AND THE WINNER IS...

Best Ensemble
Hairspray
THOUGHTS Are they serious? The critics chose this over No Country, Juno, etc?

Best Writing
Diablo Cody (Juno)
THOUGHTS Well deserved. Too bad she wasn't there; she would have given a hilarious speech.

Best Young Actor
Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada (The Kite Runner)
THOUGHTS Kudos to the critics for remembering this criminally overlooked, mature perf.

Best Young Actress
Nikki Blonsky
THOUGHTS Who would have guessed so many critics were in the closet about this one?

Best Comedy
Juno
THOUGHTS You get the sense from its reception that this is the one movie that really captured people's hearts—yes, even critics have 'em.

Best Song
"Falling Slowly," by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (Once)
THOUGHTS So well deserved, yet I'm still surprised it took out Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" (not to mention "Come So Far," considering the night Hairspray is having).

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone)
THOUGHTS There was a time when Cate looked inevitable, and she was good, but there is a difference between imitation and creation, and the critics, to their credit, saw this.

Best Foreign Film
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France)
THOUGHTS It held off 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, and every win like this takes it closer to getting that unlikely but attainable Best Pic nod. As for director Schanbel's sweatpants, red socks, and sneakers attire? I suppose it might help people remember him...

Best Animated Film
Ratatouille
THOUGHTS Probably the one and only lock in this year's awards race, at least at this point.

Best Family Film
Enchanted
THOUGHTS Couldn't agree more. A fun movie for people of all ages.

Best Score
Johnny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood)
THOUGHTS The cool choice prevails...

Best Documentary
Sicko
THOUGHTS Probably the most telling result, thus far, since we expect Sicko to battle No End in Sight to the end. This may show us that the populist option may be more appealing than the sobering one, especially since there are several Iraq-related docus in contention.

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men)
THOUGHTS A great actor who couldn't have been more gracious, he definitely charmed some new fans. The question is whether the Academy, which is much more rooted in celebrating history, tradition, and America, will go with him or with Holbrook, the overdue choice.

Best Movie for Television
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
THOUGHTS If that's what it takes to get J.K. Simmons to the stage, I'm okay with it.

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
THOUGHTS He's looking unstoppable.

Best Actress
Julie Christie (Away from Her)
THOUGHTS Jawdropping. The sense going in was that this was between Page and Cotillard—and, as far as the Academy is concerned, it may be, since Christie has hardly done any press and hasn't shown up for anything, and since so few non-critics have seen her film. That said, if the trend of the last 4 years continues and the BFCA and Academy choices correspond again this year, it will be a testament to the depth of affection the industry has for Christie.

Best Director
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen (No Country for Old Men)
THOUGHTS Solidifies their front-runner status.

Best Picture
No Country for Old Men
THOUGHTS Ditto... to a lesser extent. We all knew this was the critics' favorite, but I have a strong sense that we may again see a Brokeback-Crash divide between critics and Academy members (not to mention Joe Public). For now, though, congrats to No Country.