The New York Film Critics Circle really liked Zero Dark Thirty and Matthew McConaughey

By Sean O'Neal | December 3, 2012 | 9:03pm

Aux Features Film

Having been roundly chastised for its decision to declare 2011 over before the end of November—a move that meant skipping Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, back when that seemed like a big deal—this time the New York Film Critics Circle waited all the way until December 3 before calling 2012 a year. Fortunately for them, they managed to catch a sneak preview of Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty before then, because it ended up being the group's favorite film and director, much as they went for The Hurt Locker in 2009.

The rest of the group's list—which was dragged out over an excruciating three-plus hours on its Twitter feed, like an Internet version of a real awards ceremony—doesn't boast too many surprises, what with its love for Lincoln's Daniel Day-Lewis and Tony Kushner, The Deep Blue Sea's Rachel Weisz, and Michael Haneke's Amour. But, while some may be sort-of-surprised at the inclusion of Sally Field for her Lincoln role or the snub of Beasts Of The Southern Wild for Best First Film, this is nothing compared to seeing that Matthew McConaughey's on there, boasting a double win for Magic Mike and Bernie that's probably also a nod to Killer Joe and all the wild, weird, not-starring-in-a-rom-com stuff he did this year.