Visual Effects Pros Have Their Say; So Do Critics and the British If you thought the explosions, chase scenes and animatronics in this year's movies were more eye-popping than usual, you're not alone. The folks at the Visual Effects Society, which released its nominations today, were also impressed. "The judges faced a huge challenge because all of the work was so far above the norm," Jeffrey A. Okun, chairman of the Visual Effects Society, said in a statement. They were taken with "The Adventures of Tintin," which received the most nominations over all, including three in the category of "Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature Motion Picture" for its imaginary Moroccan city Bagghar, pirate battle and docks sequences. Its competitors include the "main street dirt" of "Rango." In live-action fare, the group, which represents a breadth of professionals in the effects industry, smiled on "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "Captain America," "Hugo" and "War Horse," among others. Stan Lee of Marvel Comics will be honored with a lifetime achievement award. The complete list is here. Other winners in the weekend's prize news: "Melancholia," which was chosen by the National Society of Film Critics as the best picture of the year. Its star, Kirsten Dunst, also won best actress. The group, made up of 58 critics from top publications across the country (including Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker and The Village Voice), went arty for best director too, picking Terrence Malick for "The Tree of Life." Brad Pitt was named best actor for both "Tree of Life" and "Moneyball," and Jessica Chastain earned best supporting actress for her work in "The Tree of Life," "Take Shelter" and "The Help." Albert Brooks bested Christopher Plummer and Patton Oswalt to take best supporting actor. Elsewhere, the Orange British Academy Film Awards - the British version of the Oscars, better known as the BAFTAs - released its long list of contenders recently. As you might expect, it's heavy on stories that take place in England: "My Week With Marilyn," "The Iron Lady" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" made the cut for best picture, along with "War Horse," which starts in Britain; "Hugo," which is set in Paris but was shot in London; and "We Need to Talk About Kevin," directed by an Englishwoman, Lynne Ramsay. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" made the grade for outstanding British film. Other nominees are the expected lot: "The Artist," "The Descendants," "The Help." But even with their taste for racy humor, the Britons did not go for "Bridesmaids." Will the BAFTAs prefigure the Oscars? The Academy does have a sizable British contingent that may have enough muscle to recognize someone like Tilda Swinton as best actress for "We Need to Talk About Kevin." But as the Bagger's pal Anne Thompson notes at Indiewire, they may not be enough of a bloc to put "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," say, on the best picture list. "That's where the new preferential voting gets squirrelly," she writes.