Eric Lavallée

Pretty ironic the Boston Society of Film Critics would be such big fans of The Departed (wicked obvious, no?). The film received top honors in the 25th aniversary of the BSFC Awards. Their most recent winners of the past have been Brokeback Mounatin (2005), Sideways (2004), and Mystic River (2003). Formed in an attempt to showcase "Boston's unique critical perspective heard on a national and international level by awarding commendations to the best of the year's films and filmmakers," the BSFC also really liked the indie underdogs United 93 and Half Nelson.

The Los Angeles Critics Association picked their winners for 2006, and like the previously announced picks by the National Board of Review, it appears that this year’s clear fav is Letters From Iwo Jima. Also amongst the populist vote was The Queen – it picked up a no brainer best actress win for Helen Mirren, but also gave best supporting actor to Michael Sheen who did a great job at playing Tony Blair and a best screenplay for Peter Morgan – who manages to captivate the audiences’ attention from first act to last fade out. Some other worthy mentions that may not be the consensus with other associations are the nods to the production value for the upcoming Children of Men and a big cred goes to L.A Critics for having the balls to pick Sacha Baron Cohen (a tie with Whitaker) for Best Actor. The critics also had the foresight to vote the powerful and overlooked doc film Darwin's Nightmare for the runner-up prize and my biggest surprise was to see that more than one person manage to see the restrained yet commanding performance from Luminita Gheorghiu in The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. She picks up a Best Supporting actress win for a Romanian film that was released in the U.S by Tartan Films in the early calendar.

This year’s top 10, now the American Film Institute's seventh annual year end list includes some serious omissions and a good helping of comedic selections. Not included are downbeat dramas such as Todd Field’s Little Children and Martin Scorsese's The Departed, The Queen or Mel Gibson’s newest endeavor, but Spike Lee’s Inside Man made a surprise entry on the list.

The International Documentary Assn (a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of nonfiction film and video makers throughout the United States and the world, and who also publish a monthly mag) choose James Longley's Iraq In Fragments as the best feature-length documentary of the year. The other final noms in the same category were Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?, Deliver Us From Evil, Showbusiness: A Season to Remember and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.

The team that brought us the surprise hit Little Miss Sunshine are gathering again. The directing duo of Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton are reportedly in talks to helm the film adaptation of The Abstinence Teacher, based on an upcoming Tom Perrotta novel.