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We here at Defamer love the holiday season for no other reason than the bounty of movie critics' year-end lists and awards it brings us, like decrees handed down from on high from our pull-quote producing, thumb-direction-assigning cinematic sages. The Broadcast Film Critics Association adds another layer of intrigue to the process, dragging things out heightening the suspense by first releasing a list of nominees in every category, and later announcing the winners at the E!-broadcast Critics' Choice Awards—a mini-Oscars, as it were, only with the added feature of having Ryan Seacrest backstage to helpfully offer select Best Actor and Supporting Actor nominees stress-relieving lower back rubs. A partial list of the nominees, from The Envelope:

Martin Scorsese's gangster film "The Departed" received nominations for best film, best director, best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), supporting actor (Jack Nicholson), best acting ensemble, best writer (William Monahan) and best composer (Howard Shore). [...]

Also competing for best picture are ["Babel," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Dreamgirls,"] "Blood Diamond," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Children," "Notes on a Scandal," "The Queen" and "United 93."

Joining DiCaprio for best actor are Ryan Gosling for "Half Nelson," Peter O'Toole for "Venus," Will Smith for "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland."

Competing for best actress are Penelope Cruz for "Volver," Judi Dench for "Notes on a Scandal," Helen Mirren for "The Queen," Meryl Streep for "The Devil Wears Prada" and Kate Winslet for "Little Children."

Also worth nothing is their singling out of Ben Affleck for his turn in Hollywoodland—a role that had garnered positive reviews and a Venice film fest award when the movie was released back in early September, but that might have otherwise gotten lost in the awards shuffle—and the lack of a nomination for former bromance partner/better-career-decision-maker Matt Damon's work in The Departed. It remains to be seen if this might herald a reversal of fortune for the duo, with Damon unexpectedly entering a semi-retirement of taking care of his newborn and making well-photographed Starbucks runs, while Affleck, even more astoundingly, finds himself no longer the object ot tabloid ridicule as he embarks on a string of well-received movies.