2011 Oscars: Actor

A couple more guys who have already won the Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA awards will be looking to continue their hot streak heading into the Academy Awards. First let's look at the highly competitive Best Actor category.

BEST ACTOR
Javier Bardem, "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"

Colin Firth is going to win. And frankly his performance alone may vault this little British movie to Best Picture. More on that Saturday. Moving on.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner, "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech"

Like any race it really comes down to two nominees. But all men deserve and did fantastic jobs in these roles. The only role I would even think to toss out is Mark Ruffalo, as he is out shined by his co stars and the rest of the men in the category. His character's laid back attitude doesn't really have enough pop to claim the night's award. Josh Hawkes and Jeremy Renner are both held back by the politicking of the event. For those who have not seen Winter's Bone, Uncle Tear Drop starts as frightening then evolves to sympathetic as the movie progresses, but unfortunately not too many people saw it, so he's out. It is tough to pull out the best part of The Town, but Renner was definitely the best actor in it. His character was great and his flirtations with anti-hero and villain stole the show but The Town received so few nominations that it would be unlikely many will vote for him. Worry not, this young actor will be nominated many more times before it is all said and done.

This leaves as always two actors left to fight it out. As I mentioned in my past reviews of both The Fighter and The King's Speech both men were fantastic and deserved awards for their performances. But since the last tie happened in 1969 this is highly unlikely. Christian Bale is the odds on favorite to win and it is completely justified. Bale has always been known to immerse himself in the role. His method acting has finally paid off as this bug eyed druggie both elevates and deflates his brother's boxing career. The entire audience felt the gamut of emotions as he was likable and hated in the same breath and that is what made him so interesting. His performance brings out the best of the other actors as they try to keep up with his energy. Much like Bale elevated the cast around him Colin Firth better remember to thank Geoffrey Rush for all the give and take in their performances. Rush provided the levity to Speech that was so desperately needed to give the film some heart. Bale's performance was the second best of his career (Patrick Bateman being the obvious best) and he deserves the statuette and should come out on top. But if anyone is going to play upset it will be the speech therapist.

What do you think, will the British men be taking away all of our gold with them across the pond or do you see someone else winning. Is it possible for the host to win the award? Let me know what you think. Tomorrow I will look at the director's which is historically one of the biggest precursors to who will win the night’s big award.