2002

Best Picture Nominees:

Chicago *
Gangs of New York
The Hours
Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers
The Pianist

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Chicago - This is based on the 1975 musical with an all-star cast.  This was also a true musical but with movie stars who can sing as opposed to an updated version of the stage show.

Gangs of New York - An historical epic about the gangs of New York, with extremely hammy performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo diCaprio.  Fortunately, it did not win any Academy Awards.

The Hours - Based on a novel of the same name, this movie follows three ladies in different times of history reading Mrs. Dalloway.  Well-acted by big name actresses, but largely forgettable years later.

Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers - Just one year later, the second film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Few multi-film series end up being released so quickly between each other and have such success.  This is probably my least favorite of the three, but still love all the movies in this entire series.  This was the highest grossing movie of 2002, probably because there was no Harry Potter film this year.

The Pianist - This is the story of a Jewish pianist from Poland who survives World War II mostly by hiding and through special favors.  It was directed by Roman Polanski (who, regrettably won Best Director), who has been hiding out in Europe for 40 years after serving just 42 days after raping a 13-year old.  Other than meeting my "obligations," I avoid Roman Polanski movies as I do not like to support rapists.

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My rankings of the Best Picture nominees:

1.  Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers
2.  Chicago
3.  The Hours
4.  The Pianist
5.  Gangs of New York