Oscars 2015: 10 Outrageous Decisions That Are Completely Wrong

5. Life Itself Ignored For Best Documentary

Inevitably, the short films and documentary sections of the Oscars is counted as something of the undercard to the main event, but it's still a hugely prestigious thing to come away with the validation of the Academy's official praise. The fact that Roger Ebert's documentary - in other words the appraisal of arguably the most celebrated critic ever - should be overlooked for even a nomination suggests that even they don't particularly value how anyone sees their "secondary" categories. The film currently sits on 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, with ringing endorsements from most critics who've seen it (and they're a fickle, treacherous bunch at the best of times when it comes to celebrating competition). Perhaps it's a little romanticised, a little sycophantic in its vision, but that doesn't make it any more of a brilliant film. Why It Went Wrong... But really, would the Academy recognise the value of criticism? Isn't the idea of lauding someone whose chief job was to turn the mirror on the film-makers' failings as much as celebrating their successes? If you're wondering, the answer to that is no.