The best movie I saw this year was "Rivers and Tides" a documentary about a Scottish sculptor, but I think it actually had it's initial release a couple years ago so wouldn't qualify for this years awards. Anyway, documentaries are ghettoized by the Academy the same way foreign films are - they get a category of their own, but basically no one cares about it.
The best movie I saw this year that could potentially be in contention for the big prize is probably American Splendor, but it was a tiny limited release film that's just plain too weird for the Academy to ever consider, even if it was a wide-release money-maker. The best movie I saw that has a real chance is RotK, and I'd say it has a really good chance, considering the academy has been nominating it's prequels for a couple years now and ignoring them. It's pretty likely they've been saving up for a big bonanza at the end.
Then there's the comedy problem - great comedies are usually ignored, too. I loved "Bad Santa" about as much as anything this year, but #1 - it's a comedy and #2 - it's a really sick, black comedy. It has no chance of any nomination. Maybe a supporting actor thing for the dwarf.
The Oscars suck ass and have since time immemorial. You want to find good movies? Look at LA Critics Circle awards and stuff like that.