Nominations 21 Dec 09
Awards 18 Feb 10 at the Landmark, London

"It's a bit like how the Golden Globes used to be
when they were a party and not a pre-Oscar industry occasion."
Michael Caton Jones on the London Critics Film Awards

Notes from Rich: As a member of the Critics' Circle, the oldest body of critics in the world, I get to vote for the Critics' Circle Film Awards, and as a member of the awards committee I'm involved in putting on the event itself. Our list of nominations always looks a bit eccentric, but this is because, unlike the Oscars or Globes, we have more than 100 members who actually watch all of the movies and vote on what they like rather than trying to predict the other awards or follow in the growing buzz. Just look at these five Best Film nominees - a big blockbuster, a populist hit, a tough American war drama and two acclaimed foreign dramas. And our awards night is seriously good fun - it'll be even better this year with Quentin Tarantino giving the final acceptance speech of the evening.

See also: UK REGIONAL CRITICS AWARDS The Critics' Circle Film Awards are held in aid of the NSPCC • Rich Cline has been a Critics' Circle member since February 2003