By Jay A. Fernandez

An avalanche of critics awards fell over the weekend — from Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Washington, DC — and in some areas sharpened the Oscar-race picture.

A few of the likely acting nods have begun to coalesce, namely around supporting actress Mo’Nique for “Precious” and supporting actor Christoph Waltz for “Inglourious Basterds.” George Clooney is also looking rosy as a best actor winner for “Up in the Air.” (Best actress remains a wash at moment.)

Kathryn Bigelow and her latest, “The Hurt Locker,” took several of the picture and directing awards.

I tend to eyeball screenplay awards more than the others, as the talent on display in those categories generates all the other players’ contributions. Those potential winners are starting to gel, as well.

Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner’s screenplay for “Up in the Air,” adapted from the Walter Kirn novel, took more honors, this time from the L.A. Film Critics Assn. and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Assn. — the latter also awarded Reitman’s film picture of the year honors.

Meanwhile, the Boston Society of Film Critics gave its screenplay award to Joel and Ethan Coen for “A Serious Man.”

The New York Film Critics Assn. awarded the political farce “In the Loop,” written by Jesse Armstrong and Simon Blackwell, its prize. (A dark horse, “Loop” also got runner-up from the L.A. contingent.)

By Steven Zeitchik

Since it was introduced 70 years ago, the Academy Awards’ original screenplay category has been a breeding ground for fresh new voices, launching careers and solidifying the legacy of writers as diverse as Orson Welles, Billy Wilder and Paddy Chayefsky.

But this year the category looks as thin as a supermodel on a crash diet. The Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” and Bob Peterson’s and Tom McCarthy’s “Up” are likely near-locks for noms. That leaves two slots, one of which could go to Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber for their quirky breakup story “(500) Days of Summer,” an admirable choice.

Beyond that, it gets dicey. Vying for attention, for instance, are the duo behind the “Star Trek” update, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who also count cinematic tour de force “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” among their 2009 credits (though the Academy could qualify “Trek”  as adapted — the writers branch will meet in the coming weeks to make rule determinations that could affect pics like that one, writers branch governor Phil Robinson said in an interview.)

The field has changed pretty dramatically over the past several decades. The last time Tarantino was nominated back in 1994 he went up against Woody Allen, Richard Curtis and Peter Jackson; this go-round he could end up pitted against “The Hangover” scribes Scott Moore and Jon Lucas (most recent credit: “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”), who also are jockeying for a spot.

By Andrew Wallenstein

There was no shortage of victory laps taken Monday by the main players behind "Inglourious Basterds," which exceeded expectations with a $37.6 million opening weekend. Quentin Tarantino managed to put a fresh coat of gloss on his cult status after seeing wobblier results for other recent releases (insert ironic "Death Proof" pun here). And Harvey Weinstein was also out front lauding Tarantino, preventing yet another round of nails from being driven into the Weinstein Co. coffin after a prerelease fusillade.

"Brad Pitt Pulls Them in at the Box Office," The New York Times declared in its post-mortem, but it's a curious headline choice given that the article spends more time on the Tarantino/Weinstein angles. Same goes for the Los Angeles Times wrap-up, which focuses on how strong turnout by women may have put "Basterds" over the top — but Pitt's appeal with that demographic isn't even noted. As for men, maybe they responded to Pitt hamming it up as the loony "NAAH-tzee killer" Aldo Raine.

By Steven Zeitchik

Finally, a Twitter effect that benefits a movie instead of hurts it.

That would ding the film as it played throughout the weekend — especially as the more generous Tarantino fans who rushed out to see the movie Friday gave way to more general audiences during the weekend.