The Real Best Pictures

Why let the Academy do all the talking? Vote for your favorites, now!

In one our typical Monday morning quarterback sessions after the Oscars, the Lunch Gang decided that we could come up with better picks than those "experts". And who hasn't said the same thing?

In the first place, they vote on these things way too soon. Does the Hall of Fame vote in a player the day he hangs up his cleats? No. They wait five years to assess his true impact on the game. Compared to that, the Academy is voting on players that just finished their rookie season!

Maybe A Beautiful Mind will turn out to be one of the most influential pictures of all time. It might have even been the best picture of 2001. But if you are asked to name the Best Picture from 1990, would you pick Dances with Wolves or Goodfellas? (There are worse comparisons. Trust me.)

So, here's Insane Project #437: Oscar Do-Overs. Therein, you will find a list of nominees for each year (including a selection of films made before the Academy began handing out statues in 1927). Criteria for a movie making the list were:

Best Picture winner

Best Picture nominee

Top 10 in IMDB voting for Best Picture with at least as good an average rating as the worst Academy nominee (min. 1000 votes)

Box Office Top 10 with at least as good an IMDB rating as the worst Academy nominee

IMDB Top 250 Entry

Jeems 100 Entry

I realize that a bazillion more movies could be added to the list. Especially in years where the Academy got their nominees from the cream of the crop (1972 and 2000, for example), some good movies got left off the list (Cast Away comes to mind.) But, hey, whaddya do? If it were a perfect system, you wouldn't have anything to argue about!

50 Greatest Cartoon Characters

We're just gearing up to replace the lame-wad TV Guide list. Hop on over to Greatest Cartoons and see.

South Park Studio

Sweeeet

Too cool for words. So, I'll just let pictures do the talking. Head to my BLOG to see the results of the South Park Studio character generator. Yes, you too can be one of those delightful scamps! Oh, those kids...

Favorite Shows on NPR

NPR is more than classical music.

Mention public broadcasting and most people stare blankly, as though expecting a four-hour lecture on the mating habits of the tse-tse fly. Couple that with the fact that NPR is usually broadcast on the same stations that carry classical or jazz (not the fave choice of most young persons), and it's no wonder people have never heard of some of the best shows ever produced--not just the best radio shows, the best shows period.

A Prairie Home Companion - Garrison Keillor's show is my absolute favorite!

Car Talk - the Magliozzi Brothers have one of the funniest shows around (sometimes they even talk about cars).

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! - who knew the news could be so funny?

This American Life - a documentary show for people who hate documentaries (hard to describe).

All Things Considered - the afternoon news program that covers more than just the normal news.

The Capitol Steps - biting political parody from current and former Congressional staffers.

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