Did They Get it Right? – Best Actor – Oscars 2011

Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)

Demián Bichir (A Better Life)

George Clooney (The Descendants)

Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

Biggest Snub:

Jake Gyllenhaal – Source Code (2011)

My Overall Thoughts:

This was a pretty mediocre year at the Oscars all around and the hoopla for The Artist spilled over into other categories giving each of the very good work in numerous fieds a boost

My Rankings:

Acting Performances

5. Gary Oldman

4. George Clooney

3. Jean Dujardin

2. Brad Pitt

1. Demián Bichir

Movies

5. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Nice spy movie that moves a bit too slowly for its own good.

4. The Artist – Very good movie in a year that didn’t have any amazing movies.

3. Moneyball – Great baseball movie for those who love the sport and for those who don’t it’s an inspirational story of perseverance against all odds. Brad Pitt is great here.

2. The Descendants – Engaging, realistic and thoughtful drama about what we can miss in life if we don’t pay attention. Clooney is great here despite it not being his usual flashy kind of character.

1. A Better Life – Such a great film because of the way that it gives us a really interesting character study on a person living n a bad situation but still has hopes and aspirations of things getting better. Bichir is amazing in the lead role and it really is no wonder that his performance was able to garner him both a SAG and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor that year. The story moves along at a great pace and we get so caught up in the story that it’s so hard not to care for the characters and what happens to them along their journey.

Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Not Really!  I think both Pitt and Bechir brought greater performances this year but I can still understand Hollywood’s love for The Artist.

Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!