In an announcement that will surprise no one, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended the nomination voting deadline from Thursday, Jan. 3 to Friday, Jan. 4.

AMPAS COO Ric Robertson noted in a release, “By extending the voting deadline we are providing every opportunity available to make the transition to online balloting as smooth as possible. We’re grateful to our global membership for joining us in this process.” 

Ben Affleck on the set of "Argo"

Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

When asked this season what film I think will win Best Picture, I've said "Les Misérables" since about September. Obviously for a stretch that was sight-unseen. Then the film, and others, came along. And I stuck with it. Largely I had to defend the call against those who couldn't see a film that is perceived as "divisive" (and boy are the detractors LOUD) winning the top prize, and they had a fair enough point.

The only thing is, I see passion for the film and the nay-sayers are a bit marginalized. Critics and industry people view this film differently. And those who love the film LOVE it. You can't ignore that kind of embrace. Few films this year really have it. And it's particularly important in a season that seems more up-for-grabs than any in recent history.

But as more and more members have finally caught up with the majority of the season's offerings in the past few weeks, I've made sure I paid attention to one thing in particular in my conversations: consensus. Consensus and general agreement wins you Oscars. But many films have inherent marks against them. There are really only two films, though, that tend to be enjoyed, adored, respected and liked all the way across the board, and one of them has taken shape as the potential taker of the cake. That film is "Argo."

Luke Kirby and Michelle Williams in "Take This Waltz."

Credit: Magnolia Pictures

And so it is that I've left it until the last day of the year to add my Top 10 list to the already teetering; I don't think I've ever left it so late before, and it certainly wasn't calculated on my part, though there's something pleasingly tidy about using New Year's Eve as an occasion to post a list that, in some ways, looks forward as much as it looks back. (Speaking of looking forward: in a break from tradition, the list is accompanied by a video countdown this year, so if you want my curious accent guiding you through, just press play.) 

This is the space where I'm supposed to say it's been a good/bad/indifferent year for film, though I'm increasingly uncertain of how to answer that question. That's partly because of the way I compile my list: given that I occupy the no-man's-land territory of a European critic on an American site, release calendars are hard to keep up with and even harder to stick to, so I opt instead to include any new film I saw in 2012, whether as a theatrical release, on the festival circuit or somewhere in between.

"Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day."

Credit: Open Road Films

As 2012 prepares to fade and the ball primes itself for another drop a few blocks away, it's time to look back once more on the year that was. Well, not "once more." The season is still pushing ahead and we won't be finished with it until February 24, but as far as I'm concerned, this annual post is my bow on what the year had to offer.

"Zero Dark Thirty"

Credit: Columbia Pictures

I know, I know, more column inches on the "Zero Dark Thirty" torture debate. But I'm leading with Andrew O'Hehir's piece because it's the most thoughtful, level-headed response I've read on the matter so far. He's a fan of the film -- most flatteringly, he compares it to the "complex historical fiction" of Dickens or Tolstoy --, but doesn't see that as any reason to assume it takes the morally "right" position. "Both interpretations can be simultaneously correct," he writes, "partly because it’s an unusually complicated work, partly because there are so many things we don’t know about the Bush administration’s notorious “detainee program,” and partly because art is an inherently amoral and ruthless enterprise, however much we may want to believe otherwise." Great stuff. [Salon] 

Last December I took inspiration from Mr. Tapley and listed some of the notable achievements in music and television for 2011.  And, of course, some year-end movie "awards." Let's try this one more time for 2012, shall we?

You can review my top 10 films of 2012 here.  And, for year-end picks from the rest of HitFix's editorial team, click on the related tabs within this post.

Amanda Seyfriend talks about her role as Cosette in Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables."

NEW YORK - No matter what your opinion of Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" there is one thing everyone can agree on: it's great to hear Amanda Seyfried singing again.

Bart Layton, director "The Imposter."

Credit: AP Photo/Victoria Will

Even the most banal phrases have their uses, and when it came to Bart Layton's documentary “The Imposter” earlier this year, it's easy to understand why so many critics reached for that fusty standby: “The truth is stranger than fiction.” Then again, “The Imposter” – one of 15 shortlisted films vying for an Oscar nod in the Best Documentary Feature category – tells a story that is stranger even than most truths.

Centered on the charismatic, frightening figure of Frédéric Bourdin a shapeshifting con artist and serial identity thief who claim to have masqueraded as over 500 people in his lifetime, the film peels back the covers on the Frenchman's most infamous and improbable stunt. In 1997, aged 23, he seemingly duped a Texan family into accepting him as their teenaged son who had gone missing three years previously – despite not sharing his accent, appearance or even eye color. Turning up in Spain and claiming to have been kidnapped by a military-run child prostitution ring, Bourdin sold his outlandish tale not only to the Barclay family but to the US authorities, and maintained the charade for five months before the FBI caught wise.

Jennifer Lawrence and David O. Russell at the New York premiere of "Silver Linings Playbook."

Credit: AP Photo/Evan Agostini

David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" isn't the frontrunner for best picture many of us thought it would be, but don't tell that to the one time best director nominee.  The passion project has given Russell much to be thankful for including audience awards at Toronto, Austin and the Hamptons film festivals, five Independent Spirit Awards nods, four Golden Globe Awards nominations and an impressive four SAG Awards nominations including best ensemble. "Playbook" star Jennifer Lawrence won best actress from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Russell snagged best adapted screenplay honors from the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association.  Now, after coming close to winning best director with his semi-comeback "The Fighter" almost two years ago you'd assume Russell was intent on sealing the deal with "Playbook." That doesn't appear to be the case.

Diane Kruger in "Farewell My Queen."

Credit: Cohen Media Group

I know I'm way behind the curve in reporting on these, but the weeks before Christmas kept us so busy with wall-to-wall US critics' awards that certain things passed me by -- particularly awards away from the Oscar trail. This afternoon, I suddenly remembered the Prix Louis-Delluc, arguably the most prestigious award in French cinema, and wondered if I'd missed their nominations. As it turned out, I'd missed the entire thing.

The Louis-Delluc, a single award handed to the year's best French film -- as determined by a jury headed by Cannes president Gilles Jacob -- was first presented in 1937, and the list of previous winners is a veritable who's who of classic French cinema: Renoir, Cocteau, Truffaut, Bresson, Malle, Chabrol, Rohmer, Godard, and so on.