Negative ads. Smear campaigns. Glad-handing voters. Intimidation. Piles of money. And the cold dead hand of a master manipulator behind the scenes. Yes, it's Oscar campaign season again. Not nearly as entertaining as the donnybrook for the Republican Presidential nomination, but in many ways involving the same tactics, dynamics, frustrations, and likely outcome.

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations this morning, the Academy once again has unleashed a stinging slap to my pretensions to prognostication. In short, I got seven wrong out of 34, or about 77%. At best a C+ and short of my average of 80-85%.

As usual, though, I'm wrong for all the right reasons.

The Academy just announced its short list of nine candidates for Best Foreign Language Film Oscars.

They are:

Belgium, "Bullhead," Michael R. Roskam, director;
Canada, "Monsieur Lazhar," Philippe Falardeau, director;
Denmark, "Superclásico," Ole Christian Madsen, director;
Germany, "Pina," Wim Wenders, director;

Every year, it's the same: they announce the five "Best Foreign Language Film" Academy Award nominees and you haven't heard of any of them, let alone seen them. But here's a chance to get an early look at a strong contender, the official French Oscar entry, Declaration Of War. Directed by and starring Valérie Donzelli, it's about a young couple who discover that their infant son has a potentially terminal brain tumor.

The National Society of Film Critics, of which I am a member, had a choice between "Life" and death today, and they chose death. That is to say, Lars Von Trier's doomsday celebration "Melancholia" beat out Terence Malick's cheerier "Tree of Life" for Best Picture by one vote. "Tree of Life" would make a comeback with Best Director and Best Cinematography somewhat later in the four-and-a-half meeting, but not before "Melancholia' scored again with Best Actress with Kirsten Dunst.

After an informal poll of my fellow Boston Society of Film Critics members, the winner of the 2011 "Where's Whitey? Award for Best Animal Actor" has been decided.

It wasn't even close.

For a performance all the more impressive because it was done without resorting to any dialogue, barked or otherwise, and.

Here "The Artist" impressively scores number one on three more lists. I feel so bad that's it's not my favorite movie. More divisive are "J. Edgar," "War Horse," and "Melancholia, which have been showing up on both best and worst lists. Sometimes from the same critic.

Sheila Johnston

BEST

1. "The Artist"

It's a sad fact that we often do not recognize someone's greatness or the significance of their contributions until they pass away. Such is the case with that late, great ape, Cheetah (or Cheeta, as he preferred to have his name spelled) who passed away Christmas Eve at the age of 80. And so belatedly, to acknowledge this legendary hominid, we have decided to posthumously award him the "Where's Whitey?" lifetime achievement award

Once again my colleagues here have been kind enough to share their picks.

More to follow.

Gerald Peary

Ten Best in Order:

1. A Dangerous Method

2. Margaret

3. The Descendants

4. Incendies

5. Bill Cunningham New York

6. The Interrupters

7. The Artist

8. A Separation

9.

So, to wrap up the 2011 Boston Society of Film Critics awards:

BEST PICTURE: "The Artist"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE: "Incendies"

BEST ANIMATED FILM: "Rango"

BEST DOCUMENTARY: "Project Nim"

BEST DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

BEST NEW FILMMAKER:Sean Durkin for "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

I just came from a screening of David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," in which Keira Knightley as Sabina Spielrein kicks and screams and laughs hysterically as she's dragged from a carriage into the Bürgholzi Mental Hospital to be treated by Michael Fassbender's Carl Jung.

Yesterday I went to a screening of "Young Adult," directed by Jason Reitman from a script by Diablo Cody, in which Charlize Theron (an old hand at disturbed characters after her serial killer in "Monster") plays a woman who is acutely depressed, alcoholic, and self-destructively obsessed with a man she went out with over fifteen years ago.

Is the NYFCC indulging in crass self-promotion by rushing to be the first critics society to present its 2011 awards. Are they, as some people such as blogger David Poland insist, a "business call. not a show call," putting their impact on the film industry (i.e., the Oscars) above their responsibility to disinterestedly weigh the merits of the year's movies? It doesn't matter: they're already underway.

As good as George Clooney is as beleaguered Hawaiian nabob and family man Matt King in Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," 20-year-old Shailene Woodley still steals the show as King's messed-up teenaged daughter Alexandra. Her subtle, funny, and vivid performance will probably catch the eye of critics groups and the Academy as the awards season approaches.