“Having 10 Best Picture nominees will allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize," AMPS President Sid Ganis said at a press conference.  While the expansion of the Best Picture category at the Oscars allows for more movies to receive the recognition they deserve, it does not change the fact that the voters lean towards awarding similar themes and performances every year.  They love dramas, lengthy historical epics, and tales of patriotism, controversy, and triumph over adversity.

Perhaps the greatest thing about “The Dark Knight Rises” is it doesn’t feel like a sequel. Rather, it plays as the thrilling and natural conclusion to an epic trilogy. The movie is set eight years after “The Dark Knight,” and Batman (Christian Bale) is in exile, having been wrongly accused of murder. In addition, the man behind the mask, Bruce Wayne, is living as an eccentric recluse, beaten and battered from his years fighting crime.