BEST DIRECTOR?
The Departed (2006) is a darn good movie. It was named Best Movie of that year by the Motion Picture Academy. Martin Scorcese won an Oscar for directing it (it was about time!). It’s not his best, or second, or third, or fourth. I don’t usually like “it’s his turn” Oscars, but on this one I totally agree. 
Scorcese was snubbed many times by the Academy. The worst gaffe was in 1990, when Kevin Costner’s self-indulgent and forgettable Dances With Wolves won him the director’s Oscar over Scorcese, for the classic Goodfellas. Scorcese is a National Treasure; Costner is, well, Costner (Is it unfair to mention Waterworld and The Postman here?)
1995 is another year when an actor-director beat out a more deserving pro. Mel Gibson won Best Director for Braveheart, not too bad until you consider the competition. How about Tim Robbins for Dead Man Walking, still and probably always the best film made about capital punishment. The performances he elicited from Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon are amazing. And the film has just the right balance about an extremely emotional and difficult subject. 
Ten years earlier, in 1985, the Best Director Oscar went to Sidney Pollack for the overrated and overlong Out Of Africa. There were at least two better directorial efforts that year: John Huston for Prizzi’s Honor and the grand Japanese master Akira Kurosawa for Ran. I have a sneaky feeling that this was a “it’s his turn” Oscar, as Pollack had been overlooked for Tootsie and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, both superior to Out Of Africa. 
The original Rocky (1965) is a pretty good movie, and it won the Director Oscar for studio hack John Avildsen. To get to him, they had to overlook both Sidney Lumet for Network and Allen Pakula for All The President’s Men. 
I think these awards are fair: 1994- Robert Zemakis for Forest Gump; 1996- Anthony Minghella for The English Patient .  But in those respective years, I would have voted for Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction and Joel Coen for Fargo. 
Here’s the oddest thing: not that I’m opinionated or anything, but in the years before 1976 I think the Academy was absolutely on the money with every Best Director Award. And I feel the same for the years after 1996.  Oh, and I certainly have no prejudice regarding actor-directors. Look at Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford!
All of the movies in this article are probably best for adults, though there is more of a boredom than an offensiveness factor. All are available on DVD and for streaming.