What If The Oscars Had Ten Best Picture Nominees In Years Past?

For fun, I decided to take my hand at imagining what the Best Picture race at the Oscars would have looked if there had been ten nominees in years past. Yes, these are the things I think of as "fun" in my head. I decided to do from 1998-2008 since I really didn't follow the Oscar race as intensely in years before, but not to say I don't ever see myself not taking a look at years prior to.

I've listed the five films that were nominated for that year with the five possible nominees following after.

1998

** denotes the winner.

Elizabeth
**Shakespeare in Love**
Life Is Beautiful
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line

Gods And Monsters
The Truman Show
Out of Sight
Primary Colors
A Simple Plan

The Truman Show was the only one that was seen as a major snub, as Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey also failed to get a acting nomination.

Best Movies of 2009

Living in the Midwest, I usually have to wait longer for a lot of the year-end prestige pictures to open in my area. While critics in Los Angeles and New York have the luxury of being able to catch movies that open in limited release before going nationwide within a calendar year, an average guy such as myself who happens to be a film lover can't fully complete a list of what the best pictures of the year are until much later. Add to that a modest budget and time can pass quickly before I've seen everything on my wish list. Which is why I'm finally doing best films of 2009 list more than two months into 2010. I figure that a list such as this still has relevance as long as it's before this Sunday's Oscars. So here it is. My favorite movies of 2009.

1. Ponyo

This marks the third consecutive year that an animated movie has topped my list. I think it goes to show just how great a period it is right now for animation. All three films were unique in their tone and subject matter and further proves just how diverse the field has become, from the moments of grimness in 2007's Persepolis to 2008's Wall-E with its patient and expressive storytelling style and to my favorite film of 2009, Ponyo, that mixed dazzling visuals with pure emotion in the way that director Hayao Miyazaki has made his career on.