The Broadcast Film Critics Association Nominees

I'm late to the party, as usual. But it is better to be late than to not show up at all, right?

The complete list of nominees can be found here.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson/Noah Baumbach, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Neill Blomkamp/Terri Tatchell, District 9
Tom Ford/David Scearce, A Single Man
Nick Hornby, An Education
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Genre fare finally getting its due at awards season. I'd like to take a look-see at the Mr. Fox and District 9 screenplays. I have the others, I just haven't perused them yet. I've yet to see A Single Man, but the others are admirable films in their own right, so kudos.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Ethan Coen/Joel Coen, A Serious Man
Pete Docter/Bob Peterson, Up
Scott Neustadter/Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Ladies and gentlemen, your Oscar slate.

BEST ENSEMBLE
Inglourious Basterds
Nine
Precious
Star Trek
Up in the Air
Glad to see Star Trek getting in, too. JJ Abrams and the actors were really what made it work. Zachary Quinto is excellent.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
I can support the noms for Damon, Molin and Waltz. Damon is truly magnetic in Invictus.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious
Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Samantha Morton, The Messenger
Minus Cotillard, this is your Oscar slate. I don't think the Nine girls are in -- far too many. But that's sight unseen, then again. Nor have I seen Up in the Air or The Messenger. It's just a feeling I have, but that's been known to lead me astray before. Besides, isn't Cotillard being campaigned for lead?

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Viggo Mortensen, The Road
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Don't you love that Crazy Heart got a new release date a month before it came out and now it's got the must-see performance of the year? Oscar season. No Sam Rockwell for Moon? Someone throw the guy a bone!

BEST ACTRESS
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Blunt? Really? People have seen that movie? It's actually coming out? Thank the maker, but still...it's been practically invisible. Oh, also: Abbie Cornish in Bright Star. WTF?

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Clint Eastwood, Invictus
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
With the exception of noms for Freeman and Damon, both of whom are deserving, the Invictus party train must be derailed at all costs. Eastwood is NOT one of the Best Directors of the Year. Invictus is a mess, anchored only by two actors with amazing instincts. Eastwood doesn't direct actors, he just puts a camera in front of them. Thus the uneven performances in his movie. (That said, it means all that much more when a real actor shows up to give a great performance: Laura Linney and Kevin Bacon in Mystic River, for example).

BEST PICTURE
Avatar
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Nine
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
I still doubt Up's chances past these critics' awards. Five extra slots does not mean the Academy will suddenly change. I've already had my Invictus rant. Fun category. Can't wait for the show.