Critic's Choice Predictions

Update: So 14 out of 25, who knew the Critics were gonna play it so safe. They were all talk about stuff like Winter's Bone and whatnot, but when it came right down to it they put it right down the middle with Oscar bait like The Fighter and The King's Speech. Shocking results. Oh, well. For full list of winners, check here.

The award's season kicks off this weekend with the Golden Globes on Sunday and the Critic's Choice Movie Awards on VH1 tonight. I'll save my predictions for the Globes till Sunday afternoon, but it's time to get cracking on the predictions for the Critic's Choice.

Now, first thing to understand about the Critic's Choice, is unlike the Academy or the Globes, this is the only award's show completely and entirely decided by American film critics, thus giving it a certain air of intrigue and prestige. Critics have a tendency to be more topical with their choices than both the Academy and the Globes, and they are often more daring with their award choices, often choosing subject matter that is more challenging than your typical Oscar bait. The main thing that typically distinguishes the Critics though, is that the Critics tend to champion lesser known films over the larger, more recognizable fare, so hit indies like Winter's Bone are up there alongside The Social Network and The King's Speech as odds on favorites. Regardless to say, it will be a fun night. Now, onto my predictions (and for a full list of nominees, check here):

Best Picture - The Social Network

Best Director - David Fincher, The Social Network

Best Actor - Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress - Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit

Best Young Actor - Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone

Best Acting Ensemble - The Social Network

Best Original Screenplay - Christopher Nolan, Inception

Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Best Cinematography - Roger Deakins, True Grit

Best Art Direction - Stefan Dechant and Robert Stromberg, Alice in Wonderland

Best Costume Design - Colleen Atwood, Alice in Wonderland

Best Makeup - Black Swan

Best Sound - Inception

Best Editing - Inception

Best Visual Effects - Inception

Best Animated Feature - Toy Story 3

Best Action Movie - Inception

Best Comedy - Easy A

Best Picture Made for Television - The Pacific

Best Foreign Language Film - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Best Documentary Feature - Exit Through the Gift Shop

Best Song - "I See the Light," Tangled

Best Score - Hans Zimmer, Inception

I really hope I'm not overestimating the critic's love for a few of these, in particular their love for Winter's Bone and Inception. We'll find out if I did or didn't tonight at 9/8 central on VH1!