While the past few weeks have seen end-of-year film accolades handed out by numerous critical bodies—and one oiled, glistening critical hardbody—typically the first and most accurate bellwether of how the Oscars will pan out is the Critics Choice Movie Awards. As it’s done for coffee, low-calorie frozen dinners, and dog food before it, the word “Choice” conveys that these awards offer nothing but the finest, juiciest cuts of critical consensus, which is why year after year the Best Picture picks of the Broadcast Film Critics Association most closely align with those of the Academy.
Of course, with the new Oscar system that determines Best Picture nominees according to the Fibonacci sequence or whatever, that may not be the case, but the likely list definitely seems to be solidifying now. And you can tell because, next to all the repeat contenders like The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo, and The Tree Of Life, The Help is finally on there, and you know there’s no way the Oscars aren’t going to at least nominate The Help for Best Picture. They want people to watch their little show, after all, and besides, they would get so many angry letters from people who still write actual letters! Ditto Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, the omission of which would mean that we will simply never heal the wounds of 9/11.
The Critics Choice Awards also bring good news for a couple of underdogs who have been teetering on the edge of being forgotten—in particular Drive, the critically praised film that has always seemed like it might be just a little too cool for the Oscars. (Or, y’know, brutally violent.) Apparently, it is not. Not too cool at all. Also cracking the list after months and months of Internet support: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes star Andy Serkis, who managed to score a Best Supporting Actor nod in what could be a precursor to some real, pioneering recognition of motion-capture performance, provided Young Adult’s eerily accurate Patton Oswalt simulacrum doesn’t get there first. Anyway, here’s the complete list of nominees (with a hat-tip to Movieline). The awards will be broadcast on January 12 on VH1, with Human Giant cohorts Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer co-hosting.
BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
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
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks – Drive
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Patton Oswalt – Young Adult
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Andrew Serkis – Rise of the Planet of the Apes
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Carey Mulligan – Shame
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – Hugo
Elle Fanning – Super 8
Thomas Horn – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Ezra Miller – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Saoirse Ronan – Hanna
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants