While the Academy Award nominations may have angered quite a few people, the Critic's Choice Awards took place on the same day (15th January 2015) at the Hollywood Palladium. Hosted by Michael Strahan, this year's Critic's Choice Awards was the twentieth anniversary of the ceremony, and continued the tradition of honouring some of the very best that the year's cinema had to offer. 

Michael Keaton won both 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actor in a Comedy Movie' (Credit Christopher Polk - Getty Images)
Michael Keaton won both 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actor in a Comedy Movie' (Credit Christopher Polk - Getty Images)

The ceremony differed from the upcoming Academy Awards in several ways. One of these was how it took the stance of being one of the few prestigious award ceremonies to honour 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (awarding it 'Best Action Movie' and 'Best Hair and Makeup'), and furthermore awarding the title of 'Best Animated Feature' to 'The Lego Movie' (which was shockingly snubbed by the Academy Award nominations).  Perhaps Chris Pratt is just a magnet for these things.

More: Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston Attend the Same Award Show, the Internet Freaks Out

Julianne Moore (Best Actress winner) and Jennifer Aniston (Best Actress nominee) (Credit Jason Kempin - Getty Images)
Julianne Moore (Best Actress winner) and Jennifer Aniston (Best Actress nominee) (Credit Jason Kempin - Getty Images)

Similar to the Academy Awards, however, 'Birdman' and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' dominated the nominations, with the former being nominated for thirteen awards and the latter being nominated for eleven (both were nominated for nine Oscars). And 'Birdman' certainly made good on those nominations, winning seven Critic's Choice Awards, amongst which were 'Best Actor' and 'Best Actor in a Comedy' (both for Michael Keaton),  'Best Original Screenplay' and 'Best Acting Ensemble'.

More: Oscar Nominations Court Controversy

David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey at the 20th Critic's Choice Awards (Credit Jason Kempin - Getty Images)
David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey at the 20th Critic's Choice Awards (Credit Jason Kempin - Getty Images)

One of the biggest criticisms for the Academy Awards nominations (aside from the aforementioned 'Lego Movie' outrage), was how African American performers appeared to been overlooked by the Academy this year. 'Selma' was nominated for two awards ('Best Picture' and 'Best Original Song'), while the Critic's Choice Awards nominated it four times, with it winning once ('Best Song' - 'Glory' John Legend and Common). 

More: Oscars 2015 Line-Up: Notice Anything Missing?

Ethan Hawke and Angelina Jolie at the 20th Critic's Choice Awards (Credit Jason Kempin - Getty Images)
Ethan Hawke and Angelina Jolie at the 20th Critic's Choice Awards (Credit Jason Kempin - Getty Images)

Following 'Birdman', 'Boyhood' took home the second most awards (four), one of which was for 'Best Picture'. Could the iron grip of The Academy be slipping? The Oscars are no stranger to controversy, yet various other award shows appear to be gaining more and more respect for who and what they honour. Only time will tell. 

Jennifer Aniston was nominated for Best Actress (Credit Christopher Polk - Getty Images)
Jennifer Aniston was nominated for Best Actress (Credit Christopher Polk - Getty Images)