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In 1990, Goodfellas would lose to Dances With Wolves, directed by its star, Kevin Costner. In 2004, The Aviator lost to Million Dollar Baby, directed by its star, Clint Eastwood. True, not every one of Scorsese's films lost to a film written or directed by an actor, but the pattern is just a bit disturbing. Yes, Scorsese's first Best Picture and Best Director Oscar did finally come, but The Departed is no Raging Bull, despite it being a great movie. There's no denying that, Oscar or not, Raging Bull is regarded as a classic. Still, it'd be nice to have seen the film walk away with Oscar at the big award.

A Fish Called Wanda

Seeing as it's one of the best comedies of the past 25 years (and you have seen it, right?), A Fish Called Wanda deservedly walked away with an Oscar, awarded to Kevin Kline for his sterling supporting work in the film as Otto, a vicious American with a penchant for misinterpreting Friedrich Nietzsche - just don't call him stupid. However, the film's deliriously complex script, by Monty Python veteran John Cleese and Charles Crichton, only got nominated for Best Original Screenplay, losing out to Rain Man. Yes, the latter film is heartwarming and has great performances. What Rain Man does not have is a scene where one man tortures another by eating his pet fish. "What do you call this one? I think I'll call him lunch. Hello, lunch! Hello! Oh...ooh. Don't try the green ones, they're not ripe yet".

If you know A Fish Called Wanda, you're not just laughing, but you can picture the scene, as Kline mischievously chomps on little fish while a stuttering Michael Palin, with French fries stuck up his nose, whimpers and moans as his pets meet the same gruesome end. Despite having a wicked sense of humor, the script by Cleese and Crichton is brilliant, even when it provides the main characters with a not completely deserved happy ending. Who's going to complain if the guy gets the girl (despite the age difference), if the stutterer gets over his speech impediment, and the loutish American gets what's coming to him? A Fish Called Wanda is one of the more brilliant comedies, and should have gotten that writing Oscar.

Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb

Dr. Strangelove is well-known as one of the all-time great satires, showing us the weirdest and worst of what would happen if a nuclear bomb was let loose in the world. Despite not being content with playing one character, Peter Sellers dominates the film by playing three characters (and it was nearly four), including the title character, an ex-Nazi working with the Americans, even though he might prefer the aftermath of a nuclear bomb. Sellers was justly nominated for Best Actor in 1964; unfortunately, he lost out to Rex Harrison, as Henry Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady. I won't deny liking the latter film, and Harrison's performance; however, if I'm meant to choose which man delivered the better performance, I'll take Sellers any day of the week.

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