Broadcast Film Critics’ scores of Oscar contenders often give us an early clue to what Oscar might like, since BFCA and AMPAS share similar tastes in many cases. Here are the BFCA scores for contenders in major categories. I’ve left out the documentaries, which will be dealt with later. Quite a few significant films aren’t rated yet – War Horse, Extremely Loud, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Tinker Tailor, The Artist, Young Adult, Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Albert Nobbs, Iron Lady, A Dangerous Method, Carnage, Rampart – as they’re late releases. Still, this gives us a pretty good set of info for mid-November. It’s relevant to note that in recent years, no film with a BFCA score lower than 85 has been nominated to Oscar’s BP lineup. Yet that doesn’t preclude an acting nom for such a film (Rachel Getting Married – 71). Anyway, here’s the current BFCA hit list.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 – 93
Martha Marcy May Marlene – 92
The Descendants – 91
Drive – 91
The Ides of March – 91
Moneyball – 91
The Guard – 90
Win Win – 90
The Help – 89
Rango – 89
50/50 – 86
Beginners – 85
Midnight in Paris – 85
My Week with Marilyn – 85
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Attack the Block – 84
Crazy Stupid Love – 83
Bridesmaids – 82
Hanna – 81
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – 81
The Debt – 80
Jane Eyre – 80
Kung Fu Panda 2 – 80
Warrior – 80
A Better Life – 79
Contagion – 79
Another Earth – 78
In a Better World – 78
Melancholia – 78
Rio – 78
The Tree of Life – 78
J. Edgar – 76
Take Shelter – 76
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Like Crazy – 75
Puss in Boots – 75
The Skin I Live In – 75
Winnie the Pooh – 75
Anonymous – 73
Cars 2 – 67
Happy Feet 2 – 67
Not Rated
Le Havre
Margin Call
Meek’s Cutoff