13 Academy awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, two nominations for Best Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Song while winning 6 (Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing) and it has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.




1. Forrest Gump (1994)- won over The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral and Quiz Show
Film poster with an all-white background, and a park bench (facing away from the viewer) near the bottom. A man wearing a white suit is sitting on the right side of the bench and is looking to his left while resting his hands on both sides of him on the bench. A suitcase is sitting on the ground, and the man is wearing tennis shoes. At the top left of the image is the film's tagline and title, and at the bottom is the release date and production credits.

        Listen I know a lot of you all love this film and I am going to get a lot of hate for it, but this is my least favorite film of all-time and out of the five nominees that were nominated that year I would rank it 5th and I would have given the award to either The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction. Despite his sub-normal IQ, Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) leads a truly charmed life, with a ringside seat for many of the most memorable events of the second half of the 20th century. Entirely without trying, Forrest teaches Elvis Presley to dance, becomes a football star, meets John F. Kennedy, serves with honor in Vietnam, meets Lyndon Johnson, speaks at an anti-war rally at the Washington Monument, hangs out with the Yippies, defeats the Chinese national team in table tennis, meets Richard Nixon, discovers the break-in at the Watergate, opens a profitable shrimping business, becomes an original investor in Apple Computers, and decides to run back and forth across the country for several years. Meanwhile, as the remarkable parade of his life goes by, Forrest never forgets Jenny (played by Robin Wright Penn), the girl he loved as a boy, who makes her own journey through the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s that is far more troubled than the path Forrest happens upon. Forrest Gump was nominated for 13 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Original Score and Best Makeup while winning 6 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 71% on rottentomatoes.com.

     

        So ladies and gentlemen what are some of the films that you think were undeserving of winning the Best Picture Oscar and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

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