Kathryn Bigelow, the first female to win Best Director, directs a scene in The Hurt Locker (2009)

The 82nd Academy Awards for the film year of 2009.  The nomination were announced on 2 February 2010 and the awards were held on 7 March 2010.

Best Picture:  The Hurt Locker

  • Inglourious Basterds
  • A Serious Man
  • An Education
  • Up
  • Up in the Air
  • District 9
  • Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
  • Avatar
  • The Blind Side

Most Surprising Omission:  Invictus

Best Eligible Film Not Nominated:  Broken Embraces

Best Eligible English Language Film Not Nominated:  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Rank  (out of 82) Among Best Picture Years:  #24 (more…)

Leo, with my city in the background.

The 79th annual Academy Awards for the film year 2006.  The nominations were announced on January 23, 2007 and the awards were held on February 25, 2007.

Best Picture:  The Departed

  • The Queen
  • Babel
  • Letters from Iwo Jima
  • Little Miss Sunshine

Most Surprising Omission:  Dreamgirls

Best Eligible Film Not Nominated:  Children of Men

Rank (out of 82) Among Best Picture Years:  #23 (more…)

A trio of Oscar winners for Million Dollar Baby: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hillary Swank.

The 77th annual Academy Awards, for the film year 2004.  The nominations were announced on 25 January 2005 and the awards were held on 27 February 2005.

Best Picture:  Million Dollar Baby

  • The Aviator
  • Sideways
  • Finding Neverland
  • Ray

Most Surprising Omission:  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Eligible Film Not Nominated:  A Very Long Engagement

Best Eligible English-Language Film Not Nominated:  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Rank (out of 84) Among Best Picture Years:  #12 (more…)

I think we have firmly established that I have a thing for Cate Blanchett.

My Top 20:

  1. The Aviator
  2. A Very Long Engagement
  3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  4. Sideways
  5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  6. House of Flying Daggers
  7. Closer
  8. Million Dollar Baby
  9. The Incredibles
  10. Kill Bill Volume 2
  11. Silver City
  12. Hero
  13. Hotel Rwanda
  14. Spider-Man 2
  15. Kinsey
  16. Bad Education
  17. Finding Neverland
  18. Vera Drake
  19. Mar Adentro
  20. Shrek 2

(more…)

You shall not pass! Unless you give me 11 Oscars.

The 73rd annual Academy Awards, for the film year 2003.  The nominations were announced on 27 January 2004 and the awards were held on February 29, 2004.

Best Picture:  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

  • Mystic River
  • Lost in Translation
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  • Seabiscuit

Most Surprising Omission:  Cold Mountain

Best Eligible Film Not Nominated:  City of God

Best Eligible English-Language Film Not Nominated:  In America

Rank (out of 84) Among Best Picture Years:  #4

(more…)

“I am no man.” The reason that Thomas would have been Eowyn had he been a girl. And you only think I’m kidding.

My Top 20:

  1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  2. Mystic River
  3. Lost in Translation
  4. City of God
  5. In America
  6. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  7. Finding Nemo
  8. Kill Bill Volume 1
  9. A Mighty Wind
  10. Whale Rider
  11. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  12. American Splendor
  13. The Station Agent
  14. Dirty Pretty Things
  15. The Triplets of Belleville
  16. Nowhere in Africa
  17. Tokyo Godfathers
  18. The Barbarian Invasions
  19. The Last Samurai
  20. Divine Intervention

(more…)

Just because the Academy gave him an Oscar doesn't mean he will do well on these lists.

So what is this?  This is the start of the in-depth look at every director who has ever been nominated by the Academy Awards for Best Director, ranked.  I already gave the bare bones version of the final list, though, as with all my lists, as I see more movies, they can fluctuate.  Here I will explain how all my points systems are derived (which I already did once here, for My Top 100 2.0 Intro, but I am doing again because there are lists here specific to these directors) and I will give various lists of the best and worst directors in the various categories.

Soon, this will be followed by various in-depth looks at each director, probably in groups of 25 or so, which will be interspersed between all my other posts, because they take a while to do.  So, here we go.

Here is how my points system is derived:

There are 10 categories.  There are a maximum of 100 points in any one category.  In some categories, it is not possible to earn all 100 points.  In others, you can earn much more, but I cut you off at 100.  Below, I list all 10 categories, with a brief description of how I derive the points and the Top and Bottom 10 for each category for the Academy Award nominated directors.  A brief note: I have mathematical value I apply to all films, and to the quality of various aspects of the film (direction being one).  Without it, there is no good way to do this list, other than the last category.  So, if you don’t like that, abandon all hope ye who enter here. (more…)

the title shot of Schindler's List (1993)

My Top 20:

  1. Schindler’s List
  2. The Age of Innocence
  3. In the Name of the Father
  4. Much Ado About Nothing
  5. A Perfect World
  6. The Remains of the Day
  7. The Nightmare Before Christmas
  8. Shadowlands
  9. Three Colors: Blue
  10. In the Line of Fire
  11. Menace II Society
  12. The Wedding Banquet
  13. Short Cuts
  14. Jurassic Park
  15. Groundhog Day
  16. The Piano
  17. The Snapper
  18. Like Water for Chocolate
  19. The Fugitive
  20. The Heroic Trio

(more…)

"We all got it coming, kid."

The 65th annual Academy Awards for the film year 1992.

Best Picture:  Unforgiven

  • The Crying Game
  • Howards End
  • A Few Good Men
  • Scent of a Woman

Most Surprising Omission:  The Player

Best Film Not Nominated:  Last of the Mohicans

Rank (out of 82) Among Best Picture Years:  #30

note:  If the Academy had nominated The Player instead of Scent of a Woman this year would rank #5.

(more…)

Clint Eastwood gives the best performance of his career in Unforgiven (1992)

My Top 20:

  1. Unforgiven
  2. The Crying Game
  3. Last of the Mohicans
  4. The Player
  5. Howards End
  6. Reservoir Dogs
  7. Raise the Red Lantern
  8. Singles
  9. Flirting
  10. Aladdin
  11. Bob Roberts
  12. A Few Good Men
  13. Malcolm X
  14. Hard Boiled
  15. Husbands and Wives
  16. A River Runs Through It
  17. Enchanted April
  18. Proof
  19. The Match Factory Girl
  20. Glengarry Glenn Ross

(more…)

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