Looking back over the previous Oscar winners for Best Picture since 2000, the start of a new century (and a new millennium), I find myself wondering sometimes what the hell the Academy was thinking. It’s no secret I disagree with the Academy a lot, but I can also admit that when they get it right, they get it right.
But since 2000, their Best Pic choices have run the gamut from incredibly ridiculous, “Gladiator” and “A Beautiful Mind” being just goofy, to bang on, with “The Departed” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” I am told the Academy is moving in a more progressive direction, willing to take more risks, and I suppose some of these winners do just that. But they could have gone further.
Year by year, here’s a quick look, with some thoughts about who might have won, and who should have at least been nominated…