Ask Mick LaSalle: So do you really want to praise ‘Slumdog Millionaire’?
Dear Mick: Since the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences increased the number of nominations for best picture in 2009, they have gotten it wrong almost every year. Could it be that in giving so many choices the voters are confused or may not even view all of the nominees?
Dear Robert: Well, let’s take a look. Since the change, these are the nine best picture winners: “The Hurt Locker,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Artist,” “Argo,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman,” “Spotlight,” “Moonlight” and “The Shape of Water.