Like I said on my earlier post, winning at the NBR doesn’t necessarily mean winning come Oscar night. But it does help jump-start a film or a performance into the race and often is a good look at what the nominees could look like.

For example, Winter’s Bone‘s inclusion on their Top Ten list is a big push for a little film. So is Jennifer Lawrence’s win for Breakthrough Performance. Last year the NBR gave that award to two performances: Gabby Sidibe in Precious and Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker. Both performances wound up with Academy Award nominations.

There were some major snubs this year, namely no love for Black Swan, 127 Hours and The Kids Are All Right. This doesn’t necessarily mean the films can be counted out of the race. It’s too early to count any film with even the slightest Oscar buzz out, really.

Conversely, the inclusion of The Town in their Top Ten, as well as its win for Best Ensemble could be just the what the film needs to keep its momentum come Oscar time, especially in a year with ten nominees. It’ll be interesting to see if the film gets any love from the Golden Globes, The Critics Choice and especially the Screen Actors Guild.

Christian Bale’s win for Best Supporting Actor for The Fighter could quite possibly mean the 36 year-old actor could snag his first ever Academy Award nomination. Bale has long been considered one of the greatest actors of his generation. Though, a win from the NBR isn’t too surprising, considering he won their first ever Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor for his performance in Empire of the Sun in 1987.

Jesse Eisenberg’s win for The Social Network pushes him in to the frontrunner status along with Colin Firth for The King’s Speech. However, Eisenberg has one thing working against him: his age. At 27, should he win come Oscar night he would be the youngest Best Actor winner ever. Currently, Adrien Brody holds that record, winning for 2002’s The Pianist at the age of 29.

Lastly, the inclusion of Shutter Island on their Top Ten list could mean that this film, released in February, is still on people’s radar. The question is, is it still on the radar of Academy voters? I sure hope so.

All I know is the Awards Season is officially open and I’m looking forward to an exciting three-month ride, culminating with Oscar Night on February 27th, 2011.