Oscars 2015: Ranking The Best Picture Nominees From Worst To Best

7. Selma

One of the most widely covered Oscar snubs was that of Selma, this year's late-in-the-day contender, which bagged a Best Picture nod, but missed out on Best Director. Actually watching the movie it's hard to see what all the fuss is about. Well, until you see who directed it. Yes, it's terrible that in 2015 Hollywood is still dominated by white men, but it's not the Oscar's fault if that's who they nominate - the problem is systematic with the studios, rather than those praising the eventual output. Had they nominated Ava DuVernay it would be because she's a black woman, not because she was one of the year's five best directors, which is insulting in its own right. At the end of the day, Selma is fine. That's it. It's a simple dramatisation of a chapter of Martin Luther King's life with a good, if not Keaton-bothering performance from David Oyelowo at its heart, that isn't hurt too badly by an obnoxious recurring cameo from producer Oprah Winfrey. If you've seen biopics of key political figures before, you know what to expect and DuVernay doesn't do much to subvert expectations. The unanimous praise Selma has received is thus perplexing, but the film doesn't do enough wrong to make it worth getting worked up about. What Selma really has going for it is that it got there first. There hasn't been a Martin Luther King dramatisation and thus this one can carry all the high emotion of the fight for equal rights at the fore.