I dropped out of the Chicago Film Critics Association last year, partly because I was so frustrated by the bovine timidity of its year-end awards. Announced this morning, the 2008 awards are more of the same:

Best picture: WALL-E.

Best director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire.

Best original screenplay: Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, WALL-E.

Best adapted screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire.

Best foreign film: Let the Right One In.

Best documentary: Man on Wire.

Best actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler.

Best actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married.

Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight.

Best supporting actress: Kate Winslet, The Reader.