As we cruise through awards season, eventually all of the Oscar categories will firm up.  Four nominees will be certain and there will be a little debate concerning who gets the fifth slot.  Some of those choices will be correct and others will be boring and predictable.  After the jump, I've put forward my picks for best actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, cinematography, animated film and documentary.  I've also thrown in my choices for non-Oscar categories for Breakthrough Performance, "A Very Good Year", Best Villain, "Who's a Good Boy?", Best Quote, Best Kill, Best Surprise, and Biggest Disappointment.  I hope that one day the Academy will recognize the validity and necessity of a "Best Kill" Oscar.Hit the jump to check out my miscellaneous "Best of 2011" picks.[Note: Runners-Up are listed in alphabetical order] BEST ACTOR: Michael Fassbender as "Brandon" in Shame Runners-Up: George Clooney as "Matt King" in The DescendantsJean Dujardin as "George Valentin" in The ArtistRyan Gosling as "Driver" in DriveWoody Harrelson as "Dave Brown" in RampartBEST ACTRESS: Tilda Swinton as "Eva" in We Need to Talk about KevinRunners-Up:Viola Davis as "Aibileen Clark" in The HelpKirsten Dunst as "Justine" in MelancholiaElizabeth Olsen as "Martha" in Martha Marcy May MarleneCharlize Theron as "Mavis Gary" in Young AdultBEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Albert Brooks as "Bernie Rose" in Drive Runners-Up: John Hawkes as "Patrick" in Martha Marcy May MarleneChristopher Plummer as "Hal" in BeginnersJohn C. Reilly as "Michael Longstreet" in CarnageAndy Serkis as "Caesar" in Rise of the Planet of the Apes BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Carey Mulligan as "Sissy" in Shame Runners-Up:Berenice Bejo as "Peppy Miller" in The ArtistMelissa McCarthy as "Megan" in BridesmaidsAmy Ryan as "Jackie Flaherty" in Win WinShailene Woodley as "Alexandra King" in The Descendants BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE:(For an actor or actress whose career is likely to have a positive and dramatic shift based off one performance)Melissa McCarthy as "Megan" in BridesmaidsRunners-Up: John Boyega as "Moses" in Attack the BlockJean Dujardin as "George Valentin" as in The ArtistElizabeth Olsen as "Martha" in Martha Marcy May MarleneShailene Woodley as "Alexandra King" in The Descendants A VERY GOOD YEAR (For an actor or actress who was noteworthy in multiple films this year; please note that I've only written down the films I've seen for each actor this year, not every movie they appeared in)Michael Fassbender (Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, Shame)Runners-Up:Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter, The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Coriolanus)Elle Fanning (Super 8, Twixt, We Bought a Zoo)Tom Hiddleston (Thor, Midnight in Paris, War Horse)[Note: Fassbender didn't get "Breakthrough Performance" for two reasons: 1) His star status isn't due to only one movie; 2) More people will probably recognize him from X-Men: First Class than Shame, but both have been huge for his career.  But the larger point still stands: 2011 has been his year]BEST DIRECTOR: Nicolas Winding Refn – DriveRunners-Up:Sean Durkin – Martha Marcy May MarleneSteve McQueen – ShameOren Moverman - RampartJoe Wright – Hanna BEST VILLAIN:Albert Brooks as "Bernie Rose" in DriveRunners-Up:Kevin Bacon as "Sebastian Shaw" in X-Men: First ClassCate Blanchett as "Marissa Wiegler" in HannaJohn Hawkes as "Patrick" in Martha Marcy May MarleneHugo Weaving as "Johann Schmidt/Red Skull" in Captain America: The First Avenger WHO'S A GOOD BOY? (Best Dog) Uggie in The Artist Also Deserving of Treats:Arthur in BeginnersSnowy in The Adventures of TintinBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYEmmanuel Lubezki - The Tree of LifeRunner-Up: Newton Thomas Sigel -  Drive BEST SCORE Cliff Martinez - Drive Runner-Up: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Girl with the Dragon TattooBEST ANIMATED FEATURE:RangoRunner-Up: Winnie the PoohBEST DOCUMENTARY:Project NimRunner-Up: Tabloid BEST QUOTE:"Why cookie Rocket?" – Rise of the Planet of the ApesRunner-Up: "It's not the end!  He's been reincarnated as a tricycle!" – RubberBEST KILL: Will It Blend? – You're NextRunners-Up:Piano Man – The DetailsDisco Inferno – Hobo with a ShotgunMagneto Returns Shaw's Coin – X-Men: First ClassI've Got Someone on My Shoe – Drive[Note: I don't see a lot of horror movies, and I missed Final Destination 5, so if you have a suggestion for a better kill, let loose in the comments section.  Be sure to provide a spoiler warning or at least try to make it so only people who have seen the movie will get what you're referencing]BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Green LanternA fair share of films this year disappointed me, but the one with the biggest ramifications is the failure of Green Lantern.  Green Lantern is a superhero with a rich, interesting world and immense possibilities.  Instead, the story was an absolute mess and instead of blaming the crappy script, folks will draw erroneous conclusions like "People don't want space aliens in their superhero movies" and "Green Lantern needs to be edgier and darker."  Ironically, Green Lantern's best asset—how the scenes work better out of context and away from the "story"—made it ideal for trailers, which only added to the eventual disappointment.Runners-Up:ButterConan the BarbarianPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesYour HighnessBEST SURPRISE:Bad Teacher When you only see one TV spot for a movie and the only good joke in it is a crack about LeBron James, there's cause for concern.  I went to Israel this summer and missed the press screening of Bad Teacher, but when I got back I heard the movie was shockingly good.  I bought a ticket and ended up laughing my ass off all the way through the picture.  I was pleased to see Cameron Diaz had such a delightfully mean-spirited character in her and she played it wonderfully.  And when I'm feeling down, I just think about Justin Timberlake saying how much he hates slavery. Runners-Up:Extremely Loud and Incredibly CloseReal SteelAnonymousWinnie the Pooh---Monday: Top 10 Posters of 2011Tuesday: Top 10 Trailers of 2011Wednesday: Best Performances, Directing, and other Miscellany of 2011Thursday: Worst 5 of 2011Friday: Top 10 of 2011