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It’s that time of year again, where Oscar season takes hold and honours the best films of the year. Actress Anne Hathaway announced the 2010 Academy Award nominations this morning, and here are the nominees for the 10 top categories:

Best supporting actor
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Woody Harrelson (The Messengers)

Best supporting actress
Mo’Nique (Precious)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Penélope Cruz (Nine)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)

Best actor
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up in the Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Best actress
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia )
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)

Best adapted screenplay
District 9
An Education
Precious
Up in the Air
In the Loop

Best original screenplay
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up
The Messenger

Best animated feature
Up
The Princess and the Frog
Coraline
Fantastic Mr Fox
Secret of Kells

Best foreign film
Ajami (Israel)
A Prophet (France)
The Secret of Her Eyes (Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)

Best director
James Cameron (Avatar)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air)
Lee Daniels (Precious)

Best picture
Avatar
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
The Blind Side
Up

In all likelihood, if you’ve watched the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the winners will likely be similar. However, I am keeping my fingers crossed for Colin Firth in A Single Man,  Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones, Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air, Gabourey Sidibe in Precious, and director Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. (Personally not feeling the love for James Cameron.) Your thoughts? And what’s your take on the ten (!) nominees for Best Picture?

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