Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds (François Duhamel / The Weinstein Co.)

Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's violent World War II fantasy, was the Phoenix Film Critics Society's best picture of 2009. (See full list below.) Tarantino was chosen best director, while the film's cast, which includes Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, and Christoph Waltz, was cited as the year's best ensemble cast.

Although Inglourious Basterds has been mentioned before as best picture of the year (e.g., Toronto, tied with Steve McQueen's Hunger), that particular category has been dominated by Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker and Jason Reitman's socially conscious dramatic comedy Up in the Air.

More predictable were the acting winners: George Clooney for Up in the Air, Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia, Mo'Nique for Precious, and Christoph Waltz for Basterds.

Michael Moore's best documentary win for Capitalism: A Love Story was a minor upset (Moore's film has been mentioned elsewhere as well), but the Phoenix critics' biggest surprise was reserved for the foreign-language film category: Pedro Almodóvar's Broken Embraces, an homage of sorts to old Hollywood film noirs, was the winner. Starring Penelope Cruz and Lluís Homar, Broken Embraces is up for a Golden Globe.

Duncan Jones' Moon, winner of the British Independent Film Award, was chosen most overlooked film of the year. Sam Rockwell stars as a man who discovers he may not be alone on the moon of the title.

2009 Phoenix Film Critics Awards

Best Picture
Inglourious Basterds

Runners-up (in alphabetical order):
Avatar
District 9
(500) Days of Summer
The Hurt Locker
Precious
Sherlock Holmes
Star Trek
Up
Up In The Air

Best Foreign Language Film
Broken Embraces

Best Documentary
Capitalism: A Love Story

Best Animated Film
Up

Best Director
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role
George Clooney, Up In The Air

Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo'Nique, Precious

Best Acting Ensemble
Inglourious Basterds

Best screenplay written directly for the screen
Up

Best screenplay adapted from another medium
Up In The Air

Best Cinematography
Avatar

Best Film Editing
Avatar

Best Original Score
Up

Best Original Song
"Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart

Best Production Design
Avatar

Best Costume Design
The Young Victoria

Best Visual Effects
Avatar

Best Stunts
Star Trek

Overlooked Film
Moon

Breakout on Camera
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Breakout Behind the Camera
Neill Blomkamp, District 9

Best Performance by a Youth – Male
Jae Head, The Blind Side

Best Performance by a Youth – Female
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

Best Live Action Family Film
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Source: azcentral.com