Wheeeeee! You ready for more? These are a nice change of pace. Seriously.

The African American Film Critics Association have named “The Tree of Life” the best film of the year and Steven McQueen the best director, for his film “Shame.” Just yesterday the San Francisco crowd went with Terrence Malick’s effort (which clocked in at #2 for me on the year). It would be nice to see more groups going that way. Mostly I’m stoked by their Best Actor choice: Woody Harrelson in “Rampart.”

One award on the list really annoys me, though. And that’s giving Best Song to “The Show” from “Moneyball.” The inclusion of that track in the film already irritates me to no end. It’s anachronistic and they don’t even make an attempt to NOT pass it off as original to the movie. It could have been anything else. Yes, the words are perfect. But… But… And then to give it an award? Odd.

Anyway, check out the full list of winners below.

Best Picture: “The Tree of Life”

Rounding out the top 10 “in order of distinction”: “Drive,” “Pariah,” “Rampart,” “Shame,” “Moneyball,” “The Descendants,” “A Better Life,” “My Week With Marilyn” and “The Help”

Best Director: Steve McQueen, “Shame”

Best Actor: Woody Harrelson, “Rampart”

Best Actress: Viola Davis, “The Help”

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Breakout Performance: Adepero Oduye, “Pariah”

Best Documentary: “The Black Power Mixtape”

Best Screenplay: “I Will Follow”

Best Foreign Film: “Kinyarwanda”

Best Song: “The Show” from “Moneyball.”

Best Independent Film: “Pariah”

Legacy Award: Richard Roundtree

Horizon Award: Hattie Winston

Cinema Vanguard Award: George Lucas

Special Achievement Award: Sony Pictures Entertainment

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BOSTON – The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum sits fairly isolated on Boston Harbor. On a cold and clear December day, I.M. Pei”s architecture looks undeniably beautiful, in many ways showing the best of what can be accomplished in America. But the view of the harbor is undeniably stark, leaving one to wonder: What if the man to which it was dedicated had lived longer?

It seems only appropriate that this shrine to the most notable member of the famed yet tragic “essential American family” is also home to the largest collection of letters from the famed yet tragic “essential American author.” Once upon a time, Ernest Hemingway”s widow struck up a friendship with the 35th president and his wife when she needed permission to go to Cuba to retrieve her husband”s belongings. One thing led to another and today, there is more original archived material from and about Hemingway at the JFK Library than anywhere in the world.

In addition to his novels and short stories, Hemingway was also a prolific letter writer (around 2,500 of his letters are at the JFK Library alone). And Hemingway scholar Sandra Spanier has recently edited the first book in a 16-volume collection of them.

Hemingway was, of course, recently portrayed with great effect by actor Corey Stoll in Woody Allen”s “Midnight in Paris.” Stoll made an appearance at the Library last night with Spanier and novelist Ward Just for the most recent Kennedy Library Forum to discuss Hemingway and read several of his letters. The well-attended event showed there is much interest in the legend of Hemingway, but little knowledge about the man – apart from when the two line up.

When Stoll was called to audition for the part, he did not know what it was for. “It”s probably good or I would have over-analyzed,” he says to me after the event. Once he was hired, he respected Allen”s desire for secrecy about his role. “My family only knew I was living in Paris and suddenly taking boxing lessons,” he told the Library crowd.

Allen told Stoll not to watch any recordings or read any biographies, and Stoll says he was not at all concerned about playing Hemingway as he actually was, as that would have been counterproductive. But of course he read plenty of the author’s novels and short stories.

“This was Hemingway in Owen [Wilson]”s mind,” he explains, “and I had to engage with Owen.” When the costume designer presented impeccable designer suits with fine cuff links, Allen rejected the clothes, even though that is actually how Hemingway dressed. “He”s got to be rough,” Stoll says, also noting that his deep voice is unlike Hemingway”s, which was actually somewhat high.

Stoll”s knowledge of Hemingway naturally grew after filming. “Since then, I”ve started learning more,” he says. “It helps in interviews but I hope no one will mistake me for any sort of scholar!”

So who was the real Ernest Hemingway and how do these letters shed light on that? Being just volume one of 16, we only get a glimpse, but a picture emerges of someone who loved his family. Contrary to the perception that he hated his mother, Hemingway would write all his relatives long letters from Europe or elsewhere in the United States, showing deep care for them.

The first letter Stoll read, written during World War I, spoke of a lack of fear of death. Written when Hemingway was just 19, the letter reveals how he would not want his family to be sad at his death. “How much better to die in all the happy period of undisillusioned youth, to go out in a blaze of light, than to have your body worn out and old and illusions shattered,” he writes. Just, a novelist who counts Hemingway as one of his influences, noted that it is remarkable that such a thing was written by someone so young. “It’s as good as anything he ever wrote,” he said.

The second letter Stoll read was about Hemingway”s lost love, Agnes Von Kurowsky, a nurse he fell in love with during World War I. Despite his persona as a rough man who could survive being rejected by a woman, he lamented to one of his best friends how he had “forgot all about religion and everything else because I had Ag to worship.” The heartbreak was palpable, though two months later he was writing about his recent escapades with other women. Yet “Ag” became the prototype for Catherine Barkley in “A Farewell to Arms.” So who knows where his heart ultimately lay?

Throughout these letters, Hemingway crafts a persona of a worldly man who cares deeply about people and causes, but also someone who can take on anything. In another letter, he claims to have successfully fought middleweight boxer Henry Cuddy on a voyage across the Atlantic. The extent to which that lines up with reality, however, is debatable, given that that Cuddy was known to be in Salt Lake City at the time.

Alcohol consumption is another place where legend and the man are hard to separate. Allen and Stoll”s portrayal of Hemingway”s use of alcohol could be reflected in his letters. One of them, to Gertude Stein (the famed author and art collector portrayed by Kathy Bates in “Midnight”), recounted an instance where Hemingway claimed to have drank 11 beers after predicting 17 winners in horse racing. While the alcohol consumption was plausible, the gambling was not, again leading one to wonder when the myth ended and the man began. “He was probably trying to entertain,” Just speculated, “and he would have succeeded.”

Regarding the alcohol consumption (which was certainly not healthy, though many Hemingway scholars dispute the characterization “alcoholic” – he was very careful to ensure it did not affect his work), Stoll knew that he would have to portray the man as “a festive drinker, but a social drinker,” he told the crowd. “In his writings there is a constant litany of drinks, not just a character of alcohol but an icy bottle of Capri or a foaming stein of beer. In Owen Wilson”s [character’s] mind, Hemingway would stir up images of alcohol, violence and talking about writing.”

The one person in the film for whom Hemingway had some deference was Stein. And this element, as well as Bates’s portrayal, is an instance where the film did correspond more clearly with reality. “Like with virtually everyone else in his life, they eventually had a falling out,” Stoll tells me. “But she was one of few people whose views he actually respected when it came to writing…and the fact that it was Kathy Bates meant I was no longer the big man on set!”

Hemingway will be played again on screen in the near future, as an older man, by Anthony Hopkins. Stoll told the crowd, only partially in jest, “I”m glad my performance came out first,” but it”s still clear that through his experience on “Midnight in Paris” and subsequent events such as Sunday”s, he has come to know the legend he portrayed and is immensely grateful to have had the chance to convey such a famed character. “I knew this would be a great role for whoever played it,” he tells me, “and I knew it was my best chance for a big break.”

Fifty years after Hemingway ended his life, the myth surrounding the man remains, and by design, “Midnight in Paris” did little to rectify that. “But he”s complicit in that myth,” Stoll is quick to point out. Maybe the letters will do something to correct that – but many of them would seem to only build it up more.

And perhaps that is how Hemingway would have wanted it.

“Midnight in Paris” comes to DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, December 20.

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Strap in. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride. More critics kudos! (Hey, look on the bright side. At this rate it’ll be over sooner rather than later.)

But the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association’s list of nominees brings up an interesting question: Should critics groups really be bothering with self-satisfying nominations announcements? I’m one to talk, of course, since I do something similar every year, but that’s always covered within three days, whereas some of these guys (the D.C. crowd excepted) will stretch things out between nods and awards to simply get another burst of PR later.

It would be one thing if this allowed for a nice sampling of unique mentions, but that’s rarely the case. With this group we get a Best Picture nod for “My Week with Marilyn,” some Best Director love for David Fincher, notices for Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan in “Hanna,” a tip of the hat to Alan Rickman, etc. So it’s okay, I guess. But I don’t know. Just give us your winners and be done with it.

Anyway, check out the full list of nominees below.

Best Film
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Drive”
“My Week with Marilyn”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”
David Fincher, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Ryan Gosling, “Drive”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Actress
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Saoirse Ronan, “Hanna”
Meryl Sreep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
John Goodman, “The Artist”
Albert Brooks, “Drive”
Alan Rickman, “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
John Hawkes, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, “The Artist”
Cate Blanchett, “Hanna”
Jessica Chastain, “The Tree Of Life”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Descendants”
“Drive”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“The Muppets”

Best Original Screenplay
“The Artist”
“50/50”
“Hanna”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Tree of Life”
“Win Win”

Best Cinematography
“The Artist”
“Drive”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Visual Effects
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Super 8”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Music
“The Artist”
“Drive”
“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”
“The Muppets”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Foreign Language Film
“13 Assassins”
“Point Blank”
“I Saw the Devil”
“Trollhunter”
“Winter in Wartime”

Best Documentary
“Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”
“Buck”
“Conan O”Brien Can”t Stop”
“The Interrupters”
“Tabloid”

Best Comedy
“Bridesmaids”
“Crazy, Stupid, Love”
“Midnight In Paris”
“The Muppets”
“Paul”
“Rango”

Best Animated Film
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss In Boots”
“Rango”
“Rio”

Best Art House or Festival Film
“Beginners”
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”
“Tucker and Dale vs. Evil”
“We Need To Talk About Kevin”
“Win Win”

Best Scene
“The Artist” (dance scene finale)
“Drive” (the elevator beating scene)
“Drive” (opening get-away scene)
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (opening credits)
“Hanna” (Hanna”s escape from captivity sequence)
“Melancholia” (the last scene)

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After yesterday’s all-day critics awards onslaught, you might be wondering, “What’s left?” Plenty, I can tell you. Everyone seems to have gotten together and formed a critics group these days, and this morning, the onslaught continues with the Indiana Film Journalists Association.

The group picked “The Artist” for Best Picture and Best Director, but were more interesting in their acting selections. Paul Giamatti took Best Actor for “Win Win” while Elizabeth Olsen won Best Actress for “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” And though “The Descendants” was clearly the second-favorite of the lot, it was Ralph Fiennes in “Coriolanus” coming in at runner-up for Best Actor, which is interesting.

Other things of note: Viola Davis was spotlighted int he supporting category, not lead, and Werner Herzog’s “Into the Abyss” finally gets a shout-out, coming in as a runner-up to “Project Nim” in the documentary category.

Check out the full list of winners below.

Best Film: “The Artist” (Runner-up: “The Descendants”)

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist” (Runner-up: “Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”)

Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, “Win Win” (Runner-up: Ralph Fiennes, “Coriolanus”)

Best Actress: Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (Runner-up: Tilda Swinton, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”)

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners” (Runner-up: Albert Brooks, “Drive”)

Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, “The Help” (Amy Ryan, “Win Win”)

Best Adapted Screenplay: “The Descendants” (Runner-up: “Moneyball”)

Best Original Screenplay: “Win Win” (Runner-up: “Margin Call”)

Best Musical Score: “The Artist” (Runner-up: “Hugo”)

Best Animated Film: “Rango” (Runner-up: “Winnie the Pooh”)

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Skin I Live In” (Runner-up: “13 Assassins”)

Best Documentary: “Project Nim” (Runner-up: “Into the Abyss”)

Original Vision Award: “The Tree of Life” (Runner-up: “The Artist”)

Hoosier Award: Lindsay Goffman, producer, “Dumbstruck”

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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If you listened to Friday’s Oscar Talk podcast, then you already know both my feelings on the 2011 film year and the 10 films I thought represented the best that it had to offer. But to elaborate a bit…

It’s been an interesting year. I’ve tried to make sense of things via the weekly Off the Carpet columns, which aim to contextualize the year as it pushes forward. But with each passing week, it became clear to me that I didn’t particularly love what 2011 had to offer. Don’t misunderstand. The films that landed at the top for me are personal treasures. Nevertheless, it’s a distillation of a year in film that I broadly liked, but didn’t particularly love in any deep way. It reminds me of my reaction to 2005, but I’m more positive on this lot.

Whittling the list down was strangely difficult as a result. You’d think that the cream would really be evident when there’s so little of it to rise, but the truth is, that kind of thing makes you start to really consider those on the outside of the list more than you normally would. At least I found this to be the case.

Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball,” from one of the year’s best screenplays, will be a consistent watch for years to come. “Beginners” is a film I adore from a fresh directorial voice. Neither made a compelling case, though, when I was rounding up the titles.

“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” is a meticulous piece of craftsmanship with a stunning ensemble performance. “The Ides of March” is a stellar dismantling of human frailty in the guise of a political drama. I couldn’t find room for them, either.

“We Need to Talk About Kevin” is a wonder of abstract storytelling with a commanding central performance. “Young Adult” is an uncompromising portrait with same. But they couldn’t muscle their way in.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Muppets,” “Hugo,” “Contagion” and “Anonymous” were studio efforts that I really admired for various reasons. Indies like “50/50,” “Midnight in Paris” and “Win Win” were modest gems. They remained on the periphery.

I loved documentaries like “Pearl Jam Twenty,” “Into the Abyss” and “Tabloid.” Foreign titles like “In a Better World” and “Le Havre” got a definite reaction out of me. None of them lingered enough to register at the top, however.

But ultimately, 10 stood out from the pack. And the bulk of those films, I’m kind of stunned to recognize, deal with intense internalizations, bottled up characterizations, lots of deep currents betraying ripples on the surface. For me, those films were:

#10

“RANGO”
Directed by Gore Verbinski

Films like “The Artist,” “Hugo” and “Super 8” have been at the forefront of discussion when considering a year that has paid homage to the art of filmmaking. But one film has curiously been left out of that conversation. Gore Verbinski’s animated “Rango” is a pure celebration of cinema history through a unique prism. Some might argue that it merely riffs on films like “Chinatown,” “Apocalypse Now” and “Once Upon a Time in the West” via imitation and reference, but I see it as a striking piece of imaginative, reverential filmmaking flavored by a love of genre and that which came before it.

#9

“TAKE SHELTER”
Directed by Jeff Nichols

In “Take Shelter,” actor Michael Shannon covers so much performance terrain with such controlled ease that it”s just awe-inspiring. And the performance comes in the midst of one of the year”s standout films, surrounded by equally confident portrayals of all shades. Director Jeff Nichols has unique talent in the face of current Amerindie cinema. His latest film has real focus and a passionate, observational tone. A vague ending could be read a couple of ways, but bottom line: the film burrows in and you begin to crave the unsettling feeling it manifests. That takes some doing.

#8

“THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN”
Directed by Steven Spielberg

The “animated” aspect of Steven Spielberg’s one-two punch this year is a dazzling experience, full of the director’s trademark cinematic energy. It’s his best film in nearly a decade (since “Minority Report,” at least). The experience put a smile on my face and kept it there. It’s Spielberg invigorated, the performance-capture and animation process allowing him to do things with the camera that he had only dreamed of, conjuring angles and set-pieces that surely have existed only in his head for decades, but now have the freedom to run wild on the screen. The film is simply a landmark of visual conception, briskly paced, assured in its capacity to entertain.

#7

“A SEPARATION”
Directed by Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi”s “A Separation” is a masterful piece of work that will be with me for a very long time. On the surface it is about the fallout of an Iranian couple headed for divorce, but side-tracked by a tragic accident that leaves the husband tangled in a judicial web. On a deeper level it”s about so much more. Call it “divorce and its discontents,” because it is, ultimately, a study of parenthood and integrity and situational decisions that impact the impressionable, as well as a portrait of a region, boiled to an essence. The film features a number of expertly tuned performances and the humanity of Farhadi”s work, its skillful grace, is incredibly moving.

#6

“MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE”
Directed by Sean Durkin

Sean Durkin’s debut feature is an elegantly structured film that not only finds a unique way of telling backstory but bleeds it into the present in such a way as to put the viewer right in the paranoid perspective of the troubled titular character. Durkin weaves a kaleidoscope of slow-boiling intrigue while getting quality work out of his actors. Elizabeth Olsen is every bit the revelation she”s been considered, her performance an unsettling slice of lived-in, burrowed-under skill. She betrays flashes of a former self with her eyes, is meticulous in mannered moments and emits paranoia so precisely it leaves you wondering what”s real yourself.

#5

“SHAME”
Directed by Steve McQueen

The story of Steve McQueen’s “Hunger” follow-up, “Shame,” is Michael Fassbender”s remarkable performance as a sex addict with a dark past that is only vaguely addressed on the page, allowing the actor to indicate with subtlety and precious strokes. Once again, McQueen utilizes long takes to allow his actors to explore under the harsh gaze of the camera. But the technique, perhaps more than his previous effort, even, becomes a tool for navigating the viewer. The effect goes beyond mere observation, ushering us, without cheap manipulation, into a character”s mindset.

#4

“RAMPART”
Directed by Oren Moverman

Oren Moverman”s “Rampart” is a considerable directorial achievement, an exciting, brazen departure from his excellent 2009 debut, “The Messenger.” The film – from an original screenplay by James Ellroy, re-written by Moverman – uses the 1999 Los Angeles Police Department Rampart corruption scandal as a frame, a state of mind, a narrative hook, an atmosphere for conveying an intense, probing, yet curiously vague character study in the form of a corrupt LAPD officer. And in that role, Woody Harrelson offers his best work to date, a firehouse performance of subtle strokes and vivid internalizations, a master class in clenched but emotive power.

#3

“DRIVE”
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Nicolas Winding Refn is the most exciting filmmaker working today, offering an invigorating injection of originality in the cinema landscape. The actual plot of his latest, “Drive,” couldn”t be more rote or by the numbers, but Refn – as appears to be his trademark – merely uses genre as a springboard for mining character intricacy in ways we just haven”t seen in quite a while. The film is a modern day “Thief,” both in narrative drive and stylistic signature, and indeed, the reverence for urban Los Angeles as captured by Refn”s vision is noteworthy. You can sense a love for the city”s tangled web of concrete, glass and steel, much like the cinema of Michael Mann.

#2

“THE TREE OF LIFE”
Directed by Terrence Malick

Heavily anticipated for a number of years, “The Tree of Life” is director Terrence Malick”s most epic endeavor. Paradoxically, it is also his most intimate. It is a film that, love it or hate it, makes its way inside you and, if you allow as much, forces you to consider it. It asserts that, despite the intense drama of everyday circumstance, that plight is but a spec in the perspective of the greater cosmos around us. That theme mingles with a Malick standby: man’s capacity for violence and impulse as well as love and compassion. They are themes Malick has flirted with throughout his career, but here he aims to reconcile them with the great unknown.

#1

“MARGARET”
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan

The long and troubled road for Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret” to the screen has been an unfortunate one. It is stunning that we were nearly denied one of the freshest, most honest and raw depictions of the post-9/11 mindset so many filmmakers (including one this year) have been chasing on the screen, an accidental masterpiece. The film bathes in themes of loss, grief and guilt in incredibly organic ways, the editing precise and purposeful, the whole a messy but truthful construction that ranks as one of the most impeccably acted films I’ve ever seen, packed with ideas on the page that put Lonergan — if he wasn’t already there — in the top echelon of writers in the field. It’s one of the few instances of Fox Searchlight mishandling a great piece of work, if ever there was an instance, but it demands to be seen. It bears the scars but wears them as a badge of honor and, in some ways, they become inherently tied to the themes being explored. It wasn’t released, it escaped, and it’s the best film of the year.

There you have it. If you want to listen to Friday’s podcast, you can do so here. Stay tuned throughout the week as we continue to wind the year down. Wednesday brings “The Longlists,” a substitute for the usual “If I Had a Ballot” post that recognizes a wider margin of accomplishments in various fields. Finally, Friday will bring the annual superlatives post, giving out my own “awards” to various talent showcased in 2011.

One more time, my top 10 films of 2011:

1. “Margaret”
2. “The Tree of Life”
3. “Drive”
4. “Rampart”
5. “Shame”
6. “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
7. “A Separation”
8. “The Adventures of Tintin”
9. “Take Shelter”
10. “Rango”

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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Darren Franich looks ahead to next year as the year of the dude movie. And this got me thinking. Usually by now I’ve thought at least SOMEWHAT about what’s coming up next year. But other than the barrage of “The Dark Knight Rises” stuff (including a recent peek at the opening footage of the film), I’m not really aware of all that much. I certainly couldn’t do a “top 10 films I’m looking forward to in 2012” post now if I wanted to, and usually I have something like that ready to go around the first of the year. Weird. So what’s coming around the bend that you’re anticipating? Maybe you can help steer me onto the right track. [Entertainment Weekly]

Jesus, okay, James Bobin, “The Muppets” isn’t Communist. Sheesh. [Huffington Post]

Trent Reznor and Karen O say they’ve made Led Zeppelin more aggressive with their “Immigrant Song” cover. [The Sun]

Speaking of which, Sony has released the official music video/arbitrary opening credits sequence (from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) for the song. [Film Stage]

Jeff Wells names “Moneyball” the best film of 2011. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

Steven Spielberg recommended Christian Bale to “The Flowers of War” director Zhang Yimou. [Hollywood Reporter]

Perfect timing after all those Melissa McCarthy notices came down yesterday: Adam Chitwood wonders what awards “Bridesmaids” can win. [Collider]

Variety names the 10 directors to watch. [Variety]

Melissa Silverstein talks to “Young Adult” screenwriter Diablo Cody. [Women and Hollywood]

Brian Whisenant on the year in lead actresses. [Awards Daily]

Okay, this is just getting silly: if you”re a small regional critics” group hoping to get some attention for your awards, why announce on the weekend when apparently everyone but the Delaware Christian Youth Film Enthusiasts Society has chosen to do the same? Be that as it may, the Houston critics yesterday announced a list of nominations, and most of the usual suspects rate a mention, with a few pleasing curveball choices.

I can’t help but wonder about their intentions when a late release like “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” shows up in their Best Picture category without scoring a single other nomination — are they truly voting for their favorites, or simply predicting the Academy’s ballot? Happily, there’s evidence of sincere individual thinking in the Best Picture nomination for Thomas McCarthy’s “Win Win,” while it’s interesting to see the film’s young star Alex Shaffer show up in the Supporting Actor category. (No love for Paul Giamatti, however.)

Other points of interest: minutes after Detroit plumped for Jessica Chastain in “Take Shelter,” the Houston critics are the first to honor the actress solely for “The Help,” the film for which I personally think she most deserves consideration. In the same category, Janet McTeer scores another minor precursor mention for “Albert Nobbs” (she placed second in the Los Angeles critics’ voting), while her more-hyped co-star Glenn Close continues to be MIA in the Best Actress race. Happily, the latter omission makes room for two deserving dark horses, Elizabeth Olsen and Tilda Swinton, to slide in alongside the three presumed Oscar frontrunners.

Armie Hammer is the Janet McTeer of the Supporting Actor category, scoring a mention as the buzz dwindles around his lead co-star. In the same race, it’s cute to see critics sticking their neck out for Andy Serkis’s mo-cap work in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” but why not really take a stand and acknowledge it as the lead performance it is? Finally, I’m pleased to see “Drive” keeps popping up in these lists — I have no idea what it means for its eventual showing at the Oscars, but it’s already got more recognition than I thought it would all season.

The full list:

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Drive”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“The Help”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Take Shelter”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
“Win Win”

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”
Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”

Best Actress
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, “Drive”
Armie Hammer, “J. Edgar”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Andy Serkis, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Alex Shaffer, “Win Win”

Best Supporting Actress
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

Best Screenplay
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“50/50”
“Midnight in Paris”
“Win Win”

Best Cinematography
“The Artist”
“Drive”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Score
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“The Artist”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Shame”
“War Horse”

Best Song
“Lay Your Head Down” from “Albert Nobbs”
“Star Spangled Man” from “Captain America: The First Avenger”
“The Living Proof” from “The Help”
“Life’s a Happy Song” from “The Muppets”
“Think You can Wait” from “Win Win”

Best Animated Film
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Happy Feet Two”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”
“Winnie the Pooh”

Best Foreign Film
“The Artist”
“Elite Squad: The Enemy Within”
“I Saw the Devil”
“The Skin I Live In”
“13 Assassins”

Best Documentary
“Buck”
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
“The Elephant in the Room”
“Project Nim”
“Undefeated”

Worst Film of the Year
“Jack and Jill”
“Red Riding Hood”
“The Sitter”
“The Smurfs”
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1”
“Your Highness”

Humanitarian Honor: Joanne Herring

Lifetime Achievement: Jeff Bridges

For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter.

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Oh, you though we were done? Well settle back in because we have more. We’ll be posting the Houston film critics nominations momentarily, but for now, we have the San Francisco Film Critics Circle’s full list of winners.

Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” won Best Picture and Best Director (as well as Best Cinematography), and it’s really an outside-the-box pair of decisions when you get right down to it. Obviously “The Descendants” and “The Artist” are poised to be the lazy, generally agreed-upon critical darlings all season. So to spring from something like this is, well, commendable.

The lead acting prizes were also unique, Gary Oldman winning Best Actor for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and Tilda Swinton winning Best Actress for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” And the rest of the picks were equally singular. Though Albert Brooks did chalk up his third win of the day. Check out the full list of winners below.

Best Picture: “The Tree of Life”

Best Director: Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Best Actor: Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave, “Coriolanus”

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Original Screenplay: “Margin Call”

Best Cinematography: “The Tree of Life”

Best Animated Film: “Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film: “Certified Copy”

Best Documentary: “Tabloid”

Special Citation: “The Mill and the Cross”

Marlon Riggs Award (honoring courage and innovation in the world of cinema): National Film Preservation Foundation

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Hey, have you heard the news? Apparently, in a last-minute schedule change, the Academy has moved the Oscar ceremony up to tomorrow. Critics’ groups, as a result, have gone into panic mode, desperately flinging out awards announcements today in the hope of remaining relevant to the Oscar race. That’s my theory, anyway. Seriously, what’s wrong with the other six days of the week?

Anyway, after Los Angeles, Boston and the New York Online crowd had their say (with San Francisco still to come this afternoon, I gather), the Detroit critics’ nominations aren’t exactly the biggest news. Indeed, one could argue that nominees are an unnecessary indulgence for smaller critics’ groups. But it’s hard to complain when it allows for some unusual suspects to show up, and such is the case with the Motor City’s list, which is unexpectedly topped by Jeff Nichols’ disquieting indie hybrid “Take Shelter.”

Nichols’ film leads with six nods, and is an odd one out in a Best Picture lineup otherwise heavy on established critical favorites. Nichols also snags a Best Director bid, which puts him ahead of Alexander Payne, the only helmer of a Best Pic nominee missing in the category — in favor of, in another pleasingly offbeat pick, Nicolas Winding Refn for “Drive.”

Indeed, they liked “Drive” so much they also nominated Ryan Gosling for — oh wait, that’s the Supporting Actor category Gosling appears in, for “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” The other left-of-center choice in the acting categories is a Best Actress mention for Felicity Jones in “Like Crazy,” who somehow has a higher precursor tally than Elizabeth Olsen at this stage, though they both appear in the Breakthrough category.

Also interesting is that they’re the first precursor I’m aware of to go out on a limb and pick one Jessica Chastain performance in the Supporting Actress category. Given their overall enthusiasm for “Take Shelter” (and her very fine performance in it), it’s no surprise they’ve gone with her work there, though she’s mentioned for multiple films in the Breakthrough field. 

Anyway, vive la différence. The full list:

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Hugo”
“Take Shelter”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Jeff Nichols, “Take Shelter”
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”

Best Actor
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”
Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”

Best Actress
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Felicity Jones, “Like Crazy”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Charlize Theron, “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week with Marilyn”
Albert Brooks, “Drive”
Ryan Gosling, “Crazy, Stupid, Love”
Patton Oswalt, “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “Take Shelter”
Carey Mulligan, “Shame”
Vanessa Redgrave, “Coriolanus”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Ensemble
“Carnage”
“Cedar Rapids”
“Crazy, Stupid, Love”
“The Help”
“Margin Call”
“Win Win”

Breakthrough Performance
Jessica Chastain, “The Help,” “Take Shelter” and “The Tree of Life”
Felicity Jones, “Like Crazy”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

Best Screenplay
“The Artist”
“Beginners”
“50/50”
“Moneyball”
“Take Shelter”

Best Documentary
“Into Eternity”
“Into the Abyss”
“Marwencol”
“Tabloid”
“We Were Here”

For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter.

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The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has finished its annual voting on this year’s awards-worthy efforts. Firstly, though, a quick note of huzzah to them for sticking with this week rather than leaping to go first ahead of the New York Film Critics Circle’s nonsensical date. And kudos to the LAFCA member (who shall remain nameless) who proposed moving the date to January when that announcement was made.

And the awards themselves represent a classy, unique perspective on the race, to say the least. Starting with an inspired choice for Best Music/Score and continuing with nice tops of the hat in the screenplay and director categories, it was just a refreshing vote to watch unfold.

However, when the dust settled on the Best Picture category, it was a bit anti-climactic, with “The Descendants” taking the honor amid all that unique thinking. Ah well, it’s a distinguished set regardless. Check out the full list of winners with my real-time commentary scattered throughout below.

Career Achievement Award: Doris Day

Thoughts: Previously announced, this was a nice tip of the hat to an actress who many would like to see receive similar recognition from the Academy.

Best Music/Score: “Hanna” (Runner-up: “Drive”)

Thoughts: Already off to a nice, singular start. The Chemical Brothers’ work on “Hanna” is exemplary and deserving of a notice, and ditto Cliff Martinez’s pulsating work on “Drive” (as well as “Contagion”). I dig it.

Best Production Design: “Hugo” (Runner-up: “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”)

Thoughts: Brilliant choices. Seriously, I was just saying (again, on Twitter) that it’s these two films in this category and then everyone else. I have trouble deciding between them, frankly, but bravo. Loving today’s announcements (so far, anyway).

Best Cinematography: “The Tree of Life” (Runner-up: “The City of Life and Death”)

Thoughts: Naturally. And yet, with all these honors, I still say Emmanuel Lubezki gets the shaft at the Oscars. I wish I had seen “The City of Life and Death” so I could comment on Cao Yu’s work therein, but I’m sure it’s a handsome choice for runner-up, as the LA critics are always classy with their below-the-line picks.

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, “Coriolanus,” “The Debt,” “The Help,” “Take Shelter,” “Texas Killing Fields,” “The Tree of Life” (Runner-up: Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”)

Thoughts: Just as she won the NYFCO prize for Breakthrough Performer, Jessica Chastain took down the LAFCA honor for Best Supporting Actress. It would matter more if someone would take a stand on which performance stands out. As it is, this doesn’t do much to help her Oscar chances. The bigger story here, though, is Janet McTeer coming in second. Really?

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners” (Runner-up: Patton Oswalt, “Young Adult”)

Thoughts: I can’t really argue with this. It’s a great performance and, more and more, it’s looking like an Oscar winner. But it’s no good being the frontrunner for this long. “Beginners” is a film I adore and I feel bad for not at least mentioning it in the top 10 podcast Friday.

Best Screenplay: “A Separation” (Runner-up: “The Descendants”)

Thoughts: Bravo! Seriously, bold call and a completely valid one. Guy has been pitching “A Separation” as a potential original screenplay Oscar winner all season, and while I still think that’s a considerable stretch, I’m happy to see it win something like this. Very nice call.

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (Runner-up: “The Arbor”)

Thoughts: I really don’t get the love on Werner Herzog’s “Cave of Forgotten Dreams.” He blew it out of the water with “Into the Abyss” later in the year. It struggles so much to maintain enough of a reason to justify the feature length. I just don’t get it. Anyway, congrats to him, because he’s awesome.

Best Independent/Experimental Film: “Spark of Being”

Thoughts: I have none. But thanks to the LAFCA, I will now investigate.

Best Actress: Yun Jung-hee, “Poetry” (Runner-up: Kirsten Dunst, “Melancholia”)

Thoughts: A very lovely surprise (though it shouldn’t be surprising at this point that the LA critics always go with something unique in this field). It’s nice to switch it up and I’m even okay with Kirsten Dunst being that close for the win. It’s better than the usual obsession on the Oscar frontrunners.

Best Actor: Michael Fassbender, “A Dangerous Method,” “Jane Eyre,” “Shame” and “X-Men: First Class”(Runner-up: Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”)

Thoughts: Another catch-all win, and a deserved one, no question. I like including “X-Men: First Class” on there. I would have expect them to leave it off but he was the best part of the film, after all. Oscar nod on the way? It’s looking good, but there’s another contender that’s about to make a big splash. More on that when I can talk about it.

Best Director: Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life” (Runner-up: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”)

Thoughts: Fantastic. I was hoping someone would stand up for Malick on this film and I’m glad it was a major group like LAFCA. I still think core support for the film could work wonders in Best Picture at the Oscars, but I’ve always thought directors would feel reverence for the man and the accomplishment. This is a great way to keep him at the forefront of consideration.

Best Animation: “Rango” (Runner-up: “The Adventures of Tintin”)

Thoughts: Can’t argue with that at all. I’ll see “Wrinkles” soon, but there isn’t much else worth picking in the category this year, to me. There are handsomly animated films (“Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Puss in Boots”), but only these two have the full package, in my book.

Best Picture: “The Descendants” (Runner-up: “The Tree of Life”)

Thoughts: Ugh. That’s a pretty limp conclusion. I was getting excited for a moment, thinking an intriguing stand might be taken, what with some of these other mentions. Alas, a bit of a safe-ish pick (after a lot of deliberating, it seemed).

Best Foreign Language Film: “The City of Life and Death” (Runner-up: “A Separation”)

Thoughts: This just makes me want to see “The City of Life and Death,” of course, which I regret I missed this year.

New Generation Award: The creative team behind “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond and Elizabeth Olsen)

Thoughts: A classy move to recognize that the film is indeed a collaborative effort, with Durkin’s partners having as much of a say in how it was conceived and achieved as he has. I’m guilty, too, for lending too much authoritative credit Durkin’s way this season. So I co-sign this.

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This morning the Boston Society of Film Critics announced its list of award winners, and it was clear Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret” was close in a number of areas. Though whoever was controlling the organization’s Twitter feed made a note about how few of them were able to see the film, the group has issued the following via its official website:

“The Boston Society of Film Critics expresses its regret that Fox Searchlight refused to distribute screeners of the film ‘Margaret’ and scheduled only a last-minute screening after numerous requests. The film, which received an extremely limited release, was a favorite of many BSFC members and could have won several awards had it been made available for viewing within a reasonable time frame. Despite this disadvantage, ‘Margaret’ was a runner-up in three of the BSFC”s award categories. We encourage Fox Searchlight to not compound this oversight and to make screeners available to the voting body of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and so give the film a fair chance in the upcoming awards competition.”

Bravo to them for that. Making screeners is expensive. “Margaret” is a wash for the studio and likely best left forgotten for them, given all of the litigation and whatnot going on behind the scenes. And they were very gracious to have set two screenings here in Los Angeles earlier in the week and a few more across the nation for critics groups.

I don’t really think it would have much chance at Oscar recognition outside of perhaps some acting attention, but that’s beside the point. It should have at least a chance to make its case. Remember in last week’s Off the Carpet column when I noted that the toughest thing to do this time of year is simply be seen? To give people a reason to put the film in the player? Well that’s doubly tough when the studio is basically working against making that happen.

You know if you heard the podcast Friday that I consider “Margaret” to be an accidental masterpiece and the year’s best film. But I would fight for this even if it was a film I didn’t care for but had an equally dedicated fan base behind it.

If you can spare the dollars, Searchlight, send out some screeners. You never know. Maybe all this fuss will have worked in your and the film’s favor.

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The New York Film Critics Online have announced their list of awards winners today as well, and the big winner? Yeah, “The Artist.” But more unique were some scattered honors for “Bridesmaids” (clearly a favorite among the bunch, taking Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble) and “Take Shelter” (which brought Michael Shannon a much-deserved Best Actor prize).

It was nice to see some singular thinking in the debut director field, where Joe Cornish won for “Attack the Block.” Even if I didn’t like the film (which I didn’t, really), it’s an outside-the-box pick and that’s commendable this time of year.

Check out the full list of winners below with my real-time commentary scattered throughout. With the Boston critics, the NYFCO and the AFI top 10 list out of the way, we have one more group to finish out the day: the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Breakthrough Performer: Jessica Chastain, “The Tree of Life,” “The Help,” “The Debt,” “Take Shelter,” “Texas Killing Fields,” “Coriolanus”

Thoughts: Well, there you have your classic “let’s award every single performance he/she gave this year.” Though I have to say, this is Chastain’s coming out year, and a hell of a coming out year, at that. So she deserves the recognition for the body of work, I think. Congrats to her.

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”

Thoughts: You have to be kidding me. See my thoughts in the Boston critics thread. Kinda silly, guys. Carey Mulligan was apparently a close runner-up.

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Thoughts: That’s two today and three so far. Very nice, sir. Very nice. Though it would have been kinda epic if he had won the LA prize, which was being decided at the same time (it went to Christopher Plummer).

Best Screenplay: “The Descendants”

Thoughts: Not much to add here. We know it’s a go for an Oscar nomination (and potential win). I still find it to be one of Payne’s lesser works and that narration should kill any serious consideration of screenplay awards, but, alas, I don’t run the season.

Best Cinematography: “The Tree of Life”

Thoughts: Make that three-for-three today. Totally deserved. What else can I say?

Best Use of Music: “The Artist”

Thoughts: Second award of the day (though it tied with “Drive” with the Boston critics). Meh.

Debut Director: Joe Cornish, “Attack the Block”

Thoughts: I liked “Attack the Block” enough. It’s fun. It has an awesome score. I’m not so sure I’d pitch it for something like this above Sean Durkin but at least it’s a fresh pick. And it probably should have been a predictable one given how over the moon the online contingent has been for the movie.

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicis, “The Artist”

Thoughts: What can I write here that I haven’t made clear elsewhere? Though while the NYFCO was busy making ballsy, outside-the-box picks like Joe Cornish, it would have been nice to see them mix it up here, too.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”

Thoughts: A great performance, no question about it. And one of tons of great leading lady portrayals in questionable films this year. Tough to argue with someone who wants to chalk her up for a win, though.

Best Actor: Michael Shannon, “Take Shelter”

Thoughts: YES! It took three rounds to get there (with Michael Fassbender and Gary Oldman close to taking it), but they picked the best contender of the lot (in my humble opinion). A huge congratulations to him. Is this the first award he’s actually won this season?

Best Ensemble: “Bridesmaids”

Thoughts: I can actually get behind this a lot more than a singled-out acting award. So no strong argument from me here, even if “Margaret” deserves every ensemble award ever conceived by God.

Best Picture: “The Artist”

Thoughts: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation”

Thoughts: Well done. The easy call in the category this year if you ask me. Let’s hope it at least gets an Oscar nomination, since word is it may need the executive committee to get through.

Best Documentary: “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”

Thoughts: See them in the Boston thread. I have little else to say here.

Best Animated Film: “The Adventures of Tintin”

Thoughts: Awesome. Though I still find myself wrestling with whether I consider it animation or not. Still, any love for the film is fine by me.

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The American Film Institute has issued its top 10 films of the year, and as always, ineligibilities (only US productions can make the cut) made it an easy field for dubious contenders to slide in.

I’m still embargoed on “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” despite the fact that it’s been reviewed and has popped up in a few year-end superlative lists, but it’s on there. It shouldn’t be, but it is. So is “Bridesmaids,” which is just odd.

I don’t know, what can you say about this list at this point? Year after year it leads the charge of dubious studio product and token indies, and rarely manages to cite the best from either field. How do you not stand up for “Beginners” or something? Anyway, it’s just another notch in the 2011 awards season belt, so check out the full list of films below and feel free to move on to the next thing.

“Bridesmaids”

“The Descendants”

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

“The Help”

“Hugo”

“J. Edgar”

“Midnight in Paris”

“Moneyball”

“The Tree of Life”

“War Horse”

“The Artist” and the “Harry Potter” franchise were given special awards. Neither was eligible for the list.

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The Boston Society of Film Critics dished out its annual list of kudos this morning amid a flurry of other groups doing the same. Last year they stood out somewhat by handing Juliette Lewis their Best Supporting Actress prize for “Conviction,” and this year, they went their own way in a couple of areas, which was nice to see.

Throughout the voting, it was clear that “Margaret” was a favorite film among the crowd. Unfortunately it could only manage a few runner-up citations and never won a prize, but it’s so wonderful to know that it was so seriously considered.

The big winner of the day was “The Artist,” which won the Best Picture prize despite “Hugo” and “Margaret” looking like obvious favorites throughout the vote. On the latter, whoever was updating the BSFC’s Twitter account wrote: “It’s worth noting that many of us couldn’t see MARGARET because the studio did not issue screeners and there was only 1 screening.” If only Fox Searchlight had thrown some level of interest behind this film, it could have been a player. Maybe someone will stick up for it still. We’ll see.

Check out the full list of winners with my real-time commentary below.

Best Use of Music: (tie) “The Artist” and “Drive” (Runner-up: “The Descendants”)

Thoughts: Cool to see “Drive” get mentioned here but I can’t even remember the score for “The Artist.” And given the name of the category, I’m not sure why you’d bother awarding a traditional score here. Yes, other music was used in the film (which actually has me wondering how the music branch of the Academy will respond to the score’s eligibility) But I don’t know. “The Descendants” makes more sense to me.

Best Editing: “The Clock” (Runner-up: “Hugo”)

Thoughts: I never saw Christian Marclay’s documentary “The Clock,” which is a 24-hour stunt (basically) featuring shots with clocks in them from various films (and the time being up to date throughout the picture). So I can’t comment, really. But it’s a bold and singular choice for this category, so my hats off to the Society.

Best Cinematography: “The Tree of Life” (Runner-up: “Hugo”)

Thoughts: So far “Hugo” is nipping at the heels of a couple of winners, so maybe it’ll break out in the major categories soon. But this win for “The Tree of Life” will naturally be one of a great many this year, and it’s absolutely deserved.

Best New Filmmaker (David Brudnoy Award): Sean Durkin, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (Runner-up: J.C. Chandor, “Margin Call”)

Thoughts: Finally someone gets this award right. Sean Durkin is absolutely a talent to watch and, as you might have heard, I think “Martha Marcy May Marlene” is one of the year’s best films. I’m liking these awards more and more. Will they keep it up?

Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, “Drive”

Thoughts: Well, that’s two big critics awards so far for Brooks. Very little to add at this point, but check out my interview with Brooks here for more consideration of his work in the film.

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids (Runner-up: Jeannie Berlin, “Margaret”)

Thoughts: I was just talking to someone on Twitter about the possibility of Berlin winning the LAFCA prize in this category today, but props to Boston for being on #teammargaret. You know how I feel. McCarthy winning the award is fun and everything, but I could pick two or three other elements of that ensemble that are more worthy of the consideration. Of course, their characters didn’t shit in a sink, so…

Best Actor: Brad Pitt, “Moneyball” (Runners-up: George Clooney, “The Descendants” and Michael Fassbender, “Shame”)

Thoughts: Color me slightly surprised. That’s two big wins for Brad Pitt on the circuit so far. He’s on track, obviously, for an Oscar nomination.

Best Actress: Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn” (Runner-up: Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”)

Thoughts: Another feather in the cap of a sure-fire Oscar nominee. Apparently Streep was very close.

Best Ensemble: “Carnage” (Runner-up: “Margaret”)

Thoughts: Ugh, I wish “Margaret” could pull out one of these wins. Alas, I’m glad it’s at least in the conversation.

Best Screenplay: “Moneyball” (Runner-up: “Margaret”)

Thoughts: Alright, you’re killing me with all these runner-ups. Give it just one award! Come on! It’s cool. Again, I’m stoked that it’s even in play. And the “Moneyball” script, as I’ve said since day one, is absolutely fantastic.

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo” (Runner-up: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”)

Thoughts: Well, then. Given that the film came close on a few other awards earlier this morning, could this mean the film will win Best Picture, too? We’ll see. I’m happy to see Scorsese getting honored for what was clearly a project very close to his heart.

Best Documentary: “Project Nim” (Runner-up: “Bill Cunningham New York”)

Thoughts: Could this become the consensus favorite as we head toward the Oscars? Perhaps. Both of these titles, by the way, are on the Academy shortlist. And it’s a better pick than “Cave of Forgotten Dreams,” certainly, which is threatening to be a big deal on the circuit.

Best Picture: “The Artist” (Runners-up: “Hugo” and “Margaret”)

Thoughts: Either one of those runners-up would have been so much more meaningful, but you’re talking about the most generally agreeable film when it comes to critics groups. And “The Artist” is easy to digest. So it’ll probably win plenty more, and maybe, ultimately, the Oscar.

Best Foreign Film: “Incendies” (Runner-up: “A Separation”)

Thoughts: How is there even a contest between those two? I found “Incendies,” which was nominated last year for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, to be borderline terrible. And you know my feelings on “A Separation,” but to each his own.

Overall, a decent set of winners, but the story to me was the runners-up. If only they could have had the bravery to push some of those into winning positions. Anyway, on to the rest of the day’s announcements.

Best Animated Film: “Rango”

Thoughts: This wasn’t announced via Twitter but it’s on the group’s official website. You know how I feel. Great film, great choice. Not that there’s much else to choose from.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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I meant to have this post up on Friday, but Tomas Alfredson’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” opened on Friday and it’s time to get reactions. I’d say it’s been thoroughly covered around these parts. Guy was a fan at Venice fest. I dug it as well. We also spoke to Gary Oldman and listed his best performances to date. But now it’s time to hear what you have to say. If you get around to the film this weekend, come on back here and give us your perspective.

Since I took over the Visual Effects category in our Contenders section, I’ve been maintaining that there isn’t much to say about that particular race until the Academy begins narrowing the field a little — and after the first cut today, leaving a longlist of 15 films, there’s still little to add to the conversation. All the nominees everyone has been predicting all along are present and correct: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Hugo,” “Harry Potter of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and so on.

Of the Top 15 titles we had listed in the Contenders section, 12 made the cut: there was no love for the CGI period recreations of “Anonymous” or (and this was always a risky guess) the motion-capture acrobatics of “The Adventures of Tintin.” Most disappointing to me is that the breathtakingly stylized digital imagery of “Immortals” got no love — it struck me as more artistically ambitious FX work than, say, “Thor,” but I freely admit to being a luddite in these matters. Perhaps what it lacked was a colon on the title: six of the 15 films that did make the grade boast one.

“Thor,” incidentally, is one of three Marvel comic adaptations in the running, alongside “Captain America” and “X-Men: First Class”; DC’s “Green Lantern,” the effects work of which was roundly jeered by fans and critics alike, is absent. Fair, but ouch.

The three films scoring higher than our Contenders chart suggested they would are “Sucker Punch” and a pair of soon-to-be-released sequels, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.” (I’ve just returned from seeing the latter, by the way, and am pleased to report that it mostly kicks ass. But more on that later.) None are unexpected inclusions, at least at the longlist stage. Meanwhile, even though I’ve had it predicted for a nod all along, I’m relieved to see the Douglas Trumbull-aided supporting effects of “The Tree of Life” weren’t overlooked. It could easily have happened.

My predicted nominees, then, remain unchanged: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Hugo,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and “The Tree of Life,” with the added weight of major-category prestige making “Hugo” a formidable challenger to prohibitive frontrunner “Apes.” Unless Pottermania strikes — though perhaps it’s worth noting that the entire franchise has scored only two previous nominations in this category.

The longlist will be reduced to a bakeoff list of 10 contenders early next month, with the final five nominees revealed on January 24.

The full list: 

“Captain America: The First Avenger”

“Cowboys and Aliens”

“Harry Potter and the Death Hallows: Part 2”

“Hugo”

“Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”

“Real Steel”

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”

“Sucker Punch”

“Super 8”

“Thor”

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

“The Tree of Life”

“X-Men: First Class”

At an abandoned Pasadena hospital, Woody Harrelson patiently waits for a shot to be set up as he plays with the gold jewelry on his fingers. He’s decked out like a slick street hustler, a scorpion tattoo on his neck. Across the way, Christopher Walken is primped by makeup artists, a faux bloody wound on his head tended to.

“I can’t believe I’m doing a scene with Christopher Walken,” Harrelson says. “I love him. You never really know where you stand with him, you know? You’ll be talking and you won’t know. And then he’ll crack a big smile suddenly.”

“That’s kind of like you,” I tell him. He cracks a big smile suddenly.

The scene is set and Harrelson takes a seat opposite Walken. It’s Walken’s close-up. Harrelson is wrapping up his day off screen, giving Walken something to work with as they perform a hilarious scene regarding a cravat. (The film is Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy “Seven Psychopaths.”) This take, McDonagh wants Harrelson to make Walken laugh. The camera rolls. “It looks like your neck threw up, man,” Harrelson says. Walken laughs.

Later, in Harrelson’s trailer, the actor still can’t shake the moment, obviously a high point.

“I can’t fuckin’ believe I just did a scene with Christopher Walken,” he says, digging into a freshly delivered raw food meal. Harrelson is a known vegan but he says he eats raw whenever he’s shooting to keep the energy up and avoid the mid-day, post-lunch crash.

The conversation lingers on any and every topic but “Rampart,” the film he’s promoting and for which he could receive an Oscar nomination for perhaps his greatest performance to date. We talk about Lars Von Trier and his Cannes gaffe, which Harrelson can relate to. His PR handles him tightly sometimes and he admits it can be frustrating, but he also admits he’s said some things that have gotten him into hot water before.

“To me, that”s one of the most brutal things now in our society, is how unforgiving it is,” he says. “If you say anything, even in that kind of context where you”re trying to joke, you lose your way, the next thing you know you can”t even come to your own movie. It seems to me like you always have to look at where a person”s coming from, you know? But he”s always said outrageous shit. I guess it’s understandable. I mean, Hitler is the one area that people just can’t seem to joke.”

He pauses for a moment and considers.

“Having said that, I wrote a play with a buddy called ‘Bullet for Adolph.’ If it don’t make you laugh, I’ll give you your money back.”

The conversation transitions to theater, where Harrelson likes to stretch from time to time. He opened “Bullet for Adolph” in Toronto in the spring and hopes to take it to New York soon, but he has no plans to take it to Los Angeles because the climate rarely feels right for theater.

“Ironically, you see good plays here because people putting plays on here have got to be serious,” he says. “But I realized trying to do plays here years ago, that it just did not feel like a theater appreciative kind of city. The audience who comes is going to be appreciative, but just generally, trying to get people into the theater, it”s very hard here.”

We talk about “God of Carnage,” which Harrelson loves. (“That woman is one of the true great writers,” he says of playwright Yasmina Reza.) We talk about TV. (“I started watching ‘The Wire,’ dude, I went through that thing in two weeks. And I was shooting a movie at the time.”) We talk about health and diet. (“The state of the health of the individual is equivalent to the state to the health of the colon,” he says, providing the world’s greatest sound byte ever.)

He pitches the raw food way, convincingly, and then we talk about politics. (“I kind of think that anybody who gets into the office of president has to kiss the ring and do as they’re told. And I think the day that war became the most lucrative industry was a sad day for this world.”) The conversation covers mountain top removal and marijuana before eventually coming to the topic at hand: Oren Moverman’s “Rampart.”

The press rounds on this one have been pretty intense, he says. He recalls a meeting he was called into recently expressly for the purposes of reminding him that there will be more interviews coming. And with good reason. “Rampart” is a film that was picked up out of Toronto with a mandate for a 2011 release and an eye toward awards season. And there is an argument for Harrelson, whose performance as a corrupt LAPD officer is staggering, a marvel of internalization on one hand, an explosive revelation on the other.

Yet the role is a unique one for a guy like Harrelson, “a lazy, happy hippie from Maui,” to take. As was his role in Moverman’s last film, “The Messenger,” which placed Harrelson in the role of a military officer.

“I can say, the two particular roles of any occupation, military and police are about the hardest for me to imagine being,” he says. “So, to me, it was a really exciting challenge. With ‘Rampart,’ I read it and I”m like, ‘That”s the best role I”ve ever been offered. Phenomenal.’ But, I was daunted, you know? Like the concept of trying to be a cop. It”s just bizarre, man. Bizarre to even think about.”

Indeed, a few weeks earlier at a post-screening Q&A for the film, Harrelson noted that he felt like he was wearing a Halloween costume when he first looked at himself in the mirror, wearing an LAPD uniform. But he absorbed a lot by going on ride-alongs with real LAPD officers.

“The best thing is hanging out with these guys,” he says. “They really did help me. More than all the books I read or the documentaries, that was the number one thing. Seeing a whole other world. I met a lot of gang-bangers that, I was like, fuck, I could see hanging with these guys. Granted, maybe they do unspeakable things that I”m obviously not seeing them do, but, some fuckin” good guys, you know?”

Harrelson came to Los Angeles maybe two months before production started. He fasted because he wanted to lose weight. He ended up dropping 30 pounds, honing in on the external aspects of the character, ridding himself of his Texas accent. The whole time he was nervous, though. Just as he couldn’t believe himself as a cop, he was worried no one else would be able to, either.

“It took a long time,” he says, “and then, finally, it clicked.”

There’s a lot Harrelson says was cut out of the film, which ultimately stands as an abstract assemblage in some respects (and is all the more powerful for it). “Probably at least three dozen scenes,” he says, “big and small, were cut. And also characters. I give credit to Oren. He was a great director through the shoot and then he became a sculptor in the editing room. And he created something that I think is beautiful.”

The press rounds are taxing. He admits, like all actors and filmmakers, that it’s his least favorite part of the job. But he also understands that it’s hardly something worth complaining about. After all, who wouldn’t want to be in Woody Harrelson’s shoes?

“That is what I discovered the time I took like several years off,” he says. “I was planning on maybe three years and it turned in to five. But even in there I did a play here, I did maybe like a small part in something. The biggest part was I just wanted to spend more time with my kids, but another part was I wasn”t enjoying it. I wasn”t enjoying the whole business. I was just doing movies back-to-back-to-back, press all in between. I mean it was like two full-time jobs. I don”t know any other business where they have these kind of hours. Well, maybe cops do.

“That was 1997. And I think it was a great thing to do. When I was ready to work again, I was enjoying it again. Because I feel like if you”re doing this job and you”re not having fun, I mean, you’ve got to walk away. Getting to be out there, sittin” there with Chris fuckin” Walken, trying to make him laugh. I mean, this is a good job.”

“Rampart” opens in theaters nationwide Friday, January 27.

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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Welcome to Oscar Talk.

In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

Here at the end of December’s first week, all 2011 films have officially screened for press. And yet, we can’t discuss the last two to drop. Whatever shall we do in this interlude…

Oh, I know. How about we drop our top 10 lists on you? Very well then. Today’s podcast is dedicated to just that. We’ll resume the chatter next week.

Have a listen to the new podcast below with some U2 leading the way. If the file cuts off for you at any time, try the back-up download link at the bottom of this post. And as always, remember to subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

“Where the Streets Have No Name” courtesy of U2 and Island Records.