Yet another example of why the Academy sucks

Rating: 2/10 (7 June 2002)

A Beautiful Mind was not the Best Picture of the year. I'm sorry, but that distinction goes to In the Bedroom. A Beautiful Mind wasn't even in the top 20. The story was, for the most part, predictable and not involving. I won't even go into the many, many inaccuracies in the film. The entire time I found myself just wishing the movie would end.
First of all, Russell Crowe was far from convincing as a genius. His accent was beyond inconsistent and he never, not for even the smallest moment, convinced me that he WAS John Nash. I can find solace in the fact that he didn't get the Oscar for this overrated performance. It's a shame they can't take back the one they gave him last year.
Jennifer Connelly was decent in a role that I, among others, feel should not have been categorized as supporting. Either way, it wasn't even the best supporting performance of the year. That prize should have gone to Marisa Tomei. I think Connelly is a very fine actress and if she deserved an Oscar it was for her performance in Requiem for a Dream in 2000. She wasn't even nominated for that. What a travesty. But I digress...
I saw nothing in the movie that would have warranted a Best Director nod for Ron Howard either. He's a capable director, but this was nowhere near an Oscar-worthy job. Take a look at what David Lynch did in Mulholland Dr. or what Christopher Nolan did in Memento or even Ridley Scott in Black Hawk Down. These are examples of greatness.
A Beautiful Mind is not an example of greatness. It is an over-hyped, overrated, piece of fluff trying to sell itself as something meaningful. And way too many people bought it. With such extraordinary pieces of work submitted this year, what a true shame that this refuse was given the distinction as the best.