One of the more prominent critic groups:

Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
A History of Violence
King Kong

Best Foreign Language Film
2046
Cache
Downfall
Kung - Fu Hustle
Oldboy

Best Director
George Clooney: Good Night, and Good Luck
David Cronenberg: A History of Violence
Peter Jackson: King Kong
Ang Lee: Brokeback Mountain
Steven Spielberg: Munich

Best Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Capote by Dan Futterman
Crash by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco
Good Night, and Good Luck by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
A History of Violence by Josh Olson

Best Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Terrence Howard - Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix - Walk the Line
David Strathairn - Good Night, and Good Luck

Best Actress
Joan Allen - The Upside of Anger
Felicity Huffman - Transamerica
Keira Knightley - Pride & Prejudice
Naomi Watts - King Kong
Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Dillon - Crash
Terrence Howard - Crash
Paul Giamatti - Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Mickey Rourke - Sin City
Donald Sutherland - Pride & Prejudice

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - Junebug
Maria Bello - A History of Violence
Scarlett Johansson - Match Point
Catherine Keener - Capote
Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Best Original Score
Batman Begins - Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
Brokeback Mountain - Gustavo Santaolalla
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Danny Elfman
King Kong - James Newton Howard
Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams

Best Cinematography
Brokeback Mountain - Rodrigo Prieto
Good Night, and Good Luck - Robert Elswit
King Kong - Andrew Lesnie
Munich - Janusz Kaminski
The New World - Emmanuel Lubezki
Pride & Prejudice - Roman Osin

Best Documentary
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Grizzly Man
Mad Hot Ballroom
March of the Penguins
Murderball

Most Promising Performer
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges - Crash and Hustle & Flow
Georgie Henley - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Miranda July - Me and You and Everyone We Know
Q’Orianka Kilcher - The New World
Owen Kline - The Squid and the Whale

Most Promising Director
Craig Brewer - Hustle & Flow
Miranda July - Me and You and Everyone We Know
Bennett Miller - Capote
Phil Morrison - Junebug
Joe Wright - Pride & Prejudice

http://www.moviecitynews.com/awards...ds/chicago.html

Except for Best Picture, I have a feeling that academy ballots could look awefully like this one. The director could match 5 for 5. I see Best Actor match completely. Some chance for Best Actress. The five supporting actress nominees will likely come out the 6 here too. Even the tech categories and documentary (except for Grizzly Man).

Brokeback, of course, really made a sweeping. Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenplay, Original Score, and Cinematography. It has always impressed me how this is a small, intimate film, yet it excels in so many areas, including technicals. This is partly the reason why I think Brokeback may have enough force to win the big one at the Oscars, since it isn't just the directing and acting that is respected (ala. The Hours) but other things among that. It's functioning moreso as a "bigger" film. Some critics in fact call if a love story "epic" or whatever. Good job for Brokeback.

And of course I am overjoyed for the love of King Kong. Best Picture, Director, Actress (Naomi!!!), Cinematography and Original Score! Does anyone else think King Kong could indeed slip in for a nomination for Score at the Oscars, since it is a rather weak year for that category in my opinion? I dunno. It certainly helps that it is Howard and not Shore who did it, and it got the Globes mention too, though I've always thought the Globes are not really that great of an indicator at all.

A History of Violence got some good love, but I still don't see it being nominated at the Oscars. It's the critical darling, but not Academy friendly, in my opinion, after actually having seen it. Though I could be wrong. However I am REALLY feeling a Best Director nom for Cronenberg though. Further adds to my thought that Woody Allen will get shut out with his film.

Munich absent for Best Picture again, but Spielberg got the Director nom, much like the Globes and a few other awards I believe. Interesting.

Also, the fact that both the supporting acting categories have 6 nominees here just goes to show how widespread and open those two categories are this year. Those are probably two of the very hardest to predict, and apparently even hard for the critics to cut down to five.

PEACE, Mike.

Keira strangthens her hold awards buzz will push Kong over 250m IMHO

Great news....King Kong, Naomi Watts, and Joan Allen!

Great news in Kong getting a nom. But Crash got one too...

Haven't seen Crash yet. It's not in Japan yet. But I'm happy for Kong.

You know what Xiayun, I think this lineup would definitely mirror the Oscars. Who do you guys think will be left out in the supporting categories? Right now, my guess would be Rachel Weisz (Johansson is pretty vulnerable though) and for the supporting actors... Mickey Rourke is definitely out... and Terence Howard could get tossed aside as well (the Oscars could go for the sentimental vote and sneak Donald Sutherland in).

I think Terence Howard is getting a nom this year. Either for Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor.

Not good for Match Point, I'd say...

Yay for Kong!

This line up really contains some great stuff (on the whole)


I haven't seen Cache, and 2046 is slightly overrated, but overall... wow.


This is a great set here. Nobody is undeserving of this nomination.


These are my predicted five.


I think the wild card here is Watts vs. Dench vs. Theron.


Supporting Actor category is hard. I don't think Howard will be a Jamie Foxx this year. Dillon, Giamatti and Gyllenhaal will likely get a nomination. Rourke will (sadly!) be overlooked. Frank Langella from Good Night, Good Luck. has popped on the radar on talk shows and in mentions on TV lately... I think he has a shot at a nomination.

Giamatti is really poised to win this award this year.


I'm not sure about Johansoon or Weisz... you could easily put Blethyn (Pride) or Gong Li there, but Li's chances really seem tied to the critical failure of Memoirs of a Geisha.


I would not nominate Batman Begins here, and with two composers its pretty much out of the Oscar running. Brokeback Mountain exists more in the silences than in the score. I would think Potter would deserve a nomination here mroe than those other two.


WOW.

Overall these nominations are excellent, and I wouldn't be heartbroken if the Academy's picks were exactly the same.

I assume that's kind of bad for Munich? Only getting Director..


Some inspired choices in here.. like Joan Allen (I hope she wins at least one of these) and most surprisingly Mickey Rourke..

eric banas gettnig robbed you guys

Naomi and Kong deserve the awards.

Interesting picks. Pretty good, overall.
Another blow to Munich and another step ahead for Brokeback and Kong!

I think the Best Actor and Best Actress categories are just about what the Oscars are going to go for.

The only changes are Bana in place of Howard and Theron in place of Watts or Knightley.

Clooney is missing from the supporting category. Although I really didn't think he did that amazing of a job; I mean there wasn't that much for him to do in Syriana, I still think he is a shoe in for a nod, being his year and all.

I still think Keener might be ignored. From the actresses who are not nominated here, Gong Li definitely continues to fade, but there is still a chance that Diane Keaton could replace one of them. I'm just surprised how big Keaton's buzz has fallen in a month, from the frontrunner for a win to struggling for a nomination. Supporting Actress is turning out to be a very competitive category.

Supporting Actor race is such a crapshoot right now, except that Paul Giamatti seems to be the frontrunner. Nothing will surprise me here on the nomination morning.

Winners:

Best Picture - "Crash"
Best Foreign Language Film - "Cache" (Hidden)
Best Director - David Cronenberg for "A History of Violence"
Best Actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Capote"
Best Actress - Joan Allen in "The Upside of Anger"
Best Supporting Actor - Mickey Rourke in "Sin City"
Best Supporting Actress - Maria Bello in "A History of Violence"
Best Documentary - "Grizzly Man"
Best Cinematography - Rodrigo Prieto for "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Original Score - Bustavo Santaolalla's music for "Brokeback Mountain"
Best Screenplay - Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco - "Crash"
Most Promising Performer - Miranda July in "Me and You and Everyone We Know"
Most Promising Filmmaker - Bennett Miller for directing "Capote"

http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/win05.html

is the BBM love dying? will it be the next sideways??

Brokeback will never be the next Sideways.

Or maybe they just wanna spread the love a little bit

Crash is Ebert's No. 1 film, and he is defending it like his baby, so no surprise here. BBM's love isn't dying, as the two tech awards show.

Is that good... or bad?

I love these results! Crash! Mickey Rourke! Cronenberg!

Sideways engaged me. Brokeback did not.