Strap in. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride. More critics kudos! (Hey, look on the bright side. At this rate it’ll be over sooner rather than later.)

But the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association’s list of nominees brings up an interesting question: Should critics groups really be bothering with self-satisfying nominations announcements? I’m one to talk, of course, since I do something similar every year, but that’s always covered within three days, whereas some of these guys (the D.C. crowd excepted) will stretch things out between nods and awards to simply get another burst of PR later.

It would be one thing if this allowed for a nice sampling of unique mentions, but that’s rarely the case. With this group we get a Best Picture nod for “My Week with Marilyn,” some Best Director love for David Fincher, notices for Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan in “Hanna,” a tip of the hat to Alan Rickman, etc. So it’s okay, I guess. But I don’t know. Just give us your winners and be done with it.

Anyway, check out the full list of nominees below.

Best Film
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Drive”
“My Week with Marilyn”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn, “Drive”
David Fincher, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Ryan Gosling, “Drive”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”

Best Actress
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Elizabeth Olsen, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Saoirse Ronan, “Hanna”
Meryl Sreep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week with Marilyn”

Best Supporting Actor
John Goodman, “The Artist”
Albert Brooks, “Drive”
Alan Rickman, “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
John Hawkes, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”

Best Supporting Actress
Bérénice Bejo, “The Artist”
Cate Blanchett, “Hanna”
Jessica Chastain, “The Tree Of Life”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Descendants”
“Drive”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“The Muppets”

Best Original Screenplay
“The Artist”
“50/50”
“Hanna”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Tree of Life”
“Win Win”

Best Cinematography
“The Artist”
“Drive”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”

Best Visual Effects
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
“Super 8”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Music
“The Artist”
“Drive”
“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”
“The Muppets”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Foreign Language Film
“13 Assassins”
“Point Blank”
“I Saw the Devil”
“Trollhunter”
“Winter in Wartime”

Best Documentary
“Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”
“Buck”
“Conan O”Brien Can”t Stop”
“The Interrupters”
“Tabloid”

Best Comedy
“Bridesmaids”
“Crazy, Stupid, Love”
“Midnight In Paris”
“The Muppets”
“Paul”
“Rango”

Best Animated Film
“The Adventures of Tintin”
“Kung Fu Panda 2”
“Puss In Boots”
“Rango”
“Rio”

Best Art House or Festival Film
“Beginners”
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”
“Tucker and Dale vs. Evil”
“We Need To Talk About Kevin”
“Win Win”

Best Scene
“The Artist” (dance scene finale)
“Drive” (the elevator beating scene)
“Drive” (opening get-away scene)
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (opening credits)
“Hanna” (Hanna”s escape from captivity sequence)
“Melancholia” (the last scene)

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

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