On Jan. 5th, the Houston and the Internet Film Critics chose "Argo" as the best film of the year. The film's director, Ben Affleck, was also awarded Best Director cementing the movie's position as a top contender at the Oscars. The victories brought "Argo's" Best Picture tallies to nine.
The critics also agreed on the best actress award and both rewarded Jennifer Lawrence with the honor. The win is Lawrence's 11th in a tight race she is running against Jessica Chastain of "Zero Dark Thirty." Chastain has twelve Best Actress wins and leads all thespians in the Best Actress contest.
The two societies diverged in the best actor race however with the Houston Critics recognizing Daniel Day-Lewis for his role in "Lincoln" and the Internet critics siding with Joaquin Phoenix for his role in "The Master."
Day-Lewis has long been a frontrunner for the Oscar award as he nearly swept all critics organizations with 21 victories. Meanwhile Phoenix's Oscar campaign is still undecided. The actor caused controversy when he spoke out against awards and failed to garner a SAG nomination. Despite the controversy, Phoenix has won 5 precursors, second only to Day-Lewis' 21.
The Internet Film Critics awarded "Looper" the Best Science Fiction movie award, "The Avengers" the Best Action movie and "Holy Motors" was hailed as the Best Experimental film.
The Houston Film Critics awarded Tommy Lee Jones with the Best Supporting Acting title and Anne Hathaway as the Best Supporting Actress. Lee Jones continues to make his case as the frontrunner in the race while Hathaway has run away with the race with 17 precursor victories.
For a full list of winners Click HERE.