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.

One of the richest years of movies in recent history, the year when former stalwarts of the new independent film like Steven Soderbergh and Ang Lee began to bring art to the mainstream, this is also the year of one of the most frustratingly illogical movie moments. No, not that Gladiator won Best Picture, but that was pretty bad, too.

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.