"We try not to be killed/racists, but sometimes we are."

The third installment of our trip to the middle of Oscar's top category is up over at Nick's Flick Picks. This time, we address Crash's deficiencies and All Quiet on the Western Front's general greatness. Despite what you've heard, Crash is not the worst film to ever win Best Picture. (You'll have to wait almost six months to hear my nomination for that prize.) And I think that I wasn't exactly fair to it in some respects in my original review: Nick opened it up to me quite a bit when he suggested that it's "a Eugene O'Neill-ish exercise in forcing characters to speak their subconscious thoughts aloud." But on second viewing, even if I can credit it for not attempting to be completely realistic, I can't credit its substandard cinematic qualities, and I still can't credit its reductive ideas about race.

The second or third time around was still kind to All Quiet on the Western Front, which currently sits at #14 on my Top 100 of All Time. That list needs a major overhaul—perhaps even defenestration—but when and if I get around to patching its leaks and throwing the bums out, this film is staying, at least in the top half.

But that's enough from me, because I'm running around ineffectually attempting to prepare for my upcoming European vacation. Have at it!