While some tried and seemingly true formulas fell flat — Julia Roberts in romantic comedy? Gold. Angelina Jolie running around in tight clothing and a bad British accent? Can’t miss. Disney in a magical underwater world? Jackpot. David Spade in a mullet? Genius — we learned some very important lessons in what turned out to be an educational year in audience taste and a very blah for year Best Picture.

Five movies about just two topics — Elizabethan England and World War II — could not have been more different from each other. As it turned out, the wrong movie with the queen won, and the wrong movie about World War II has been portrayed as the one that got shafted.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about Titanic’s Best Picture win is that it didn’t sink Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into long, boring careers playing the same poorly written roles that made $1.8 billion. Now, if only a few others had made such wise career choices that year.