13 Awesome 2015 Movies That Deserve Best Picture (But Won't Get Nominated)

Every year film buffs decry the Oscars as a nonsensical popularity contest won more by marketing than good filmmaking, and the very next year those same people tune in again only for the cycle to repeat itself. Yes, not every great movie can get nominated, but the Academy are a notoriously crusty bunch, often sticking to tried and tested "Oscar-bait" formula rather than rewarding movies that transcend this and try something different. These 13 movies are without question among the best films of the year and sure to be better than a number of movies which in fact end up being nominated, but because of their genre, small scale, difficult subject matter or one of a billion other reasons, they'll miss out on getting to compete for the little gold guy. One hoped after 2009's Dark Knight controversy that a new age would dawn for the Academy, but we're still not quite there, though if any of these films do somehow end up in the Best Picture line-up, it'd certainly be an encouraging sign indeed.

13. Mad Max: Fury Road

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97% (8.7/10 average score) Why It Deserves Best Picture: George Miller's exhilarating action flick is driven by a deceptively simple narrative that gives way to some of the best-crafted set-pieces in the history of the genre, not to mention a good deal of unexpected character development, especially as far as Charlize Theron's terrific Furiosa is concerned. It's simply incredible that a filmmaker of Miller's age is capable of cranking out a movie that thoroughly embarrasses younger, "hipper" directors half his age, a film crafted with a tremendous amount of patience and discipline, and transcending any expectation that it'd be nothing more than a vacuous chase film. On the list of the genre greats, there's T2, there's Aliens, there's The Dark Knight, Mad Max 2, and now Mad Max: Fury Road. Plus, given Miller's esteem with the older caste of directors, there should be quite a few passionate votes hurled the way of him and his film. If District 9 and Avatar can get nods, why not Mad Max? Why It Won't Get Nominated: Action films rarely get nominated because of the preconception that they don't have enough "substance", which in fairness is true most of the time. Even so, the stereotypically older quotient of voters (at least those who aren't directors who know Miller) may dislike the film's frenetic tone, its harsh violence, the fairly minimal (but not stupid) story, and ultimately not deem it "worthy" enough. Simply, it's not traditionally Oscar-baiting enough, no matter the near-universal acclaim it's received since release.