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There have been 82 Academy Awards presentations. During these lavish ceremonies, almost 2,800 recipients have been given 1,825 Oscars. Obviously, no one is going to make 1,825 consecutive correct decisions. The Academy has gotten it wrong once or twice. In this column, we place some of their choices in the spotlight, revealing films and performances that got the shaft in a big, bad way.

Over the past 13 years, James Cameron has had a habit of making record-breaking, cutting-edge and award-winning movies. Because of that, it is easy to forget that before his quest to raise the Titanic, prove the white race is the key to inspiring savages, push a green agenda with his heavy hand, and be the most arrogant man in the world, that Cameron made loud action flicks. The Terminator and Aliens remain two of the best action movies of the 1980s, not to mention his inspiring Piranha Two: The Spawning, which is only now getting a follow-up this summer. By the time 1989 came around, it was clear that Cameron had Oscar and tales of humanity in mind with his release of The Abyss; however, it would be with 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day that Cameron was able to successfully mold both story and action spectacle into one complete experience. Of course, aside from four Academy Award wins for its still breathtaking effects, sound and editing, Oscar did not recognize Cameron or the film.

Judgment Day's omission from the awards scene comes as no surprise, being that it is a loud, science-fiction/action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong. However, with the newly expanded field of ten, it's not difficult to imagine T2 being a Best Picture nominee. Also, given the front-loading nature of blockbuster movies of the last decade and the success of The Dark Knight, Iron Man, the Twilight Series and even Cameron's own Avatar, it is also easy to forget how successful Judgment Day was as a two and ahalf hour violent action movie. Grossing just over $200 million, T2 easily won the box office crown of 1991. That an effects laden violent movie can beat a Disney classic (Beauty and the Beast) by about $60 million speaks the immense popularity of the film. Even at seven-years-old, I tried to get my parents to bring me to this "cool" movie, which was rejected swiftly. Judgment Day, like the later Titanic and Avatar, was the box office behemoth of the year and given its terrific pacing, cutting edge graphics and even a compelling story, it should have had more awards attention.

The use of ILM is still breathtaking, with effects that even trump most of today's fantasy and action movies. Stan Winston also contributed prosthetic effects to help create the T-1000, one of most visually memorable villains of the last 20 years. Of course, the movie's two most memorable sequences don't even require computer enhancement. Two extended chase sequences help bookend the movie and establish that protecting and destroying John Connor are the ultimate missions of the hero and villain. Given the inevitable event that is Judgment Day, collateral damage is acceptable, and a little mass destruction is always welcome in a movie starring Schwarzenegger. Of course the movie doesn't stop with the storm drain chase and a liquid nitrogen truck, Cameron throws in a tense escape from a mental hospital and a siege at Cyberdyne (the company "responsible" for Judgment Day).

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