Christoph Waltz in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."

Credit: Weinstein Company

Arguably the second most prestigious critics group in the country, the Los Angeles Film Critics announced the first half of their 2009 award recipients this afternoon.  Commentary and the complete list of winners by 2:30 PM PST.

First Announcement:

MUSIC/SCORE:

T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton, "Crazy Heart"

Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Reaction: Two great winners.  Here's hoping this begins a strong campaign for Desplat to win the Oscar for Best Original Score.

PRODUCTION DESIGN:

Philip Ivey, "District 9"

Runner-up: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg, "Avatar"

Reaction: Both are worthy recipients, but the body of work for "Avatar" is much more impressive than "District 9."   

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Christian Berger, "The White Ribbon"

Runner-up: Barry Ackroyd, "The Hurt Locker"

Reaction: A bit perplexed. Black and white cinematography should not be rewarded just because no one does it anymore. "Ribbon's" look was not that impressive. Oh, well.  Can't argue with Ackroyd as runner up for "Locker" though.  This and Boston's award earlier today might be some nice momentum for his Oscar nod hopes.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Mo'Nique, "Precious"

Runner-up: Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"

Reaction: Doesn't matter to me whether she believes in campaigning or not.  Mo'Nique hands down gave one of the best performances of the year and deserves every honor she gets.  Happy to see the love for the talented and classy Ms. Kendrick as well.

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Runner-up: Peter Capaldi, "In the Loop"

Reaction: No disagreement here. Happy to see Capaldi in the gem "In The Loop" get some recognition.  Hands down one of the best films of the year.

SCREENPLAY:

Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”

Runner-up: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, "In the Loop"

Reaction: Great to see more love for "Loop."  "Air" will make this pundit's top ten, but not sure it's the best screenplay of the year.  Still, the film's strength is in the writing and acting, so can't really fault it though.

DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM:

"The Beaches of Agnès" and "The Cove" (tie)

DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO:

C.W. Winter and Anders Edstrom, "The Anchorage"

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