Pre-Oscar Awardus Interruptus

Okay, if you're still with us, by now you've figured out that the awards season for movies issues a staggering number of trophies; so far, twenty-four critics groups from around the country have handed out their accolades. In the previous post, we listed the most recent winners, and in this post, you can see an overall summary of all the wins so far.
.
(mark wahlberg in "the fighter")
.Best Picture: "The Social Network"-20 wins; "Winter's Bone"-2 wins; "Black Swan"-1 win; "127 Hours"-1 win
.
Best Actor: Colin Firth-11 wins; Jesse Eisenberg-6 wins; James Franco-4 wins; Mark Wahlberg, Colin Farrell, Edgar Ramiraz-1 win
.
Best Actress: Natalie Portman-11 wins; Jennifer Lawrence-5 wins; Annette Bening-2 wins; Halle Berry, Lesley Manville, Kim Hye-Ja, Michelle Williams, Noomi Rapace-1 win
.
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale-13 wins; John Hawkes-4 wins; Geoffrey Rush, Michael Ealy, Niels Arestrup, Armie Hammer, Mark Ruffalo-1 win
.
Supporting Actress: Jackie Weaver-7 wins; Hailee Steinfeld-6 wins; Melissa Leo-4 wins; Kimberly Elise, Juliette Lewis, Mila Kunis, Amy Adams, Lesley Manville-1 win
.Our thoughts:
Of the twenty-four awards given for Best Picture, "The Social Network" has won 20 of them. Wow. But does that assure an Oscar win? No way. Just remember: "Critics" do not equal "Oscar Voters".
.
It looks to be a two man race between Colin Firth and Jesse Eisenberg for Oscar's Best Actor. And to think, just a few months ago, Eisenberg was dismissed as a nerdy actor who only acted in second-rate teen comedies. Not any more.
.
In the Best Actress contest, it looks like Natalie Portman's race to lose. But as we've been saying for a few weeks, watch out for Jennifer Lawrence as a strong dark horse. And then, there's the strange case of Annette Bening. Bening is the favorite of the Academy voters, especially since she's suffered the heartbreak of losing the Oscar three times in the past, twice to Hilary Swank for what many considered sub-par performances. Strong sentiment could be on Bening's side.
.
Early in the season, many said Geoffrey Rush was the lock to win for Supporting Actor. But now, change that to Christian Bale. Look for John Hawkes of "Winter's Bone" to get a well-deserved nom, but as for many, his nomination will be his reward.
.

(armie hammer of "the social network"

.The Supporting Actress square-off is the tightest one of the four major acting categories. Any of these women, Jackie Weaver, Hailee Steinfeld or Melissa Leo could take it.