20 Best & Worst Movies From 2017 Oscar Nominees

Best: The Lord Of The Rings (2001-03)

Okay, so maybe it's a cheat to count all three of Peter Jackson's astounding Middle Earth epics, but they form one narrative, and frankly, the best way to view them is in a single binge-session.

Mortensen's Aragorn is the real heroic centre of the films, and while Frodo's personal journey is captivating, when the narrative moves away from Aragorn's adventures with Gimli and Legolas it is a poorer experience. He is regal, attractive in a way that transcends mere aesthetics and it's impossible to think of anyone else taking on the role quite so well.

And even more than a decade on, the films stand up to even the most cynical fan scrutiny, which is the mark of their true brilliance.

Worst: On The Road (2012)

Unfortunately, the adaptation of the unadaptable seminal Jack Kerouac novel did little more than confirming the fact that it couldn't and shouldn't make a movie. Mortensen isn't terrible by any means, but he's just not in it enough and he floats in inconsequentially, stuttering under the weight of the film's self-importance and despicable self-congratulation.

You didn't go and see it for a very good reason.