This image was lost some time after publication.

The first critics association awards were announced this weekend, widely considered to be Oscar barometers, up until the actual Oscars when we are reminded annually that the Academy is looking less for critical achievement, more for films exhibiting what best could be described as an inherent "Ron Howardness." A round-up of the nominees and winners thusfar:
· The Los Angeles Film Critics Association names Brokeback Mountain, the shattering film that flipped over and spittle-diddled our hearts, Best Picture. Ang Lee, who went to comic book villain extremes in his quest for cowboy-love-thwarting realness, is recognized for the effort with a Best Director nod. Philip Seymour Hoffman's uncanny kazoo-voiced transformation into Truman Capote won him Best Actor, while Best Actress went to Vera Farmiga in Down to the Bone, which in turn wins the LAFCA its own award: Best Recognition of a Performance No One Has Seen.
· The New York Film Critics Online go with Defamer repeat viewing favorite The Squid and the Whale for Best Picture, and the curveballs keep flying from there: Best Director, Fernando Meirelles for The Constant Gardener; Best Actress, Keira Knightley for Pride & Prejudice. The only non-surprise goes to Hoffman for Best Actor.

· The Broadcast Film Critics Association drag things out by releasing their nominations only (seriously guys, can we just cut to the chase?); Brokeback leads with eight, giving further indication that the awards often referred to as the Gay Superbowl could become the Really Gay Superbowl come March. Crash comes in second with six nominations (sample Paul Haggis acceptance speech: "Thank you, carjackers, without you I'd never have the courage to play out my White Guilt all over America's movie theaters.") and Cinderella Man gets four including Picture and Director, with the Broadcast Critics sharing the Academy's insatiable appetite for all things steeped in Rod Howardness.
· The American Film Institute names the top ten Movies of the Year. Brokeback sits atop the list, purely for alphabetical reasons, but still, can't hurt. Capote, Good Night and Good Luck make the cut, as does, surprisingly, The 40-Year-Old-Virgin. The largely humorless Academy reacts by sticking its fingers in its ears and humming the main theme to Cinderella Man.