"Go on Academy voters...make my day"The race for Oscar starts now! America's National Board of Review Awards have been announced in what is typically seen as the first step on the long road to next February's Academy Awards.
 
And judging from the winning movies, it's going to be a wide open race with no one film sweeping the board.
 
Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, which is fast becoming the little film that could, picked up Best Picture, after wins at the British Independent Film Awards and the Toronto Film Festival.
 
David Fincher secured Best Director for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, arguably the current Oscar front-runner (though it's very early days yet).
 
Perhaps the biggest surprise was Clint Eastwood picking up Best Actor for Gran Torino, beating strong competition from Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button, Sean Penn in Milk, and comeback kid Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler.
 
Anne Hathaway picked up Best Actress for Rachel Getting Married, while Josh Brolin got himself Best Supporting Actor for Milk, and Penelope Cruz nabbed Best Supporting Actress for the back-on-form Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
 
What's surprising was what was left out - no Frost/Nixon, no The Wrestler, no The Dark Knight.
 
But, traditionally the National Board of Review is good for sussing out how the Oscar nominations will shape up (Brolin is practically guaranteed a nomination now, although we still think Heath Ledger's Joker will win), [no we don't - your Batman fixation's clouding your judgement - Ed] rather than who and what will be victorious.
 
However, Clint's Best Actor win, before Gran Torino is even released in the US (it gets a limited run on 12th December, and goes nationwide in January), should get bookies shortening the odds.  After Oscar wins for Best Director and Picture, could ol' squinty eyes pick up Best Actor for what he claims is his final big screen appearance?