(There are at least a few of us dedicated movie fans enjoying these threads, I hope.)
The Academy doesn’t always nominate the actual best pictures in any given year. Sometimes, with hindsight, the classic movies of that year become more apparent. So let’s take a crack at 2002.
The actual nominees were:
Chicago <----- Winner
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist
Here are the wide-release films of 2002, and here are the limited-release films of 2002.
From those lists, my 5 nominees would be:
The Ring
28 Days Later
The Bourne Identity <------ Winner
Road to Perdition
Catch Me If You Can
Looking at that list, I realize there is not a lot of high-brow appeal, but I don’t really care. These are the movies which I think best accomplish what they set out to do, and which I think have left a lasting imprint. And I gave the Best Picture nod to The Bourne Identity, because hey, sometimes an action movie really is the best picture. (I welcome criticism/discussion on these topics.) Also, looking at that list, kudos to Tom Hanks for showing up twice.
Your 5 picks?