National Board of Review Winners

I correctly picked the best film of the year ("No Country for Old Men"), and I got half of the top ten, while three of my predictions were classified as being "top independent films". It turns out that the number one film is separate from the top ten, which I did not know. More commentary below. Awards are as follows:

Best Film: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best Director: TIM BURTON, Sweeney Todd
Best Actor: GEORGE CLOONEY, Michael Clayton
Best Actress: JULIE CHRISTIE, Away From Her
Best Supporting Actor: CASEY AFFLECK, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Best Supporting Actress: AMY RYAN, Gone Baby Gone
Best Foreign Film: THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Best Documentary: BODY OF WAR
Best Animated Feature: RATATOUILLE
Best Ensemble Cast: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: EMILE HIRSCH, Into The Wild
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: ELLEN PAGE, Juno
Best Directorial Debut: BEN AFFLECK, Gone Baby Gone
Best Original Screenplay (tie):
DIABLO CODY, Juno and NANCY OLIVER, Lars and the Real Girl
Best Adapted Screenplay: JOEL COEN and ETHAN COEN, No Country For Old Men

Top Ten Films:
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD
ATONEMENT
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
THE BUCKET LIST
INTO THE WILD
JUNO
THE KITE RUNNER
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
MICHAEL CLAYTON
SWEENEY TODD

Top Five Foreign Films:
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS
THE BAND’S VISIT
THE COUNTERFEITERS
LA VIE EN ROSE
LUST, CAUTION

Top Five Documentary Films
DARFUR NOW
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
NANKING
TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE
TOOTS

Top Independent Films
AWAY FROM HER
GREAT WORLD OF SOUND
HONEYDRIPPER
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
A MIGHTY HEART
THE NAMESAKE
ONCE
THE SAVAGES
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING
WAITRESS

George Clooney is to me the most unexpected and undeserving choice. I am not surprised that "Michael Clayton" made it into the top ten list but Clooney's inclusion gives me pause and indicates that the film may do better than I had initially thought. I am ecstatic about "The Assassination of Jesse James" and it is also great that "Once", "Waitress", and "A Mighty Heart" are getting some recognition. "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" for Best Foreign Film is simply put an excellent choice. The surprise inclusions in the top ten list are "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "The Bucket List". I think the former is like the American Film Institute's inclusion of "Inside Man", and that "The Bucket List" may prove to be throwaway fare, but watch out for Jack Nicholson at the Golden Globes. The other big shocker, which also did well with the Satellite Awards, is "Lars and the Real Girl", which cracked the top ten as well as tying with the number one buzzed-about screenplay of the year, "Juno". I do think that Ryan Gosling is now a lock for the Golden Globes Best Actor category, and the film may well make the list for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical. I found the screenplay to be slightly less exciting than I had hoped but it sure was inventive and well-written. Other notes: "La Vie en Rose" still made it into the list of top foreign films despite Cotillard's exclusion, and "Sicko" was not mentioned in the foreign film list. At least "Darfur Now" is picking up buzz, because after the Oscars deemed it ineligible, I started to think my having seen it was pointless.

Major conclusions from this: "Lars and the Real Girl" may do better than expected, "No Country for Old Men" should not be underestimated, "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Assassination of Jesse James" have good buzz, and three foreign films not eligible for the corresponding Oscar should make a good showing at awards announcements: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", "Lust, Caution", and "La Vie en Rose" (not to mention "The Kite Runner"). More soon on all the awards craziness as critics groups begin unveiling their awards.