Critics Choose Argo and Jennifer Lawrence

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) gave out their awards tonight at the Critics Choice Awards. The winners were...

Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Ben Affleck, Argo
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained
Best Adapted Screenplay: Lincoln
Best Ensemble: Silver Linings Playbook
Best Young Actor: Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugarman
Best Animated Feature: Wreck-It Ralph
Best Comedy: Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actress, Comedy: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor, Comedy: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Action Movie: Skyfall
Best Actress, Action Movie: Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games
Best Actor, Action Movie: Daniel Craig, Skyfall
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie: Looper
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Editing: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Art Direction: Anna Karenina
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Makeup: Cloud Atlas
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Score: Lincoln
Best Song: "Skyfall," Skyfall

Fresh off from his Oscar snub for directing, Ben Affleck came out on top at tonight's awards show picking up, what else, Best Director and another one for his film Argo which won Best Picture. His acceptance speech began by thanking the Academy tongue-in-cheek. One would think that he really did have momentum before his non-nomination this morning. What could've been, you know? I'm honestly intrigued to see what the DGA will do (i.e. Affleck or Bigelow winning).

Another big winner of the night was Jennifer Lawrence who accepted three awards as she won Best Actress in a Comedy (Silver Linings Playbook) and in an Action Movie (The Hunger Games) as well as be part of the Best Ensemble win for Silver Linings. The latter film took home a leading 4 wins also Best Comedy Film and Best Comedy Actor for Bradley Cooper who briefly spoke about his stint in the hilarious Wet Hot American Summer which amused me greatly.

Argo and Silver Linings were not the only films honored. Like last year, the critics made sure most of its Best Picture nominees got some love with each film getting at least one award with the exception of Moonrise Kingdom. Five of the other Best Picture nominees got love through its actors as Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), and Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) picked up their first (and likely not last) major awards of the season with Wallis getting Best Young Actor for her role. Django Unchained picked up Original Screenplay and Life of Pi picked up a couple of technical awards. Skyfall, Anna Karenina, Looper, Cloud Atlas, Searching for Sugarman, Amour, and Wreck-It Ralph were also honored. Then again so was Judd Apatow for being a genius or something. Oh and Twilight was voted on by the public as the Best Franchise of All Time. Yup, that happened.

All in all, the winners were good enough for the most part, but for being the first major awards show, it kind of felt like a dud to me. Here's hoping for better in the next few weeks!

Thoughts on Oscar Nominations

There were certainly lots of things to chew on after the Oscar nominations were announced this morning. Of course there were the usual surprises and "snubs" like every year and with the nominations coming in earlier than in year's past and talks of voting problems, we'll never know if they actually had any effect on those. Now before I talk about each category, just a few stats. Out of the 38 films nominated (excluding the shorts), I've seen 22 films. Out of the 107 total nominations (again excluding the shorts), I've seen 78 (73%) which I think is pretty good. That'll get better quickly as I'm already planning seeing a handful of nominated films in the next week or so.

And now for the nominations (I bolded those I've seen):

BEST PICTURE

• Amour (5 nominations)
• Argo (7 nominations)
• Beasts of the Southern Wild (4 nominations)
• Django Unchained (5 nominations)
• Life of Pi (11 nominations)
• Lincoln (12 nominations)
• Les Misérables (8 nominations)
• Silver Linings Playbook (8 nominations)
• Zero Dark Thirty (5 nominations)

For the second year in a row, we get a lineup of 9 Best Picture nominees. Skyfall, with its 5 nominations, or more likely The Master, with its 3 acting nominations, were probably in the 10th slot, but we'll never know. As expected, Lincoln leads the field, but I think it's Life of Pi that shocked everyone notching 11 nominations without an acting nod! The other big winners include Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild as many thought they would be left out in the cold for being too small.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Michael Haneke, Amour
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
• Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

This was the category everyone is still talking about as for the first time the Academy only went 2/5 with the DGA nominations eschewing presumed frontrunners Kathryn Bigelow and Ben Affleck as well as Tom Hooper and Quentin Tarantino for Russell and first nominations for Haneke and Zeitlin. It's certainly a stacked category, but I would've bet anything before the announcement that either Affleck or Bigelow would be nominated. What happened? Were their films just too controversial/political in the end? With them gone though, this makes Spielberg's win that much easier. But then again only one director here has won been nominated by the Golden Globes, DGA, BAFTA, and BFCA and he ain't a white man.

BEST LEADING ACTOR

• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
• Denzel Washington, Flight

Finally, Wolverine and Will Tippin have their first Oscar nominations! Both of them certainly had a lot of things stacked against them be it genre or past roles, but they pulled through. Day-Lewis is the frontrunner in this category by a big margin (playing American's favorite president will do that), but will the Academy really give him his third Oscar win? Washington, too, would be winning his 3rd if he won, but it's much less likely. Phoenix's nomination was the surprise especially considering his not-too-friendly remarks about the futility of award campaigning. He most likely knocked out SAG nominee John Hawkes for a spot.

BEST LEADING ACTRESS

• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
• Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Everyone knew that this race was going to be between Chastain and Lawrence and their nominations were pretty locked early on. What no one knew, however, was that they would be joined by both the oldest and youngest Best Actress nominees ever (Riva and Wallis respectively). Watts' nomination was also slightly surprising given her lack of a BAFTA nod. The big snub here was Marion Cotillard who, like Tilda Swinton last year, year all the precursors only to miss out on the Oscar nod. SAG nominee Helen Mirren was also not nominated. So while Chastain or Lawrence will probably win, Riva does celebrate her 86th birthday during the show. Weirder things have happened!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Alan Arkin, Argo
• Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Apparently, this is the first time that an acting category was filled with not only previous nominees, but previous winners. I'm not going to comment on the relatively homogeneous make-up of the men here, but Hollywood, do better. My wishlist containing Ezra Miller and Eddie Redmayne didn't pan out, but I also feel a bit sorry for Leonardo DiCaprio who apparently delivers quite a performance. Too bad Waltz was "demoted" in Supporting at the last minute. Look for the winner to be either Hoffman or Jones.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Amy Adams, The Master
• Sally Field, Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions
• Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

With Weaver's shock nod, Silver Linings Playbook becomes the first film since the 1981 film Reds to get an acting nominations in each category, which display a spectacular support from the actors, the Academy's biggest voting block. And yet, this has been Hathaway's award to lose from the get go and I don't think the nominations this morning has changed that. Yes, Field shouldn't be understimated and this is Adams' fourth nomination, but Hathaway will win. A moment of silence for SAG nominees Nicole Kidman and Maggie Smith who most likely don't care one way or another because they are THAT fabulous.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Amour
• Django Unchained
• Flight
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

Django Unchained and Amour did well to appear here after being ineligible for WGA, but unfortunately that cost Looper (and The Master) a well-deserved nod as well. Coupled with the script of Perks of Being a Wallflower also not making the Oscar shortlist in Adapted and my Oscar wishes were just soundly denied this morning. As for the frontrunner, I would've said Zero Dark Thirty or Moonrise Kingdom (incidentally its only nomination), but perhaps this is where Amour may get honored (other than Best Foreign Film of course, see below).

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

As I said above, woe is me for Perks of Being a Wallflower being snubbed here. Granted, the film that replaced it turned out to be Beasts of the Southern Wild so I can't be too angry and look at this category full of Best Picture nominees! How could any other film compete really? Other noticeable non-nominations included Anna Karenina and Les Misérables, but not really.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• Amour, Austria
• Kon-Tiki, Norway
• No, Chile
• A Royal Affair, Denmark
• War Witch, Canada

I haven't seen any of these yet, though I will certainly check out Amour before the ceremony. I also didn't know until this morning that Gael Garcia Bernal was the star of No. That also makes it likelier that Ill check it out. Of course in terms of competition, only one of these films were nominated in other categories including a Best Picture nod so it's pretty obvious which film has the leg up on its competition.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
• Wreck-It Ralph

The Pirates! surprised everyone as it hadn't appeared anywhere at all during the lead up to the the nominations with everyone expecting either Rise of the Guardians or a film from a smaller, independent studio to take the fifth slot. With that said, this looks to be a true four-way fight to the crown amongst the other nominees. As I've said previously, I'm rooting hard for ParaNorman, but I probably wouldn't be too torn up if any of the other films won.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Anna Karenina
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Les Misérables

Once presumed Anna Karenina finally shows up and acquits itself pretty well picking up 4 well-deserved technical nominations. I'm very glad that even though its star faded quickly, the Academy was still able to see that it merited a handful of nominations for its stunning crafts. Same story for The Hobbit, of course, but I actually haven't seen it yet so I can't say if it was deserved or not! Can't even guess as to who is the frontrunner here. Anyone?

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Anna Karenina
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Some very big names were nominated this year to the point where you really can't go wrong at all for the win. The big miss here though was the non-nomination for The Master. If I had to guess on the winner though, it'll go to Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi) or Roger Deakins (Skyfall). Deakins, of course, is notorious for being nominated 10 times now and still without a single win. Can this be the year finally?

BEST FILM EDITING

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty

Not a big shock to see these five here especially as these are the films people thought were likely to win Best Picture before the nominations and this category, along with Directing, usually signals which films are the frontrunners.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Like most years, this is usually my favorite category and this year the nominations are pretty good actually. The strength of Anna Karenina and Skyfall in this below-the-line categories is evident here.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• "Before My Time," Chasing Ice
• "Everybody Needs a Best Friend," Ted
• "Pi's Lullaby," Life of Pi
• "Skyfall," Skyfall
• "Suddenly," Les Misérables

I don't really have any song, even in the long list, I'm rooting for. I did thought a few weeks ago how amusing it would be if Sambola! made it in, but alas that didn't happen. Everyone thinks Adele's James Bond theme song is the easy win giving the franchise its first Oscar win ever, but I wouldn't underestimate the lone original song from Les Misérables since it is the lone musical film in the list. Life of Pi making it in here was a slight pleasant surprise.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Anna Karenina
• Lincoln
• Les Misérables
• Mirror Mirror
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Might be weird to see the two Snow White flicks this year show up here, but they did have elaborate costumes that the Academy members usually lap up. Kudos to Mirror Mirror costumer Eiko Ishioka who is being honored posthumously. I think this is Anna Karenina's award to lose though, no? Well unless they must honor Atwood again.

BEST SOUND EDITING

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Usually there's a random film nomination here like last year with Drive, but all of these have high nomination counts elsewhere and four of them are Best Picture nominees. Skyfall might be the favorite here and in the other sound category...

BEST SOUND MIXING

• Argo
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Like above, it's Skyfall plus a few Best Picture nominees. No random Transformers here! I did think The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises (more on them later) were going to show up in at least one of these.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• The Avengers
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Prometheus
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Speaking of Joss Whedon's The Avengers... it's officially an Oscar nominated film! Okay, it's only for Visual Effects, but I'll take it. Plus it fare a whole lot better than The Dark Knight Rises which got absolutely no love from the Academy this morning. Prometheus also gets its one and only nod here. Life of Pi looks to be the favorite.

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Les Misérables

Really expected Lincoln to show up here, especially with how wonderful the transformation was making Day-Lewis really disappear into his Lincoln role. I actually found the makeup/hair a bit distracting in Les Misérables and I liked the film.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• 5 Broken Cameras
• The Gatekeepers
• How to Survive a Plague
• The Invisible War
• Searching fo Sugar Man

5 Broken Cameras recently won at the Cinema Eye Honors, which gives it some fighting chance against the other four which won various critic awards throughout the season. The two most awarded are Searching for Sugarman and The Gatekeepers, both were nominated for the PGA.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• Innocente
• Kings Point
• Mondays at Racine
• Open Heart
• Redemption

No idea what any of them are, but I'll do research later on. For now I always pick the one with the best name and though the titles this year are quite dull, I'm intrigued by Redemption.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• Adam and Dog
• Fresh Guacamole
• Head Over Heels
• The Longest Daycare
• Paperman

No Pixar offering this year, but Disney has Paperman which I've already seen and loved. I'm going to try to see all of these before the show so I can have a better handle on who might win, but already I love the title Fresh Guacamole.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

• Asad
• Buzkashi Boys
• Curfew
• Death of a Shadow
• Henry

Last year, I saw all Live Action short films though I still failed to pick the winner. I'll try again this year, but without any research, I'll pick the Buzkashi Boys.

And thus endedth my thoughts on the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards. Now we have to wait an interminable six weeks until we find out who the winners are. Let the Hunger Games begin.

Critical Consensus 2012

The Oscar nominations are less than 8 hours away while tomorrow night is also the first major televised awards ceremony of awards season with the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) picking their winners at the Critics Choice Movie Awards. Refresh your memories of their nominees by clicking here. But before the Oscar nominees are announced and before we see what the BFCA has to say, let's review what other critics groups picked as their favorites in the main categories during the past month.

This final list of 34 critics groups include the Alliance of Women Journalist (AWFJ), African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), Online Film Critics (OFCS), Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) as well as critic groups from the following regions: Los Angeles (LAFCA), New York (NYFCC), Boston (BSFC), Washington D.C (WAFCA), New York Online (NYFCO), Boston Online (BOFCA), Southeastern (SEFCA), Indiana (IFJA), San Francisco (SFFCC), Austin (AFCA), San Diego (SDFCS), Toronto (TFCA), Dallas-Forth Worth (DFWFCA), Las Vegas (LVFCS), Utah (UFCA), Detroit (DFCS), Houston (HFCS), Chicago (CFCA), Denver (DFCA), Florida (FFCC), St. Louis (SLFC), Phoenix (PFCS), Oklahoma (OFCC), Kansas City (KCFCC), Central Ohio (COFCA), North Texas (NTFCA), Nevada (NFCS), Iowa (IFCA), and Vancouver (VFCC). Meanwhile, the National Board of Review (NBR) winners are marked with an asterisk.

BEST PICTURE

• Zero Dark Thirty* (12) - NYFCC, BSFC, NYFCO, BOFCA, WAFCA, AAFCA, CFCA, BFCC, AFCA, UFCA, AWFJ, VFCC
• Argo (10) - OFCS, SDFCS, SEFCA, SLFC, FFCC, NFCS, OFCC, HFCS, PFCS, DFCA
• Lincoln (3) - DFWFCA, NTFCA, IFCA
• The Master (3) - KCFCC, SFFCC, TFCA
• Amour (2) - LAFCA, NSFC
• Life of Pi (1) - LVFCS
• Silver Linings Playbook (1) - DFCS
• Moonrise Kingdom (1) - COFCA
• Safety Not Guaranteed (1) - IFJA

Notable exclusions: Les Misérables, Django Unchained, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Skyfall

BEST DIRECTOR

• Kathryn Bigelow* (13) - NYFCC, BSFC, NYFCO, BOFCA, WAFCA, SFFCC, CFCA, DFWFCA, BFCC, NFCS, AWFJ, PFCS, VFCC
• Ben Affleck (9) - SDFCS, AAFCA, SEFCA, SLFC, FFCC, NFCS, OFCC, HFCS, DFCA
• Paul Thomas Anderson (4) - LAFCA, TFCA, AFCA, OFCS
• Ang Lee (2) - KCFCC, LVFCS
• Steven Spielberg (2) - NTFCA, IFCA
• Wes Anderson (2) - UFCA, COFCA
• David O. Russell (1) - DFCS
• Quentin Tarantino (1) - IFJA
• Michael Haneke (1) - NSFC

Notable exclusions: Tom Hooper, Behn Zeitlin, Sam Mendes

BEST ACTOR

• Daniel Day-Lewis (26) - NYFCC, BSFC, NYFCO, NSFC, OFCS, BOFCA, WAFCA, SDFCS, DFCS, KCFCC, LVFCS, CFCA, SEFCA, IFJA, SLFC, FFCC, DFWFCA, BFCC, OFCC, COFCA, HFCS, AWFJ, PFCS, NTFCA, DFCA, IFCA
• Joaquin Phoenix (5) - LAFCA, SFFCC, AFCA, UFCA, VFCC
• Bradley Cooper* (1) - IFJA
• John Hawkes (1) - NFCS
• Denzel Washington (1) - AAFCA
• Denis Lavant (1) - TFCA

Notable exclusions: Hugh Jackman, Bill Murray, Jack Black, Ewan McGregor, Logan Lerman, Richard Gere, Ben Affleck

BEST ACTRESS

• Jessica Chastain* (15) - OFCS, BOFCA, WAFCA, CFCA, IFJA, SLFC, FFCC, DFWFCA, BFCC, OFCC, UFCA, AWFJ, PFCS, VFCC, IFCA
• Jennifer Lawrence (12) - LAFCA, DFCS, KCFCC, LVFCS, SEFCA, AFCA, NFCS, UFCA, COFCA, HFCS, NTFCA, DFCA
• Emmanuelle Riva (5) - LAFCA, BSFC, NYFCO, NSFC, SFFCC
• Rachel Weisz (2) - NYFCC, TFCA
• Michelle Williams (1) - SDFCS
• Helen Hunt (1) - NFCS
• Emayatzi Corinealdi (1) - AAFCA

Notable exclusions: Marion Cotillard, Helen Mirren, Naomi Watts, Quvenzhane Wallis, Meryl Streep, Maggie Smith

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Philip Seymour Hoffman (12) - OFCS, WAFCA, KCFCC, CFCA, SEFCA, TFCA, FFCC, OFCC, AWFJ, PFCS, DFCA, VFCC
• Tommy Lee Jones (10) - NYFCO, BOFCA, LVFCS, SFFCC, IFJA, DFWFCA, NFCS, HFCS, NTFCA, IFCA
• Christoph Waltz (5) - SDFCS, SLFC, BFCC, AFCA, COFCA
• Matthew McConaughey (2) - NYFCC, NSFC
• Dwight Henry (2) - LAFCA, UFCA
• Robert Deniro (1) - DFCS
• Ezra Miller (1) - BSFC
• Nate Parker (1) - AAFCA

Notable exclusions: Leonardo DiCaprio*, Alan Arkin, Javier Bardem, John Goodman, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Holland

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Anne Hathaway (21) - NYFCO, OFCS, BOFCA, WAFCA, DFCS, KCFCC, LVFCS, SEFCA, IFJA, FFCC, BFCC, AFCA, OFCC, UFCA, COFCA, HFCS, AWFJ, PFCS, NTFCA, DFCA, IFCA
• Sally Field (5) - NYFCC, BSFC, AAFCA, DFWFCA, NFCS
• Amy Adams (4) - LAFCA, NSFC, CFCA, VFCC
• Helen Hunt (2) - SFFCC, SLFC
• Ann Dowd* (1) - SLFC
• Emma Watson (1) - SDFCS
• Gina Gershon (1) - TFCA

Notable exclusions: Nicole Kidman, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Samantha Barks

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Zero Dark Thirty (7) - NYFCO, SFFCC, CFCA, SLFC, DFWFCA, AWFJ, VFCC
• Moonrise Kingdom (6) - OFCS, SEFCA, OFCC, COFCA, PFCS, DFCA
• Looper* (5) - WAFCA, LVFCS, FFCC, AFCA, UFCA
• The Master (3) - SDFCS, KCFCC, TFCA
• Django Unchained (1) - BFCC
• Middle of Nowhere (1) - AAFCA
• Safety Not Guaranteed (1) - IFJA

Notable exclusions: Flight, Amour, Cabin in the Woods

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Argo (11) - LAFCA, OFCS, SDFCS, KCFCC, SEFCA, FFCC, BFCC, AFCA, OFCC, AWFJ, PFCS
• Lincoln (9) - NYFCC, BSFC, BOFCA, NSFC, SFFCC, CFCA, SLFC, COFCA, HFCS
• Silver Linings Playbook* (4) - WAFCA, DFCS, SLFC, DFCA
• Perks of Being a Wallflower (2) - IFJA, UFCA

Notable exclusions: Life of Pi, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Les Misérables, Anna Karenina, The Hobbit, The Sessions, Cloud Atlas

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• ParaNorman (14) - OFCS, BOFCA, WAFCA, SDFCS, LVFCS, SFFCC, CFCA, SEFCA, TFCA, DFWFCA, UFCA, COFCA, AWFJ, DFCA
• Frankenweenie (6) - NYFCC, LAFCA, BSFC, KCFCC, FFCC, NFCS
• Wreck-It Ralph* (6) - SLFC, AFCA, OFCC, HFCS, PFCS, NTFCA
• Rise of the Guardians (3) - AAFCA, IFJA, BFCC
• Brave (1) - IFCA
• Chico & Rita (1) - NYFCO

Notable exclusions: Madagascar 3, Hotel Transylvania

Here is the thing that one shouldremember: critics are not Oscar voters. So if you're trying to figure out who will win the Oscars by these results alone then you're running a fool's errand. The one thing that the critics are able to do though is to put a film or a performance in voter's radars. This is wonderful for such movies and actors that might not get their dues tomorrow morning such as Safety Guaranteed, Middle of Nowhere, Denis Lavant, Emayatzi Corinealdi, Ezra Miller, Dwight Henry, Matthew McConaughey, Emma Watson, Gina Gershon, etc.

Of course there's no denying overwhelming critical favorites this year like Daniel Day-Lewis, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Zero Dark Thirty, Argo, and ParaNorman. All of these should be nominated for an Oscar and most of them might win as well, but again it's difficult to say anything even before the nominations are announced and more people actual watch the films. The guilds (PGA, DGA, SAG, and WGA) as well as the Golden Globes and BFCA will better clear up who has the momentum for Oscar.

BAFTA Nominations

Just a day prior to Oscar nomination morning, the BAFTA announced their picks for their favorite films and actors of the past year. This year, they've adopted a nomination system more similar to the Oscars which may mean their picks today could easily repeat tomorrow morning.

Best Film

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Les Misérables
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best British Film

• Anna Karenina
• The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
• Les Misérables
• Seven Psychopaths
• Skyfall

Despite being less enthusiastically received than most of its peers the past few weeks, Les Misérables gets the double honor this year of being nominated in both film categories to go along with its hefty haul of 9 nominations tying it with Life of Pi. Both have to settle for second though as Lincoln notches the most nomination with 10 which I find impressive considering just how "American" the film is relatively. I half-expected Britain's biggest film ever Skyfall to also double up in film categories, but had to settle for being in the British film shortlist and for having the third most nominations with 8.

Best Director

• Michael Haneke, Amour
• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

The biggest shock here has got to be Steven Spielberg's exclusion considering Lincoln led with the most nominations. Tom Hooper was also ignored by his countrymen making this category all the more intriguing considering both DGA-nominated men were replaced by Haneke and Tarantino. And while it has been Affleck vs. Bigelow all season, I'm very happy that Lee has managed to become a solid #3 and I'm personally hoping he pulls off the surprise win.

Best Actor

• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
• Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
• Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
• Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables

Best Actress

• Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
• Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
• Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
• Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
• Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

The Affleck love continues here as he gets his first major Best Actor nod of the season knocking off perhaps Denzel Washington or John Hawkes from a spot, though I personally was rooting for Ewan McGregor considering the obvious UK support. In that same vein, I'm more surprised that neither Naomi Watts nor Rachel Weisz was able to crack the Actress shortlist. I still think they have enough heat for Oscars (Watts in particular), but the non-nominations here hurts a bit. Both are fighting it out with Riva and Mirren it seems, who unfortunately seems to also be great in their roles so I can't be too upset.

Best Supporting Actor

• Alan Arkin, Argo
• Javier Bardem, Skyfall
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
• Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
• Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Adams, The Master
• Judi Dench, Skyfall
• Sally Field, Lincoln
• Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables
• Helen Hunt, The Sessions

My crazy dark horse picks of Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Jude Law, and Tom Holland to get nominated was a bust, but if they were going to be honored somewhere this awards season, this really was the place. Instead the British contingent decided to make Dench the lone Brit in the list eschewing even BAFTA favorite Maggie Smith. What is up with not supporting more English actors this year? Is everyone over Team GB after the Olympics? Unfortunately/fortunately these nominations will most likely reflect Oscar's picks give or take Robert Deniro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Nicole Kidman.

Best Original Screenplay

• Amour
• Django Unchained
• The Master
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook

This is pretty much my nightmare scenario for the Oscars tomorrow with two of my favorite screenplays, for Looper and for Perks of Being a Wallflower, getting ignored for more Oscar-y films. The rest of the frontrunners made it in, but it was a great day for Django Unchained, Amour, and especially Beasts of the Southern Wild to get a major nod for their writing after being ineligible for WGA.

Best Foreign Language Film

• Amour
• Headhunters
• The Hunt
• The Intouchables
• Rust and Bone

Best Documentary

• The Imposter
• Marley
• McCullin
• Searching for Sugar Man
• West of Memphis

Best Animated Film

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman

Based on how awards season has gone, the Oscar frontrunners for each category seem to be Amour, Searching for Sugar Man, and ParaNorman. Though Amour does have The Intouchables to deal with while ParaNorman will not only have Frankenweenie, but also perhaps audience-favorite Wreck-It Ralph. As I've said already, I'm Team ParaNorman all the way!

Best Cinematography

• Anna Karenina
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Les Misérables
• Skyfall

Best Production Design

• Anna Karenina
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Les Misérables
• Skyfall

Best Costume Design

• Anna Karenina
• Great Expectations
• Les Misérables
• Lincoln
• Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Film Editing

• Argo
• Django Unchained
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

Best Makeup & Hair

• Anna Karenina
• Hitchcock
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Lincoln
• Les Misérables

Best Original Music

• Anna Karenina
• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Skyfall

Best Sound

• Django Unchained
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Les Misérables
• Skyfall

Best Visual Effects

• The Avengers
• The Dark Knight Rises
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Life of Pi
• Prometheus

The British film everyone thought would make a bigger impact this awards season Anna Karenina saved some face by picking up five technical nominations. Skyfall, Lincoln, and Les Misérables also received 5 nominations. Only Life of Pi got more with 6 nominations. Box office blockbusters Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers showed up in Visual Effects. Finally, it's worth noting that the Cinematography category matched 100% with the nominations of the ASC which announced today as well. Is that your Oscar line-up as well?

Best Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

• Thina Garavi, I Am Nasrine
• Bart Layton and Dimitri Doganis, The Imposter
• David Morris and Jacqui Morris, McCullin
• James Bobin, The Muppets
• Dexter Fletcher and Danny King, Wild Bill

Rising Star Award

• Elizabeth Olsen
• Andrea Riseborough
• Suraj Sharma
• Juno Temple
• Alicia Vikander

Last year, I knew more names in the Best Debut category, but I'm sure all the nominees this year are equally as worthy! As for the annual Rising Award, which the public will vote on, it seems they tried their best to balance out the gender inequality after last year's very testosterone-heavy slate. This year, Sharma is the lone guy. I was hoping Tom Holland or Samantha Barks would show up here as well (Redmayne was cited last year), but alas nope. Last year the ONLY person I didn't know ended up winning, so I won't even pretend to guess who the British public will vote for. Any British reader care to weigh in?

Looking Forward To...

Gangster Squad
Release: January 11, 2013
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Starring: Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Nick Nolte, Mireille Enos, Josh Pence, and Josh Brolin

End-Of-Year: 2012 TV Winners

It only took me long enough, but here are my winners finally. Wish I had more time to devote to actually writing on each and everyone of my nominees. Enjoy!

Best Ensemble: Shameless
Runner-Up: The Hour
Other Nominees: Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, The Good Wife, Parks and Recreation

Not shocking that I love all of these shows and their kick ass cast. I mean is there any awesome actor living in New York that hasn't been in The Good Wife? In any case, I picked Shameless this year because I'm a sucker for that fucked up family containing some of the better young actors out in Hollywood right now. As for the runner-up, The Hour, it's not so shocking since I pretty much nominated everyone in the cast this year, so there you go.

Best Actor, Drama: Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead
Runner-Up: Jonny Lee Miller, Elementary
Other Nominees: Bryan Cranston, Jason Isaacs, Damian Lewis, Ben Whishaw

Is it weird that all of my nominees, but one are British men? Possibly. It's even weirder still that Emmy-favorites Cranston and Lewis didn't win, but I have this weird thing about appreciating severely underappreciated performance (see my nominations for Isaacs and Whishaw as well). Objectively Cranston and Lewis is probably heads and shoulders above the others here, but I need to give props to Lincoln for shouldering a genre show that could fuck up any second but has managed to not mostly due to his consistency. Meanwhile, Miller's take on the great detective is just super refreshing and always interesting to observe.

Best Actor, Comedy: Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation
Runner-Up: Matt Smith, Doctor Who
Other Nominees: Alec Baldwin, Joel McHale, Jim Parsons, Elijah Wood

Sure Scott plays the straight guy more often than not, but his chemisty with most of the cast, including lead actress Poehler, is quite flawless and the show has only gotten better with his increased role in it. My pick last year, Smith, is runner-up this year mostly because we didn't have that many episodes and most of his best moments were a bit dramatic. And while I like-love the rest of the nominees, this is the one and only category where I felt I had to look for worthy nominations. Perhaps I just don't watch many comedy shows with lead actors? I probably need to get into Louie.

Best Actress, Drama: Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Runner-Up: Emmy Rossum, Shameless
Other Nominees: Claire Danes, Romolai Garai, Elisabeth Moss, Madeline Stowe

I went back and forth a lot since I could pretty much make a case for about four of the nominees to win, but I decided to go with Dockery because Mary was one of the best things about the uneven S2 and very memorable in S3. My pick last year, Rossum, is still so underappreciated, it practically hurts me since she's just SO good in the role and she was probably even better this season than the last. And while they didn't win, underestimate the rest of my fierce nominees at your peril.

Best Actress, Comedy: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Runner-Up: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
Other Nominees: Courtney Cox, Tina Fey, Jane Levy, Dakota Johnson

Though I was "upset" that Louis-Dreyfus beat Poehler at this year's Emmy Awards, I really wasn't since I actually think she gave a better comedic performance this year. Her Selina is such a mess and it's been so terribly amusing seeing how she handles it all. But Poehler is still damn aces most especially in dealing with life-changing stuff (winning election, getting engaged, meeting Joe Biden). Johnson's nomination was mostly to honor her sweet show, but I think she's quite lovely in it as well. Fey, Levy, and Cox I've nominated in year's past and they still rock. No brainer.

Best Supporting Actor, Drama: Martin Freeman, Sherlock
Runner-Up: Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Other Nominees: Peter Dinklage, Gabriel Mann, John Noble, Aaron Paul

THIS was my Sophie's Choice. Year in, year out this always seems to be my most difficult category and this is because all six of these performances are not just good, but out-of-this-world good. Emmy winners Paul and Dinklage as well as newcomer Mann are my favorite things about their shows, which is saying a lot, and the fact that Noble hasn't been given an award for his Walter is a travesty. And while his show may have gotten more critiques this season, Patinkin has only gotten better. In the end, I gave my award to Freeman whose heartbreaking moments in the final episode of the season sealed it for me.

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy: Jake Johnson, New Girl
Runner-Up: Adam Driver, Girls
Other Nominees: Arthur Darvill, Nick Offerman, Jim Rash, Damon Wayans Jr.

Max Greenfield should probably be nominated here, but there just wasn't any room and so instead I give his castmate Johnson the big win here since his Nick character is pretty much my spirit animal. Driver as the runner-up may be surprising considering the amount of AMAZING the rest of the nominees have (and also considering how I've pretty much declared my love for all of them at one point or another), but his character was the few pleasant surprises that show offered up.

Best Supporting Actress, Drama: Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter
Runner-Up: Cristina Hendricks, Mad Men
Other Nominees: Laura Carmichael, Anna Chancellor, Anna Gunn, Maise Williams

I really thought Hendricks had this in the bag for most of the year giving us a more desperate Joan in the latest season and Gunn did her best to unseat her by displaying a shell-shocked and fearful Skylar, but unfortunately for both of them Carpenter was just brilliant as the MVP on this season of Dexter having to deal with the fallout of finally knowing Dexter's big secret. Can't forget to give props to Chancellor, Williams, and Carmichael whose relative small screentime belie their screen presence.

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: Zosia Mamet, Girls
Runner-Up: Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation
Other Nominees: Mayim Bialik, Anna Chlumsky, Eliza Coupe, Jane Krakowski

My love for what Bialik, Coupe, and Krakowski all do on their show knows no bound. Most times I only look forward to an episode of their shows to see what crazy thing they would say or do. Meanwhile newcomer Chlumsky is also quite great in a less flashy role. Plaza has grown so much in character and that has only made her better, but it's Mamet who stole my heart the past year with her hilarious portrayal of neurotic Shoshanna. Her reaction to taking drugs alone would've been enough to give her this win.

Best Limited Role, Actor: Sebastian Stan, Once Upon a Time
Runner-Up: Andrew Scott, Sherlock
Other Nominees: Peter Capaldi, Matthew Perry, Andrew Rannells, Ray Stevenson

Best Limited Role, Actress: Oona Chaplin, The Hour
Runner-Up: Jenna Louise Coleman, Doctor Who
Other Nominees: Felicia Day, Kathryn Hahn, Carrie Preston, Laura Pulver

These limited role nominations are totally my excuse to honor more people, but then again the Emmys do also have their similar "guest categories" so I feel okay having this as well. These categories are a bit more difficult to narrow down (to nominations) and then narrow further for winners, because each role/performance by its nature is very limited, but all are memorable enough to make the shortlist. Picking Stan and Chaplin mostly because I also enjoy what they did in other shows this year (him in Political Animals and her in Game of Thrones) while Scott and Coleman do extremely well in speaking Moffat's words. I'd talk more about the other nominees, but I just implore you to see the few episodes they were in. You will be amazed.

I'll save my picks for Best Shows when I post my list of Favorite Shows of 2012 in a few days. In the meantime, here are the nominees to refresh your memories:

Best Drama: Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Homeland, The Hour, Shameless, Sherlock
Best Comedy: Community, Doctor Who, Happy Endings, New Girl, Parks and Recreation, Veep
Best New Show: Awake, Ben and Kate, Girls, Last Resort, Political Animals, Veep

Directors Guild Nominations

Here's a crazy stat: Only once in the past 10 years has a film won Best Picture without its director not winning the DGA Award previously (Crash directed by Paul Haggis). So the nominated films today should feel real good about their chances for Oscar glory. They will all certainly be nominated for Best Picture, but the competition for the win just got that much smaller.

The DGA nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film for 2012 are:

• Ben Affleck, Argo
• Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
• Tom Hooper, Les Miserables
• Ang Lee, Life of Pi
• Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

These nominees seem to solidify the season-long frontrunner status of Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, and Lincoln which all have done well with both critics and guilds throughout. It also boosts the chances for more divisive films like Les Miserables and Life of Pi showing they, too, had wide support. The snubs were telling. As BFCA nominee David O. Russell and Golden Globe nominee Quentin Tarantino are left on the outside, though underestimate either of their chances for an Oscar nomination at your peril. I also wouldn't count out Paul Thomas Anderson, Benh Zeitlin, and Michael Haneke. The tougher ask though is who among the DGA Five is the likelier to be replaced? Lee? Hooper?

For the win, I think it's between Bigelow and Affleck with the latter being the only first-time nominee and non-winner on the list and the former being the only woman winner ever. It's worth to note that it's been six year since a previous winner has won the award. The last repeat winner was coincidentally this year's nominee Ang Lee, winning his second DGA for Brokeback Mountain. Can Affleck continue the streak of first-time winners? They do seem to like their actor-turn-directors, right?

Writers Guild Nominations

The Writers Guild of America put forth their nominees this year and, like every year, some of the possible Oscar frontrunners are missing due to eligibility rules such as Django Unchained and Les Misérables. With that said, the nominees are...

Original Screenplay

• Flight
• Looper
• The Master
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Zero Dark Thirty

Adapted Screenplay

• Argo
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Silver Linings Playbook

Documentary Screenplay

• The Central Park Five
• The Invisible War
• Mea Maxima Culpa
• Searching for Sugar Man
• We Are Legion
• West of Memphis

As I said above, Tarantino's film Django Unchained was ineligible for original screenplay (though it was nominated at the Golden Globes) and I think it might replace one of these nominees for the Oscars. My gut tells me it'll be either Flight or The Master, but perhaps that's wishful thinking since I really, really want National Board of Review winner Looper to make it in and it's really the only film here that's not traditionally "Oscar-y." In any case, Zero Dark Thirty should be seen as the favorite here and at the Oscars. A few of the other films in the conversation that weren't eligible include Take This Waltz, The Impossible, Your Sister's Sister, Middle of Nowhere, Amour, Seven Psychopaths, and Brave.

For Adapted Screenplay, I think Lincoln might be the favorite even though Argo has so far won more critic awards while Silver Linings Playbook won the National Board of Review. All three were nominated for a Golden Globe (alongside Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained). But I'm most happy about the inclusion of Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower which was adapted from his own novel. Like Looper, I'm afraid it'll get left out come Oscar time to make way for, ineligible, but flashier and more Oscar-buzzy fare like Les Misérables, Beasts of the Southern Wild, or even Anna Karenina. The Deep Blue Sea and a couple of Maggie Smith films, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Quartet, were also ineligible for WGA. I think Cloud Atlas, The Hobbit, and Skyfall were eligible, but alas no love for them here.

End-Of-Year: 2012 TV Nominees

This time last year, I had already listed my favorite TV shows and actors of the past year, which just shows you how utterly behind I am this year. Most of this had to do with a busier holiday season than I usually have and also being sick for most of it. But enough excuses, I need to just post my year-end nominations and live with my choices. And so...

Best Show, Drama
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
The Hour
Shameless
Sherlock

Best Show, Comedy
Community
Doctor Who
Happy Endings
New Girl
Parks and Recreation
Veep

Best New Show
Awake
Ben and Kate
Girls
Last Resort
Political Animals
Veep

Best Ensemble
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
The Good Wife
The Hour
Parks and Recreation
Shameless

Best Actor, Drama
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jason Isaacs, Awake
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Andrew Lincoln, The Walking Dead
Jonny Lee Miller, Elementary
Ben Whishaw, The Hour

Best Actor, Comedy
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Joel McHale, Community
Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory
Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation
Matt Smith, Doctor Who
Elijah Wood, Wilfred

Best Actress, Drama
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Romolai Garai, The Hour
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Emmy Rossum, Shameless
Madeleine Stowe, Revenge

Best Actress, Comedy
Courtney Cox, Cougar Town
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Jane Levy, Suburgatory
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Dakota Johnson, Ben and Kate
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Martin Freeman, Sherlock
Gabriel Mann, Revenge
John Noble, Fringe
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Arthur Darvill, Doctor Who
Adam Driver, Girls
Jake Johnson, New Girl
Nick Offerman, Parks and Recreation
Jim Rash, Community
Damon Wayans, Jr., Happy Endings

Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Laura Carmichael, Downton Abbey
Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter
Anna Chancellor, The Hour
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Mayim Bialik, Big Bang Theory
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Eliza Coupe, Happy Endings
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Zosia Mamet, Girls
Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation

Best Limited Role, Actor
Peter Capaldi, The Hour
Matthew Perry, The Good Wife
Andrew Rannells, Girls
Andrew Scott, Sherlock
Sebastian Stan, Once Upon a Time
Ray Stevenson, Dexter

Best Limited Role, Actress
Oona Chaplin, The Hour
Felicia Day, Supernatural
Jenna Louise Coleman, Doctor Who
Kathryn Hahn, Parks and Recreation
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Laura Pulver, Sherlock

Nomination Tally: 7 - The Hour, Parks and Recreation; 5 - Breaking Bad; 4 - Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Girls, Homeland, Sherlock, Veep; 3 - 30 Rock, Community, Good Wife, Happy Endings, Shameless; 2 - Awake, Ben and Kate, Big Bang Theory, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, New Girl, Revenge; 1 - Cougar Town, Elementary, Fringe, Last Resort, Once Upon a Time, Political Animals, Suburgatory, Supernatural, Walking Dead, Wilfred

Since I watch more shows in a year than most people do in their entire lives, it make sense that I've managed to nominate 32 different shows and 60 performances. The sad thing is that there's probably a list of a dozen shows and 20-30 performances that could've easily ended up above if I had made this list on a different day. Anyways, I'll try to pick my winners and then compile a ranked list of my favorite TV shows for the year before Monday.

Producers Guild Nominations

The only surprising thing about the Producers Guild nominations today was that it came one day earlier than expected. The nominated films themselves, with the exception of a not-even-that-shocking inclusion of James Bond, are the same films that have been Oscar front-runners since the beginning of awards season.

Producer of the Year Award in Films

• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Skyfall
• Zero Dark Thirty

As I said above, only Skyfall was the odd man out and yet there was always going to be one crowd-pleaser in the mix and this year the honor went to the first billion dollar grossing James Bond film. I wished it would've been The Avengers, while others thought it would've been The Dark Knight Rises. Unfortunately for those films, the other 9 films have dominated the awards season (all of them were nominated by the BFCA and both the National Board of Review and the Hollywood Foreign Press cited 8 of the 9 films). The possibility of these same 9 films to be nominated for Best Picture became that much likelier. The biggest loser here, of course, is The Master, but its fans should note that Oscar rarely goes 100% with the guild. Look at the similarly auteur-driven Tree of Life last year.

Producer of the Year Award in Animated Films

• Brave
• Frankenweenie
• ParaNorman
• Rise of the Guardians
• Wreck-It Ralph

Like the live-action films above, this list was populated with the same exact films honored elsewhere. In fact, only one animated film not on this list has won a critics award and it was a film that was already Oscar-nominated last year. All of these films were nominated for a BFCA and only ParaNorman, the critical favorite, didn't get a Golden Globe nomination. At this point, I'd be quite shocked to see any of these films left out for the eventual Oscar short list.

Producer of the Year Award in Documentaries

• The Gatekeepers
• The Island President
• The Other Dream Team
• A People Uncounted
• Searching for Sugar Man

Only Searching for Sugar Man and The Gatekeepers are still in the running for Oscar glory and not shockingly they are also the only two films in this list to get any awards attention elsewhere with Sugar Man out in front with the most critics awards, a win from the National Board of Review, and a BFCA nomination. Is it the front-runner then? It's very hard to tell this year with this category, so stay tuned!