Mo'Nique
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The comedian's terrifying portrayal of a mother on the brink in the Oprah Winfrey-produced, independent film Precious won best supporting actress from both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Boston Society of Film Critics.
The critics also agreed on best film of the year: The Hurt Locker, a nerve-rattling drama about an elite army bomb squad operating in Iraq. They both named its director, Kathryn Bigelow, best director, beating among others, her ex-husband, Avatar director James Cameron.
The Boston critics chose Hurt Locker's star, Jeremy Renner, as best actor, while the L.A. critics went with seasoned vet Jeff Bridges, playing a boozed-up country singer in Crazy Heart.
For best actress, the Boston critics were charmed by Oscar-perennial Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, while L.A. went the more obscure route, recognizing Belgium-born Yolande Moreau for her performance as a troubled painter in the French film Séraphine.
Showing their taste for villains, both groups of critics picked another delicious bad guy for best supporting actor, tapping Cristoph Waltz's opportunistic Nazi in Brad Pitt's Inglourious Basterds.
