Devouring the Oscars--Actor in a Leading Role

So, who will join the men who came before in the most coveted of acting awards? That's the question offered to me by the great people over at The LAMB. This year's nominees are all, first, perfectly cast, brought in and allowed to shine as full collaborators in the passions of some of our finest filmmakers, even if one of them didn't quite work itself out as a great film.

7 Reasons Why: The 87th Academy Awards

I made my Oscar predictions too soon. One week before the big show. At that point, eight days gone now, I was still under the impression that Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" was gonna take the big Best Picture prize and lose everywhere else but Supporting Actress, which was a lock.

I ended up doing just okay with my predictions and still won the ballot at my particular Oscar party. I landed only 16 out of 24 categories. Of course, my biggest miss being that Best Picture win for Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "Birdman." I don't care. I'm glad it won.

Twenty Years of Oscar: Actor in a Leading Role

I want to go ahead and get something out of the way: I love Tom Hanks. Now, he didn't make this list because I'm in constant struggle about "Forrest Gump" and whether it's actually a great movie or not. I haven't seen it in years, and I fear it may not be as powerful as I once considered it to be. Also, while his win as Gump was deserved, I am still bitter about his loss in 1998 to that Italian Jumping Bean guy. If Hanks had won for "Saving Private Ryan," he would be on this list.

Anyway, we've reached Day Three in my "Twenty Years of Oscar" extravaganza. Best Actor...it's a biggie. And it is so often one of the tightest races each year. Some are runaways, including most of the picks you'll find below, but it always finds itself a hot topic this time a year. This year, especially. Can't wait 'til Sunday.