Worst2First: My Top Ten Worst Films to be Nominated for an Oscar

Worst2First: 

My Top Ten Worst Films 

to be Nominated for an Oscar

The Academy Awards are the gold standard of cinema, the statuette that everyone in Hollywood pines for, and establishes the winner as the best of the best.

Yet, even the Academy can get it wrong, and here are ten films I feel shouldn't have been nominated for an Oscar, worst2first (the "first" being the least deserving).

**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**

#10

Sideways

The story of two men nearing middle age traveling the wine country of California is fine enough as it is, and the cast of Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen is decent enough, but when it's stacked up against fellow nominees "Ray," "Finding Neverland," "The Aviator" and winner "Million Dollar Baby," one has to wonder how it could've been included in such prestigious company.

#9

Seabiscuit

The Academy Awards are suckers for a true-story movie, which is why I figured they included "Seabiscuit" in their Best Picture nominees against heavyweights "Lost in Translation," "Master and Commander," "Mystic River" and winner "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."  Riding high off his success as Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire tackled this film about the famed Depression-era racehorse and the incredible odds it achieved to lift the country's spirits, but with a bloated runtime and dragged-out story, it's not worth the Oscar gold it could've won, despite Jeff Bridges.

#8

Gosford Park

Taken from any Agatha Christie novel, or the beloved board game Clue (or its subsequent cult classic film), "Gosford Park" is your general, run-of-the-mill murder mystery where everyone is a suspect and everyone has motive, but you find yourself not particularly caring about the result.  Boasting a tremendous cast including Michael Gambon, Ryan Phillippe, Kristin Scott Thomas, Clive Owen, and Charles Dance, the film went up against "In the Bedroom," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Moulin Rouge!" and winner "A Beautiful Mind" and lost tremendously.  The only really decent aspect of the film was the spark Maggie Smith started that led her to her outstanding performance in the "Downton Abby" series.

#7

Hugo

 When the Academy expanded their Best Picture list from five to ten, there was bound to be some on the list that shouldn't have been.  "Hugo" came along in at the 2011 Academy Awards, when there was nine films nominated for Best Picture, but this wasn't the only one that I feel didn't deserve it.  Martin Scorsese is out of his element here, trying to direct a family-friendly adventure film when he's best known for gangster films, and Sasha Baron Cohen doesn't do the movie any favors.  True, the performances of young leads Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz (along with supporting cast member Ben Kingsley) were enough to hold the film to a higher standard, it doesn't deserve a spot on the Best Picture nominees.

#6

Midnight in Paris

 Along with "Hugo," "Midnight in Paris" is another film that shouldn't have been nominated (in all honesty, 2011 should've had just five films nominated - "The Artist" (which won), "The Descendants," "The Help," "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life," but still with nine slots to fill they had to find something, and anything with the words "written and directed by Woody Allen" is sure to draw some attention.  Yet this film - about a man about to get married who travels to the 1920s at midnight in Paris - doesn't make sense, and is also led by Owen Wilson, who is better known for his raunchy comedies than prestigious pictures.  The film also stars Rachel McAdams (who starred with Wilson in aforementioned raunchy comedy "Wedding Crashers"), Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates, and Adrien Brody.

#5

Shakespeare in Love

 "Shakespeare in Love" is a film that would've been fine to have been nominated - it wasn't a bad film, wasn't great, but still could've squeaked by with a nomination - but the fact that it WON the Best Picture Oscar is something that probably shouldn't have happened, especially since it was up against titans "Elizabeth" and "Saving Private Ryan."  The tale of young William Shakespeare living out his own Romeo and Juliet story is filled with comedy, drama and everything you'd expect from a Shakespeare play, but it doesn't reach the greatness that Oscar demands, yet it still won seven awards.  The film stars Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow (who won the Best Actress Oscar for this film), Judi Dench (winner of Best Supporting Actress), Tom Wilkinson, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Ben Affleck.

#4

The English Patient

The Academy Awards love a period piece movie, and that's where "The English Patient" delivers.  The story of a man (Joseph Fiennes' brother Ralph) who loses his memory is filled with intrigue and action, but at an extremely boated runtime of almost three hours, it's very difficult to sit through and appreciate, even if it won nine Academy Awards including Best Picture (against "Fargo" and "Jerry Maguire").  

#3

Babe

I will never, ever, ever understand how the Academy could honor a film like this with a Best Picture nomination.  The film about a pig finding its place in a farm is cute enough for children to enjoy, and written just good enough for adults to stomach, but to place it on a pedestal with the likes of "Sense and Sensibility," "Il Postino," "Apollo 13" and winner "Braveheart" is beyond me.

#2

Crash

 The problem with huge ensemble pieces is that the actors rarely get the chance to fully perform to the best of their ability.  Thus is the problem with "Crash," which shouldn't have been nominated for Best Picture...yet alone WIN it against the likes of "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night and Good Luck," and "Munich."  A film about different Los Angeles citizens who come into contact with each other doesn't hit with the emotional resonance it should have, mostly due to the overly bloated cast including Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Daniel Dae Kim, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, Michael Pena and Ryan Phillippe all vying for screen time.

#1

The Godfather Part III

 "The Godfather" pedigree is nothing short of cinematic gold.  The first two films are regarded by pretty much everyone as the best films in modern history, both of which earning Oscar gold for Best Picture (a true rarity), so it should've been a no-brainer that the third part would also follow in its footsteps.  Unfortunately, the film was so terribly received and featured incredibly lackluster performances that most people don't even consider "The Godfather" to be a trilogy at all.  Its inclusion in the Best Picture category seemed more ceremonious than anything (how could you not throw a bone to a third movie where its other two won Best Picture?), and easily the worst film to ever be nominated for an Oscar.