"American Beauty"   "The Cider House Rules"   "The Green Mile"   "The Insider"   "The Sixth Sense"

Best picture

The nominees: "American Beauty," "The Cider House Rules," "The Green Mile," "The Insider," and "The Sixth Sense."

Nominating "The Green Mile" is an embarrassing cop-out, not to mention preposterous. It's at least an hour too long, panders to the very lowest common denominator (big, scary people are actually really nice and can perform miracles!), and its hard to tell exactly what it's about. How the Academy had the good sense not to nominate its director, Frank Darabont, is beyond me.

"American Beauty" will probably win, but if "The Cider House Rules" manages to steal it, they should just start shipping a mold and some gold to Miramax every year and let them make their own Oscars. Again, "The Sixth Sense" is the strongest one of the bunch, and it almost certainly doesn't stand a chance.

My vote: "The Sixth Sense."

Where are they? "Boys Don't Cry," "Three Kings," and, while we're at it, "The Iron Giant." It's time for the Academy to stop scoffing at dazzling animated films and give them their own category.

Special note: If Darabont wins for his sloppy, unfocused screenplay for "The Green Mile," he should not only thank God during his acceptance speech, he should join the priesthood. » Return to main story