"Nine," "Inglourious Basterds" Lead 2009 Critic's Choice Nominees

Award season is once again in full swing and the best-of lists are coming out of the woodwork to honor 2009’s finest filmic achievements. The BFCA (Broadcast Film Critics Association) has recently unfurled their picks for the 15th annual Critic's Choice Movie Awards, with Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” and Rob Marshall’s “Nine” leading the pack, tied at a record ten nominations each. Both films received a nod for best picture, best cinematography, best art direction, best editing, and best acting ensemble, among others.

Rounding out the CCMA best picture category were “Avatar,” “An Education,” “The Hurt Locker,” “Invictus,” “Precious,” “A Serious Man,” “Up,” and “Up in the Air.” A complete list of categories and nominees can be found here.

Not to be outdone, the Associated Press and Time magazine’s Richard Corliss have also made their choices for best picture known. Via Ain’t it Cool:

David Germaine (AP)
The Hurt Locker
Precious
The White Ribbon
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Up
An Education
(500) Days of Summer
Passing Strange
Anvil: The Story of Anvil
The Damned United

Christy Lemire (AP)
Moon
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Up
District 9
A Serious Man
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Sugar
Passing Strange
Drag Me to Hell

Richard Corliss (Time)
The Princess and the Frog
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air
The White Ribbon
A Single Man
Of Time and the City
District 9
Thirst

Obviously there are quite a few crossover picks, though conspicuously none of the stand-alone critics shared the BFCA’s enthusiasm for “Basterds” or “Nine.” In fact, the only other unanimous picks were Pixar’s “Up,” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker.”

I’m frankly surprised by the amount of attention both of those films are receiving, as I consider “Up” one of Pixar’s less successful animated features, and “The Hurt Locker,” a topical but ultimately insubstantial action film. I am glad to see the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man” mentioned by Lemire, among the likes of less traditional genre picks like “Moon” and “Drag Me to Hell.”

So what do you think? Are the critical picks justified? Are “Inglourious Basterds” and “Nine” the films to remember the end of the decade by? Is social relevance enough to warrant the excessive praise for “Hurt Locker?” Glaring omissions?

There’s no pleasing everyone, but awards season is our opportunity to hash out opinion at our most apologetically pretentious. Have at it.