The opening shots in the awards campaigns are now being fired, with The Hurt Locker taking the New York Film Critics Circle and LA Film Critics Association awards, and Up in the Air being named the National Board of Review's best film of 2009.

Both also feature prominently in the Golden Globes nominations, announced today, which is where the race starts to get serious. Some contend that Up in the Air, Nine and Inglourious Basterds won't last the pace, that the Globes have been suckered by superficial flashiness.

I can't say I actively want certain films to lose, but the Globes have made two appalling misses, that I can't believe won't be there come Oscar time. To wit: where are the two "Man" films – the Coen brothers' A Serious Man and Tom Ford's A Single Man? They are far and away the two best American films I saw this year.

The only explanation I can think of is that the Coens are victims of awards fatigue, with No Country for Old Men cleaning up two years ago, and Burn

After Reading close but no cigar last time out. Given that the Globes are bracketing A Serious Man in the "musical or comedy" sector – its lead actor, Michael Stuhlbarg, gets a nom there – it's frankly inexplicable that their voters can put it behind Julie & Julia, Nine and – gah! – It's Complicated.

A Single Man, the film debut by fashion designer Tom Ford, is a slightly more complex case. Colin Firth rightly gets a nod for his lead performance, and we can see that the film is competing (unsurprisingly) for the "drama" categories. That means much tougher opposition, but Ford's film is so confident, measured and beautifully crafted that surely – surely – it ought to have bested the shrill raucousness of Inglourious Basterds, or the effects-laden bombast of Avatar.

I'm trying hard not to conclude that the openly gay theme of the story counted against it. If so, the Globe people should hang their heads in shame. Whatever the case, a bit of bravery was required – the Globes, I'm afraid, blew it.