Batman, Not Bond, and Other Film Institute Notes It was good news for fans of one British series, and bad news for diehards of another today, as the American Film Institute announced its picks for the year's best films. "The Dark Knight Rises" - helmed by a British director, Christopher Nolan, with stars, like Christian Bale and Michael Caine, from all over the United Kingdom - was on the list; "Skyfall" was not. Sorry to disappoint, Bond aficionados and Bagger readers! Robert Zemeckis's "Flight," still an Oscar contender for Denzel Washington's performance, was also not chosen as one of the cream of the crop; latecomer "Django Unchained" was. The rest of the list is a name-check for every other major Oscar hopeful: "Argo," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Les Misérables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Moonrise Kingdom," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Zero Dark Thirty," to name them alphabetically, as AFI does. The organization, an archive and film preservation society, does not pick favorites among its winners, and so its awards ceremony is a beloved stop on the circuit: no speechifying, and no sweating about whether you'll win or lose. If - and this is a major if - the Academy picks 10 films for best picture this year, it could duplicate the institute's list. The group also chose the top TV programs, led again by "Mad Men." "Breaking Bad," "Homeland," "Louie" and "Girls" also made the cut. A full list of winners can be found here.