National Society of Film Critics' winners

[ITALIANO]

still managed to replicate three of four NY acting winners.

And one will win the Oscar. His time has clearly come - sooner than I expected maybe, but then this has obviously been a great year for him.

I've been leaning his way myself, but people keep telling me Dujardin is a sure thing. Not having yet got to either The Artist or Descendants leaves me at a great disadvantage.

A stat someone at another site dug up: whenever the National Society and LA have chosen the same winning director -- as they have this year with Malick -- that director has gone on to an Oscar nomination...including a few not-sure candidates, Lynch for Blue Velvet and Greengrass for United 93.

Dujardin is a brilliant actor (I have recently seen him in other movies, but he's brilliant even in The Artist) and a charming, charismatic man, but I don't know... I think that The Artist will win Best Picture and other Oscars, but why should they go to France for Best Actor, when they have a local golden boy who's also a big star and who's also a good actor with not one but two much-praised performances in this year? This is the perfect chance to honor someone who, like it or not, is probably the most famous, most popular living American actor in the world (with Tom Cruise - but more talented than Tom Cruise and with a "nicer" personality). I don't think they will miss it.

As for Malick... well, my fingers are crossed...

[nightwingnova]

I like Melancholia a lot...but I saw it in pieces, not sure how I'd feel about it in one sitting...the pacing could be slow. Surprised that The Artist didn't place. It's a brilliant poetic piece.

Was also surprised that Terence Malick and The Tree of Life sprung from nowhere to snatch the director's prize. Was really nowhere during this awards season and rightfully so.

Nice to see runners-up to the screenplay prize. NY didn't have them and I've been wondering who the other respectable choices were. I thought Moneyball's last section was sloppily handled.

Bravo to Brad Pitt, who I think really did give the year's best male lead performance. A real substantial and complex performance. That Pitt outdistanced everyone here and in NY is impressive. Oldman was good...but he didn't have much to do after impersonating an old spy. Really surprised about Fassbender not placing. He bared his soul in Shame.

[Mister Tee]

still managed to replicate three of four NY acting winners.

And one will win the Oscar. His time has clearly come - sooner than I expected maybe, but then this has obviously been a great year for him.

I've been leaning his way myself, but people keep telling me Dujardin is a sure thing. Not having yet got to either The Artist or Descendants leaves me at a great disadvantage.

A stat someone at another site dug up: whenever the National Society and LA have chosen the same winning director -- as they have this year with Malick -- that director has gone on to an Oscar nomination...including a few not-sure candidates, Lynch for Blue Velvet and Greengrass for United 93.

[ITALIANO]

still managed to replicate three of four NY acting winners.

And one will win the Oscar. His time has clearly come - sooner than I expected maybe, but then this has obviously been a great year for him.

This award is always the most interesting - and I appreciate their love for The Tree of Life and A Separation (I haven't seen Melancholia yet). I appreciate a bit less their love for Albert Brooks, but nobody's perfect...

[Mister Tee]

Decent diversity of runners-up -- yet still managed to replicate three of four NY acting winners.


BEST PICTURE
*1. Melancholia – 29 (Lars von Trier)
2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)
3. A Separation – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)

BEST DIRECTOR
*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)
2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)
3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST ACTOR
*1. Brad Pitt – 35 (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)
2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS
*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)
2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)
3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
*1. Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)
2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)
3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)
2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)
3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)

BEST NONFICTION
*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)
2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)
3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)

BEST SCREENPLAY
*1. A Separation – 39 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)
3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)
2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)
3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emanuel Lubezki)
2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)
3. Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)

EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”

FILM HERITAGE
1. BAM Cinématek for its complete Vincente Minnelli retrospective with all titles shown on 16 mm. or 35 mm. film.
2. Lobster Films, Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema for the restoration of the color version of George Méliès’s “A Trip to the Moon.”
3. New York’s Museum of Modern Art for its extensive retrospective of Weimar Cinema.
4. Flicker Alley for their box set “Landmarks of Early Soviet Film.”
5. Criterion Collecton for its 2-disc DVD package “The Complete Jean Vigo.”