The Hurt Locker is picking up critical momentum as Hollywood heads into Academy Awards season. After nabbing the "best film" prize from the LA Film Critics Association, director Kathryn Bigelow's taut Iraq war drama has been named best film by the New York Film Critics Circle, which also declared Bigelow best director. The NYFCC voted George Clooney best actor for Up in the Air and Fantastic Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep won best actress for Julie & Julia, Christoph Waltz got best supporting actor for Inglourious Basterds, and Mo'Nique picked up best supporting actress for her widely-acclaimed performance in Precious. But nowhere on this list is our favorite film of '09, the Coen brothers' A Serious Man, which was also snubbed by LA critics.