They always get it wrong...

But sometimes they come close.

Couldn't be happier that the Academy was so good to Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth, and Martin Scorsese, and Ennio Morricone. Just desserts all around.

I don't know that The Departed was truly the best picture of the year, but since I still haven't seen Iwo Jima, I can't say for sure. But year after year, the Academy has shown incredible consistency in not giving the Oscar to the most deserving film. At least, not in my opinion:

2006 winner: Crash
My picks: Munich, Good Night and Good Luck, or Walk the Line

2005 winner: Million Dollar Baby
My picks: Sideways, Million Dollar Baby, or The Incredibles

2004 winner: Return of the King
My picks: Lost in Translation, Mystic River, or Finding Nemo

2003 winner: Chicago
My picks: Chicago, Far From Heaven, or Adaptation

2002 winner: A Beautiful Mind
My picks: In the Bedroom, Mulholland Dr., or Fellowship of the Ring

2001 winner: Gladiator
My picks: Almost Famous, Memento, or Chocolat

2000 winner: American Beauty
My picks: The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, or American Beauty
(I also have to mention the much-maligned and dismissed The Blair Witch Project, which I felt was a brilliantly innovative bit of filmmaking that put Hollywood horrors to shame.)

1999 winner: Shakespeare in Love
My picks: Saving Private Ryan, Life is Beautiful, or Pleasantville

1998 winner: Titanic
My picks: L.A. Confidential, Titanic, or Good Will Hunting

1997 winner: The English Patient
My picks: Fargo, Lone Star, or Trainspotting

So only 4 of the last 10 Best Picture winners were in my top 3 for the year, and only one was actually my first choice (Chicago). I'm sure if I went all the way back to 1929, those stats would remain about the same.

Of this year's choice, though, I won't complain. I hope Marty keeps making movies (and movies about making movies) forever.