# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**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, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/21 "2011-01-23T19:17:04Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > 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 don’t know why I never got around to Gosford; I do enjoy Altman. I’ll see the other two as well, one of these days. mmm ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/22 "2011-01-24T17:56:31Z")
I went with 2000, even though none of the five is great, it’s the only year I like all five. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/23 "2011-01-24T18:31:11Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > 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. Just “Atonement,” no article. I honestly can’t choose. Every year has some good choices and one or two movies where I think “Jesus, why that?” I wanted to pick 2003, but “The Return of the King” just isn’t a very good movie. Of the 50 movies in the poll, there’s not a doubt in my mind it’s in the bottom five. I know that’s anathema to say, I know they gave it all the Oscars, and I loved the first two films, but I thought the picture was really weak-ass, and that really hurts that group. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/24 "2011-01-24T18:38:22Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Out of curiosity, has anyone seen all of these movies? Yup, seen all of them, and despite my absolute detestation of _Atonement_, I had to go w/2007 also, primarily because of the Coens & PTAnderson. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/25 "2011-01-24T18:48:52Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > i think everyone on here is agreeing that '06 was the weakest of the bunch? Not at all–I would dropkick 2008 and even 2000 before 2006 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/26 "2011-01-24T18:57:02Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > 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. Well, it wasn’t really a conspiracy explicitly planned out, but the speculation that they wanted the trilogy to end before they really heaped the awards on isn’t without some foundation. FOTR (4 Oscars) made a huge splash, but left things open-ended. TTT (2 Oscars) didn’t get a Director’s nod, but still showed it had the chops to score a Picture nod. By the time ROTK (11 Oscars) came around, it seemed pretty clear that people simply voted for it across the board as a way to celebrate the entire series. It’s interesting you bring up M&C:TFSOTW (which I find a much better film), because the 2 Oscars it did win that year were in categories where it didn’t have to compete against LOTR. Makes you wonder how many it would’ve won if it didn’t have that 800lb gorilla to compete against. ---
**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 24, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/27 "2011-01-24T19:25:42Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > '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? I would shitcan 2000, 2002 & 2004 before 2006. mmm ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/28 "2011-01-24T19:50:14Z")
2006 was pretty damn weak. I liked The Queen the best of the bunch, but it’s not a movie I’d want to watch more than once. Every time I remember that The Departed won that year, I have to remind myself it’s only because 2006 was a pretty shitty year for movies, so it didn’t have much competition. 2006 was all about the “please give Scorsese his damn oscar already!” but I still don’t get just HOW Mark Walhburg won one for that film. I can play a pissed off Bostonion detective just as well as he can. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/29 "2011-01-25T21:02:17Z")
1. Four solid films (not seen The Atonement). No message film. No film about the happy clappy mentally ill movies, no English period drama and no token foreign film that no one saw. ---
**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 25, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621/30 "2011-01-25T22:00:01Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > 2006 was pretty damn weak. I liked The Queen the best of the bunch, but it’s not a movie I’d want to watch more than once. Every time I remember that The Departed won that year, I have to remind myself it’s only because 2006 was a pretty shitty year for movies, so it didn’t have much competition. 2006 was all about the “please give Scorsese his damn oscar already!” but I still don’t get just HOW Mark Walhburg won one for that film. I can play a pissed off Bostonion detective just as well as he can. The Departed was just a notch above average; I’m sure I could find ten other films from '06 that deserved the nomination more. I did like Babel and Letters from Iwo Jima quite a lot, though. mmm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-year-had-the-best-group-of-best-picture-nominees-2000s/568621.md?page=1)