10 "Important" Movies Nobody Actually Likes

The Oscar winning film by Paul Haggis is the second entry on this list where its script was constructed over a weekend. The idea came to Haggis after he and his wife were carjacked, with the angry writer/director using the film as a kind of extended therapy session. What follows next is a mish mash of stereotypes, with the 'bad black guys' actually turning out to be good while the 'bad white guys' are actually, well they're still bad.

While Haggis no doubt went into this film with the right intentions, trying to justify in his head why the shocking crime had occurred to him rather than just being angry, he sadly overcompensates and makes the too easy decision of making every white character a racist. The exploration of characters from Persian, Korean, African American and Mexican is all quite nuanced, but when even the one nice white guy ends up murdering someone, the audience is just left scratching their heads.

The film may have been just a half decent affair that was worth a look on cable, but the staggering decision by the academy to give it a Best Picture Oscar has forever placed it in the category of cinematic infamy.