Brief update on the year thus far

Hello. Following Oscar season obviously the cinematic landscape has been rather dull. Certain genres do have some strong contenders already for this awards season, however. Animation, for instance, has never looked better so soon. Toy Story 3 has seemed to lock itself in place as the first of the trilogy to get the Best Animated Feature Oscar, although it already faces some good competition from the likes of How To Train Your Dragon and now Despicabe Me, all three being among the most well reviewed films of the year. Toy Story 3 being the second best reviewed film of all time, just behind it's immediate predecessor, seems to have also earned it a pretty safe slot in this year's Best Picture ten (as with Up last year, Pixar may well have earned itself a token spot in the top ten lineup of any given year from now on).
On the Documentary front, I have already seen two films this year worthy of nominations. The Oath is a troubling look at the state of the war on terror, its root causes, and where it stands now through the microcosm of one single enigmatic figure who was formerly on the frontlines alongside Osama bin Laden. Another, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, is an impressive look at a down and up period of a hardworking comedic icon. Both films premiered at Sundance and won prizes for cinematography and documentary, respectively.
Documentaries, however, are not expected to break through in the Picture lineup anytime soon (though Michael Moore may have been able to achieve the feat in his prime). Two real competitors are expected to come out soon, however. One in the form of a major summer blockbuster than can take a slot filled by District 9 last year, the other a indie family comedy in the vein of the likes of Juno and Little Miss Sunshine in the past. Christopher Nolan's Inception are his fanboys hopes of some sort of retribution for having missed out on a nod for The Dark Knight two years ago, which would have seemed like a sure thing along with WALL·E had they extended it to ten that year. With an all star cast with the likes of former nominees like Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, former winners like Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine, and surely future honorees like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Cillian Murphy, it appeals to fanboys across the board. Tracking seems to suggest that it could make similar business TDK did two years to the day of its release, when it smashed the record of opening weekend box office, and with the growing popularity of IMAX and 3D some say it could rival the numbers of Avatar's behemoth success late last year and early this year. I doubt it on that front, given its supposedly confusing-as-hell plot line having to do with the architecture of dreams, but its inaccessibility seems to have impressed critics so far with a fresh percentage rating in the 90s from rottentomatoes and seems promising to awards forecasters for the end of the year.
The other, much more traditional Oscar bait, comes in the form of The Kids Are All Right. Infamously often nominated but not rewarded actresses Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple with three all star child actors (Mia Wasikowski and Josh Hutcherson) who go out and seek out their biological father (criminally underrated Mark Ruffalo). Premiering at Sundance to uproarious praise, the film seems to have the pedigree, acclaim, and exposure of an average indie Oscar vehicle. I'm thinking this is another one that will make it into the final ten with considerable ease.