More awards: Critics' Choice Awards nominations are out

I'm fully immersed in crazy awards season happenings now. Things are happening so quickly, it's difficult to keep track. This week, the 19th Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations were announced, and I'm paying close attention. Nominees for these awards are quite often also Academy Award nominees. If you're into this sort of thing, take note: A few films are clearly separating from the rest of the pack now.

Let's break down the bigger categories here. For best picture, there are 10 nominees, including 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Saving Mr. Banks and The Wolf of Wall Street. All total, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle each garnered 13 Critics' Choice nominations. I don't think it's a stretch to say that these two movies are going to duke it out for Best Picture at the 2014 Academy Awards.

The Best Actor nominations weren't at all surprising: Christian Bale for American Hustle, Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave, Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips, Bruce Dern for Nebraska, Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyer's Club and Robert Redford for All Is Lost.

At this point, I still believe Chiwetel Ejiofor is the frontrunner here, though I get a real thrill seeing some of these veteran names listed, particularly Redford. I was shocked that Joaquin Phoenix did not get the nod for Her. I still think he's got a shot at another Oscar nomination. And never, ever count out Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street. Will this be the year that Leo finally gets his Oscar? My money is still on Ejiofor at this point, but I'll be able to form a better opinion once Wolf opens on December 25.

The Best Actress nominees were also not surprising: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine, Sandra Bullock for Gravity, Meryl Streep for August: Osage County, Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks, Brie Larson for Short Term 12 and Judi Dench for Philomena. Blanchett was a force in Blue Jasmine, but this might just be Meryl Streep's year (again - she's won three previous Oscars, the latest in 2011 for The Iron Lady).

And yes, Jennifer Lawrence award-watchers, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for American Hustle. For those of you keeping score at home, she's killing it with nominations thus far.

If you'd like to see a full list of the Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominees, click here. There are a few completely silly categories ("Best Actor/Actress in an Action Movie" seems more Golden Globe-ish), but for the most part, things are progressing as predicted. Also, in terms of Best Director, I have a gut feeling that Alfonso Cuaron is gaining ground for Gravity, and deservedly so.

Does anyone want to make any official Oscar predictions at this point? Feel free to jump in anytime in the comments.

Photo courtesy of Digital Spy