# Which year had the best group of Best Picture nominees? (2000s) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621 "2011-01-23T03:07:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/1 "2011-01-23T03:07:13Z")
(I omitted 2009 because of the ten-nominee change) **2000** Chocolat Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Erin Brockovich Gladiator Traffic **2001** A Beautiful Mind Gosford Park In the Bedroom Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings Moulin Rouge! **2002** Chicago Gangs of New York The Hours The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers The Pianist **2003** The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Mystic River Seabiscuit **2004** The Aviator Finding Neverland Million Dollar Baby Ray Sideways **2005** Brokeback Mountain Capote Crash Good Night, and Good Luck Munich **2006** Babel The Departed Letters from Iwo Jima Little Miss Sunshine The Queen **2007** The Atonement Juno Michael Clayton No Country for Old Men There Will Be Blood **2008** The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Frost/Nixon Milk The Reader Slumdog Millionaire ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/2 "2011-01-23T03:27:06Z")
It’s a hard choice between 2001 and 2002, but I went with 2001 because I liked FOTR more than TTT. (If you had included the films of 1999, which had their awards ceremony in 2000, that would be my all time favorite year.) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/3 "2011-01-23T03:31:23Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > It’s a hard choice between 2001 and 2002, but I went with 2001 because I liked FOTR more than TTT. > > (If you had included the films of 1999, which had their awards ceremony in 2000, that would be my all time favorite year.) Tune in again in a few days, that’s the next poll. 😃 mmm ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/4 "2011-01-23T03:41:43Z")
I voted 2007 in a squeaker. No Country for Old Men is the best movie on this list and Juno’s pretty entertaining, so that’s why I voted 2007. Runner-up probably would have been 2002 as I love The Two Towers and I think I’m one of the only people who think Gangs of New York is a fantastic film. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/5 "2011-01-23T04:16:25Z")
Wow, it was hard to decide between 2005 and 2007, but I ended up going with 2005 because I thought the weakest of 2007 (Juno) was significantly weaker than the weakest of 2005 (Munich). ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/6 "2011-01-23T05:02:41Z")
2007 – easy choice for me. No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are two of my favorite movies. (I haven’t seen every nominated movie though.) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/7 "2011-01-23T06:09:50Z")
2004 The Aviator Finding Neverland Million Dollar Baby Ray Sideways Wins for me, because I watch all of these the most often. Well, I’ve never seen Finding Neverland. 2007 was a close call because There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men are two of my favorite films of all time. The others, especially Juno, blow it for 2007. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/8 "2011-01-23T12:15:36Z")
I’d say 2000, but '03 and '05 come close. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/9 "2011-01-23T12:41:57Z")
2007 for me. 4 of the 5 movies I’ve seen regularly, with only The Atonement being seen once, I think. But Michael Clayton was my favorite film, followed closely by CNFOM and TWBB. I have to be in a mood for Juno, but if I am and I have a chance to watch it, I do. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/10 "2011-01-23T13:26:31Z")
1. I’m also rather unimpressed with the entire list… some good films to be sure, but nothing that really jumps out at me as being a game-changing great film along the lines of GWTW, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, Godfather, Goodfellas, etc… I guess the closest is the LOTR trilogy, but they hardly represent a new direction in Hollywood, more like the culmination of 30 years of tech and audience-building progress. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/11 "2011-01-23T14:32:00Z")
What I think is funny is that any of the 2008 snubs would have made that year win in a walk: The Dark Knight Gran Torino WALL-E The Wrestler Tropic Thunder ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/12 "2011-01-23T14:40:41Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What I think is funny is that any of the 2008 snubs would have made that year win in a walk: > > The Dark Knight > Gran Torino > WALL-E > The Wrestler > Tropic Thunder Aside from Tropic Thunder, I agree (although I think ‘Milk’ deserved the nom). mmm ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/13 "2011-01-23T14:46:50Z")
I think the bottom 5 movies in this year’s 10 nominees (they’re still doing that, right?) win this contest in a walk. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/14 "2011-01-23T15:09:05Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I think the bottom 5 movies in this year’s 10 nominees (they’re still doing that, right?) win this contest in a walk. Yeah, they’re still doing that. But they won’t be doing that until Tuesday, so we do not know the nominees. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/15 "2011-01-23T15:11:22Z")
Out of curiosity, has anyone seen all of these movies? I’ve seen all but three: Gosford Park, Gangs of New York and The Pianist. mmm ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/16 "2011-01-23T16:00:03Z")
2001 - all 5 were excellent movies (even though the weakest of the 5 still won). BTW, is there any factual truth to the story that the Academy purposely ignored Lord of the Rings until the trilogy was completed, and then guaranteed its victory in the third year? Because honestly, Master & Commander deserved a Best Picture Oscar way more than A Beautiful Mind, and I would guess way more than Chicago. The only nominees which I haven’t seen were The Atonement, The Reader, Chicago, The Hours, Seabiscuit, and Letters from Iwo Jima. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/17 "2011-01-23T18:08:25Z")
I’ll go with 2007, because There Will be Blood is the best movie of the decade, No Country for Old Men is not far behind. Michael Clayton was outstanding and Juno is an almosty perfect film for its genre. Never saw The Atonement. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/18 "2011-01-23T18:12:02Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Out of curiosity, has anyone seen all of these movies? > > I’ve seen all but three: Gosford Park, Gangs of New York and The Pianist. > mmm I have seen all of them except Million Dollar Baby (don’t like films about boxing, as I mentioned in recent thread) and Hours - didn’t want to see a film about a bunch of suicidal Lesbians, although I have heard it was quite good. You really should see Gosford Park (loved it) and Gangs of New York (really good), but if you missed The Pianist, no big deal - I thought it was just “OK”. I picked 2001 - simply because of the variety of different, very good films that year. I think LOTR should have won. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/19 "2011-01-23T18:12:03Z")
I’m gonna go with 2004, because I really enjoyed all of those movies, whereas in the other years there were some clunkers (IMO). ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/20 "2011-01-23T19:04:11Z")
'02 had the best movies imo, but '04 had more movies i liked. i think everyone on here is agreeing that '06 was the weakest of the bunch? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621.md?page=2)