National Board of Review

BEST PICTURE

No Country For Old Men

No surprise here at all!

Top Ten Films (in alphabetical order): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Atonement, The Bourne Ultamatum, The Bucket List, Into the Wild, Juno, The Kite Runner, Lars and the Real Girl, Michael Clayton, Sweeney Todd

BEST DIRECTOR

Tim Burton- Sweeney Todd

Huge surprise- could it? will it? I'm too huge of a Todd lover to get all worked up, but maybe, just maybe Burton got some of Ed Wood magic going on-- for no I will remain hopefully pessimistic.

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

This is total catagory fraud (he's a lead), but who cares, as long as this justly lauded performance gets something.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Ryan- Gone Baby Gone

Honestly surprised, by happily-- she did a great job.

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

No Country For Old Men

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (tie)

Juno- Diablo Cody
Lars and the Real Girl- Nancy Oliver

I love me some Juno (a lot more on my new obsession to come), but honestly Lars is a head scratcher.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

No Country For Old Men- The Coen Brothers

BEST FOREIGN FILM

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Top Five Foreign Films (in alphabetical order): 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Band's Visit, The Counterfeiters, La Vie en Rose, Lust, Caution

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Body of War

Top Five Documentaries (in alphabetical order): Darfur Now, In the Shadows of the Moon, Nanking, Taxi to the Darkside, Toots

Wow! No Sicko anywhere in the NBR list!

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Ratatouille

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCES

(male): Emile Hirsch- Into the Wild

(female): Ellen Page- Juno

I truly hope that the wonderously talented Ellen Page doesn't get relegated to the Breakthrough pit of the critics awards, so deserves the awards traction to lead to Oscar, besides her true breakthrough was Hard Candy, which was so creepy and frightening that watching Juno justs proves how amazing she is.

Top Ten Independent Films (in alphabetical order): 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