NBR awards -- say what?

All right, about those National Board of Review awards (see previous post): They're pretty whack. The top prizes aren't terribly controversial: "No Country" as Best Picture, Julie Christie for "Away From Here," Amy Ryan for "Gone Baby Gone." Clooney as Best Actor? Well, okay; I like George in the movie but obviously the NBR folks didn't get to see Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood."

But the Ten Best of 2007 (which doesn't count "No Country," so really they're putting forth a Top 11) is seriously problematic. "The Assassination of Jesse James" and "Into the Wild" have major flaws, "Atonement" and "The Kite Runner" are exactly the sort of deluxe coffee-table movies made for awards and not as challenging as they could and should be, and "The Bucket List" is just bad. And why are "Juno" and "Lars and the Real Girl" on this list and not on the "Ten Best Independent Movies" list, which includes "A Mighty Heart," "The Namesake," "In the Valley of Elah," and "Waitress"? If nothing else, here's the proof that the distinction between a "studio movie" and what the industry calls an "indie" no longer exists.