Eastwood's 'Letters' is tops in LA

LOS ANGELES -- Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima," the second of his two World War II sagas this year, was picked as the top movie of 2006 yesterday by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Set for release Dec. 20, "Letters From Iwo Jima" stars Ken Watanabe and chronicles the battle from the perspective of Japanese soldiers defending the island against US troops. The runner-up for best picture was "The Queen," which also earned honors for Helen Mirren (best actress), Michael Sheen (supporting actor), and Peter Morgan (screenplay).

The New York Film Critics Online Awards yesterday also were dominated by "The Queen," which earned five honors: best picture, best actress for Mirren, supporting actor for Sheen, director for Stephen Frears, and screenplay for Morgan. The Los Angeles critics group split its best-actor prize between Sacha Baron Cohen in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" and Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland." Supporting actress went to Luminita Gheorghiu for "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu." Paul Greengrass took best director for "United 93."

Also, the American Film Institute picked its top-10 2006 films: "Babel," "Borat," "Dreamgirls," "Half Nelson," "Happy Feet," "Inside Man," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Devil Wears Prada," and "United 93." The AFI doesn't rank its picks.

ASSOCIATED PRESS