85th Academy Awards

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Picture

Bradley Cooper

Silver Linings Playbook

It’s a relief to see him with a part that lets him do something other than ooze. He’s always had the self-confidence of a star, but he’s never had a part that lets him do much with it ... Cooper gives the performance just the right lunacy and doubt. It’s a happy surprise, like watching a goofball student finally ace an exam.
– Wesley Morris

Daniel Day-Lewis

Lincoln

Day-Lewis moves eerily beyond impersonation to embodiment, though, and we watch with fascination as he reinvents Abraham Lincoln as a canny politician hiding behind a folksy, godlike exterior. It’s a daringly low-key portrayal, one that moves to private rhythms rather than public posturing.
– Ty Burr

Hugh Jackman

Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix

The Master

Denzel Washington

Flight

Ty Burr says ...

The easiest money of the year: Day-Lewis has no serious competition for his uncanny, deeply personable reincarnation of a national icon. If more people had actually seen “The Sessions,” Hawkes might have been nominated for his quietly heartbreaking performance.

Will win
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Should win
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Shouldn't be here
Hugh Jackman, Les Misérables
Was robbed
John Hawkes, The Sessions

Janice Page says ...

Go ahead, bet the house on it. The only way Day-Lewis could lose is if he’s disqualified for doping, and by doping I mean he’s not going to lose. That’s fine; Day-Lewis deserves all the praise he’s getting. It’s just that Washington is so good as a pilot in a tailspin, without history or Tony Kushner’s pithy words to draw from, even his minibar tab is epic. Cooper’s a revelation, he’s just not in this league; Danielsen Lie could be, if anyone had seen “Oslo.”

Will win
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Should win
Denzel Washington, Flight

Shouldn't be here
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Was robbed
Anders Danielsen Lie, Oslo, August 31st