While typing this up I began to realize how borderline obnoxious it is that my partner in blog, Oscar Dahl shares his name with the ubiquitous, coveted golden statue. But, once a year we must grit our teeth, embrace the madness and attempt to set a record for just how many times we can use the "O" word in one post.

What follows are the predictions in the "major categories" (sorry sound effects editing) from myself and the aforementioned "O" man. As you will see we rarely deviate too far from one another and, for once in far too long, seem to think that the Academy may be on the right track to handing out awards to the proper recipients for a change. As such you may also notice that there are almost no discrepancies between the "should" and "will" brackets. This is very rare to say the least.

The past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for us cinephiles. We battened down the hatches, braced for the worst and were happily surprised when the four horsemen of the cinematic apocalypse never arrived. We were struck, not only by how many gems emerged from this year’s slate. But, more importantly, by how GOOD the best films were. I honestly had a tougher time than usual shaving my favorites down to just ten. I was also surprised by just how many “mainstream” studio films ended up on my list. I’m not some sort of chest-pounding indie snob who doesn’t believe there’s anything to be gained from setting foot outside the art house from May to September. But, that being said, I look back at the films topping my lists in the last few years (A SINGLE MAN, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, LITTLE CHILDREN, etc.) and I can see a definitive trend in terms of financing and distribution structure. So, with all this in mind, I submit for your approval my ten favorite films of 2010- the year the studios closed down their “independent” boutiques and kept all the good films for themselves.

Matt & Oscar submit their OSCAR predictions (and their MATT predictions)

Matt’s Top 10 Films of 2010