Oscars: What Should Have Won Best Picture 2000-2009

Welcome to part 8 of this exercise. As a reminder, we’re going through every year at the Oscars and looking at which film should’ve won Best Picture. I’m only sticking to the films that were nominated. I haven’t seen enough films from every year to choose from all available films, at least not yet.

Today we’re looking at the Academy Awards of the 2000s.

2000 – The Seventy-Third Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: Gladiator

What Should Have Won Best Picture: Traffic

What a year Steven Soderbergh had. Two films in Best Picture, double nominee in Director. It’s surprising one of his films did not win Best Picture till now. But, Gladiator could not be denied.

Also, odd that Ridley Scott did not win Best Director this year. It’s weird that there was a split given how successful Soderbergh’s films were and how much Gladiator was adored.

Traffic is a good film with flaws, but I feel that way about four of the nominees from this year. The good parts about Traffic are superb, especially Benicio Del Toro’s storyline. Although Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a strong contender, I almost chose that film.

Erin Brockovich is the other Soderbergh and is another good film from this lineup. Chocolate is Harvey Weinstein's garbage.

2001 – The Seventy-Fourth Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: A Beautiful Mind

What Should Have Won Best Picture: In the Bedroom

This three-year run was very hard to determine. Fellowship of the Ring is my favorite Lord of the Rings film. I only wanted to reward one of the three for the entire trilogy, as did the Academy. So it came down to whether I would rather have In the Bedroom as a Best Picture winner or Master and Commander.

I think In the Bedroom is closer in quality to Fellowship than Master and Commander is to Return of the King. In the Bedroom is Todd Field’s first film and a family drama masterpiece. If you want something as good as TAR but less abstract, check out In the Bedroom.

Gosford Park is a late great Altman film. A Beautiful Mind is signature Oscar bait and a boring film at that.

2002 – The Seventy-Fifth Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: Chicago

What Should Have Won Best Picture: The Hours

Chicago is a lot of fun but as for Best Picture, I don’t think it holds its own against the competition. The Hours is a film like Traffic that has flaws among its intertwining storylines. But the highs are very high.

The Two Towers is obviously excellent. Gangs of New York is a bit of a disappointment. However, when a four-star film is a disappointment, that’s pretty good. This entire lineup could be replaced with better films from this year.

My personal lineup would be 25th Hour, Adaptation, Far From Heaven, Hero, and Punch-Drunk Love.

2003 – The Seventy-Sixth Academy Awards

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

What Should Have Won Best Picture: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

I adore Peter Weir’s war epic Master and Commander. Old school filmmaking at its finest, and if Return of the King was not here it could’ve won. However, the Academy wanted rightfully to reward Peter Jackson's marvelous adaptation of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Return of the King is one of the greatest Best Picture winners ever and its amazing that a fantasy film actually won the top prize. The Academy is very Genre biased. Pretty great lineup overall. Seabiscuit is ok. Seems like there is always one film holding the entire lineup back from being great.

2004 – The Seventy-Seventh Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby

What Should Have Won Best Picture: Sideways

A lesser film year, not just from the Academy but overall. There is a lot of good genre stuff. The Aviator may be the most impressive and glossy film in the lineup. But Sideways is definitely the best film in the lineup.

Payne’s biting and cynical look at two men trying to enjoy wine country before one gets married. Paul Giamatti is stupendous; it’s a travesty that he was not nominated for Best Actor. No one makes films like Hal Ashby anymore, but Alexander Payne comes the closest with Sideways.

Million Dollar Baby is a bummer movie and a weird but not surprising Best Picture winner. Ray is a standard biopic. The Aviator is good but Scorsese’s 15th best film. Finding Neverland is plain bad and Johnny Depp’s nomination over Giamati’s should be a crime.

2005 – The Seventy-Eighth Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: Crash

What Should Have Won Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain

Widely considered one of the biggest Oscar travesties. Crash taking home the big prize, over Brokeback Mountain, but really beating all the other films in this lineup. At least three of them. Good Night, and Good Luck is a bit boring.

The Academy had the ability to signify where the country should go, and lead the progression with rewarding Brokeback Mountain. Instead, they rewarded a ham-fisted and misguided film about racism.

Brokeback Mountain is the best film from this year. Capote and Munich are both excellent as well. Either would’ve been a better winner than Crash and if either of them had won Crash would not be as hated as it is. But it just had to beat the superb Brokeback Mountain.

2006 – The Seventy-Ninth Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: The Departed

What Should Have Won Best Picture: The Departed

A weak lineup especially compared to some of the films that came out this year. It is hard to write unbiasedly so I won’t. The Departed is my favorite film. Marty is one of my favorite directors. Thanks to Marty, this film helped me realize there was a whole world of cinema out there.

I love this film deeply but understand it has flaws. I can understand why people wouldn’t give it Best Picture or think it is a lesser winner. But personally, I believe it is a top 30 winner all time.

I will say Little Miss Sunshine is very fun and The Queen is decent.

2007 – The Eightieth Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: No Country for Old Men

What Should Have Won Best Picture: There Will Be Blood

This is one of those years, where we all wish one of the other films had been released a year prior or after 2007. An astonishing Best Picture lineup sandwiched between two not-so-great ones. Of the two films above either would’ve walked with the top prize either in 2006 or 2008.

No Country for Old Men is excellent. But personally, I’d pick There Will Be Blood to win. Paul Thomas Anderson’s American epic is one of the best films of the 21st century. It’s titanic in stature but remains hilarious and gets funnier with every rewatch.

The rest of this lineup is great. Michael Clayton and Atonement. Juno maybe hasn’t aged great but is still a good movie.

2008 – The Eighty-First Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

What Should Have Won Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

A film that has not held up for me on rewatches. I cannot make a better case for Best Picture for any of the other films in this lineup. Frost/Nixon and The Reader aren’t very good. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is better than I remembered but I cannot make a great case for the film.

Milk is the only film that comes close to making an argument. However, there is something infectious about Slumdog Millionaire. It’s weird how long it took Hollywood to realize Dev Patel is what makes this film work.

2009 – The Eighty-Second Academy Awards

What Won Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

What Should Have Won Best Picture: Inglourious Basterds

The first year to go back to a 10-year lineup. Likely after the backlash of The Dark Knight missing in Best Picture the year prior. The full 10-film lineup would only last two years and then it shifts to a film needing at least 5% of the vote to receive a nomination. They would go back to a full 10 lineup in 2021.

The Hurt Locker is a brilliant tense war thriller. However, I want to give Best Picture to another Bigelow film in a few years. Not only that but Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino’s best film. I did not stutter. It is the best film he has ever made.

The script is sharp, and the performances are astounding, especially Oscar winner Christoph Waltz. Pulp Fiction is obviously more influential and “important” to film history. But Basterds is better.

Some other films worth recommending in the lineup: Avatar is better than you remember. A Serious Man is of the Coens’ best and my personal favorite. Up in the Air still holds up to this day and is one of George’s best performances.