New York Film Critics Online

BEST PICTURE
Avatar

Top Ten of 2009 (in alphabetical order)

• Adventureland
• Avatar
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglourious Basterds
• The Messenger
• Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
• A Serious Man
• Two Lovers
• Up
• Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

BEST SCREENPLAY
Inglourious Basterds- Quentin Tarantino

BEST ENSEMBLE
In the Loop

BEST FOREIGN FILM
The White Ribbon

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Cove

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Inglourious Basterds- Ralph Richardson

BEST FILM MUSIC
Crazy Heart

BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
Marc Webb, (500) Days of Summer

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Interesting that James Cameron's latest opus wins the top prize, will his ex-wife (Kathryn Bigelow) wins direction-- if there's a ceremony for this one, that would make some nice awkward drama (I love it!) If they're both at the Oscars, they should be sitting next to each other.

Best Visual Effects

Here are the 14 semi-finalists vying for the visual effects Academy Award:

• 2012
  
• Angels & Demons
• Avatar
• Coraline
• Disney's A Christmas Carol
• District 9
• G-Force
• G.I. The Rise of Cobra
• Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
• Sherlock Holmes
• Terminator: Salvation
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
• Watchmen
• Where the Wild Things Are

My hunch is the three eventual nominees will be 2012, Avatar and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, with Avatar winning the thing-- how could it not. Still I'm happy that some of my favorites Where the Wild Things Are and District 9 made it to the next round, it likely won't go anywhere, but I can dream...I can dream!