A longstanding organization of dedicated film fans, the National Board of Review is traditionally the first major announcement of Hollywood's award season. Last year their pick for best film, "Slumdog Millionaire," went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The following list is their selections for the best of 2009.
Best Film: “Up In the Air”
Ten Best Films
(in alphabetical order)
“An Education”
“(500) Days of Summer”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Invictus”
“The Messenger”
“A Serious Man”
“Star Trek”
“Up”
“Where the Wild Things Are”
Best Foreign Film: “A Prophet”
Five Best Foreign-Language Films
(in alphabetical order)
“The Maid”
“Revanche”
“Song of Sparrows”
“Three Monkeys”
“The White Ribbon”
Best Documentary: “The Cove”
Five Best Documentaries
(in alphabetical order)
“Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country”
“Crude”
“Food, Inc.”
“Good Hair”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
Best Animated Feature: “Up”
Top Ten Independent Films:
(in alphabetical order)
“Amreeka”
“District 9″
“Goodbye Solo”
“Humpday”
“In the Loop”
“Julia”
“Me and Orson Welles”
“Moon”
“Sugar”
“Two Lovers”
Best Director: Clint Eastwood, “Invictus”
Best Actor: Morgan Freeman, “Invictus” and George Clooney, “Up In The Air” (tie)
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick, “Up In The Air”
Best Ensemble Cast: “It’s Complicated”
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Spotlight Award for Best Directorial Debut: Duncan Jones, “Moon,” Oren Moverman, “The Messenger” and Marc Webb, “(500) Days of Summer” (tie)
Best Original Screenplay: Joel & Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up In the Air”
Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Wes Anderson, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”
William K. Everson Film History Award: Jean Picker Firstenberg
NBR Freedom of Expression:
“Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country”
“Invictus”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
