National Board of Review of Motion Pictures names The Hours as best film of the year:

Industry watchers look to the New York-based society's picks and other upcoming awards for hints on possible Academy Awards contenders.

"The Hours," based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, was followed by "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," The Quiet American" and "Adaptation."

"The Hours," slated for release this month, stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore and interweaves the stories of three women from different eras, including the character of Virginia Woolf as she begins to write the novel "Mrs. Dalloway."

Campbell Scott was named best actor for the dark comedy "Roger Dodger" and Moore best actress for "Far From Heaven," a drama set in the 1950s.

....The board was founded in New York in 1909 to forestall movie censorship and began selecting its "10 best movies of the year" in 1919. The group's screening membership includes film professionals, teachers, students and historians.

The group will present its awards on Jan. 14 in New York. [Reuters]

More on The Hours from EW here. Archives of the NBR awards for the last several years can be found here.