5d. Philip Seymour Hoffman- Doubt
PSH plays Father Flynn, the priest at the center of the scandal and accusations of pedophilia who is challenged by Meryl's Sister Aloysius. I truly believe he was miscast in this role- I never bought him as a priest and he does not have the acting acumen to go head-to-head with Meryl yet. He is still a wonderful actor, but in the scenes with just the two of them it became painfully obvious how out of his element he was. Even in his scenes at the pulpit preaching, I did not think he had enough power in his voice to command the attention that is necessary for a priest with an audience of hundreds. While I was watching him I was imagining what actors would be better in the role, and that is never a good thing (I settled on Liam Neeson for his voice and stature but am still unsatisfied).5c. Robert Downey, Jr.- Tropic Thunder
RDJ plays Kirk Lazarus, an Australian hardcore Method actor who undergoes skin pigmentation surgery to become the African American seargent of a Vietnam platoon for a movie. Robert is amazing in the role and it is very different from other characters I've seen him play. Frankly, I'm still amazed he was actually nominated, because Academy members do not love comedies, and it shows you how much they loved RDJ this year to award him for such an unlikely role. Any other year I might be rooting for him simply because it is an outrageous role in an outrageous movie but this year I will try to pick based on merit. He gets to act in a movie within a movie and does it convincingly while wearing blackface, which is nothing short of a miracle. Still, just because he was the best actor in a comedy this year does not make him the winner of BSA, because unfortunately for him this was a great year for dramas and there are three other gentlemen ahead of him.5b. Michael Shannon- Revolutionary Road
Michael plays John Givings, a mentally challenged neighbor of Kate and Leo in the movie who injects the sole hilarity to the otherwise bleak movie. He was much needed relief, and I wish he was onscreen more. In fact, that is my only problem with his character and the only reason he is not number two, is that he is onscreen for less than twenty minutes in two scenes. During those two scenes however, you forget that this is a movie about Kate and Leo's characters; in fact, you forget altogether that they are in the movie. He steals the scenes with flying colors and I look forward to seeing him in more movies.5a. Josh Brolin- Milk
Josh plays Dan White, the assassin of Sean Penn's Harvey Milk in the titular movie. Josh has had an incredible two years, and I am still miffed he was not nominated last year in this category (or lead, who knows) for No Country for Old Men. He plays this role quietly but with visibly bubbling aggression and frustration- over not being the star of the city council and not being able to be the man he thinks his family needs. Brolin is perfect for the role and is a near doppelganger for the actual man, but at this point either he needs a strong lead role to win an Oscar or I am afraid he will become the new Johnny Depp or Christian Bale, who consistently turn out incredible performances but rarely are awarded for them. This is not the role he will win an Oscar for, but I am excited he was nominated just the same.1. Heath Ledger- The Dark Knight
Heath plays The Joker, who menaces Batman and Gotham City through utter chaos and anarchy with no real plan or weaknesses in sight. I've already shared my thoughts about Heath's performance and my parasocial history with him as the first post on my blog here, but I really cannot say enough about this performance. That he erased Jack Nicholson's performance with a single photo is nothing to sneer at, and that he has redefined the popcorn summer blockbuster also helps. Of all my choices, his win is most important to me and likewise his is the only one that will affect me adversely if he loses.Images found via Google Images.
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