National Board of Review honors

The choices of the National Board of Review, the mysterious organization that puts out the first round of end-of-year awards, came out Thursday. I'm sure venom is spreading, but Idon't think this is too bad of a list. Obviously, Film of the Year Slumdog Millionaire isn't my thing, but I recognize I am in the minority and hold no real hostility. The acting choices and Man on Wire are pleasing choices. I was surprised to see Anne Hathaway as the choice over actresses with longer track records. I don't mind the Josh Brolin selection for Milk, although Heath Ledger clearly was the top supporting performance of the year. The only major raised eyebrows for me are the top ten selection for for I Want My Son Back: The Christine Collins Story (aka: Changeling) and Slumdog's Dev Patel as "Breakthrough Actor." I haven't seen Gran Torino yet, so I have no opinion on its selections, although I'm skeptical.