OSCAR WATCH: Critics Choice Awards

After a somewhat lukewarm show, the winners of the Critics Choice Awards have given us an idea of the current standings of the various categories. For the past few seasons that I've been blogging, these awards seem to have a domino effect. I think it will be the same scenario this year. The Artist is indeed the frontrunner, but a few of the important categories sprung some interesting surprises (like Moneyball and Midnight in Paris winning the screenplay awards). The film won a total of 4 awards - Best Picture(pictured above), Best Director, Best Costume Design and Best Score. The highlight of the night was Viola Davis' killer speech, which will serve her well for future recognition. My predictions weren't great this year. I correctly predicted 13 out of 24. Here is the full rundown of winners:

Best Picture
The Artist

Best Actor
George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress
Viola Davis, The Help

Best Supporting Actor
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Best Young Actor
Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Acting Ensemble
The Help

Best Original Screenplay
Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen

Best Adapted Screenplay
Moneyball, Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

Best Cinematography
The Tree of Life AND War Horse

Best Art Direction
Hugo

Best Editing
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Best Costume Design
The Artist

Best Makeup
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Best Visual Effects
Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best Sound
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Best Animated Feature
Rango

Best Action Movie
Drive

Best Comedy
Bridesmaids

Best Foreign Film
A Separation

Best Documentary Feature
George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Best Song
"Life’s a Happy Song" – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie, The Muppets

Best Score
Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Scoreboard:
The Artist - 4
The Help - 3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - 2
They really spread the wealth this year, with a whopping 16 other movies winning 1 award!