Leon, Angel, Adam, Edward and Andrew

This post is titled by the middle names of Oscar's BEST ACTOR nominees because here at The Film Experience we are always trying to find ways to keep things interesting. It would be much easier to title this blog post "Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, James Franco and Colin Firth" but where's the fun in that? If you enjoy a challenge, try to guess which middle name goes with which best actor, before you click over to the BEST ACTOR PAGE.

I include the trivia (and more) because this race is a done deal yet we have to stay interested for nine more days. Colin Firth's Coronation is proceeding exactly like Helen Mirren's a few years back, isn't it? It's like I was saying in that Tribeca Film article, each year there's generally one candidate who is granted immunity about whom no one ever bitches and who just sails through like it was always meant to be their year and their prize.

UPDATED: Includes Reader Poll "Who Should Win?"

True Clinch

Mattie & Rooster ReunitedAwwwww. Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) and Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) didn't wait a quarter century to see each other again. All it took was awards season hustle and bustle.

I'm growing fonder of Jeff Bridge's Rooster weekly and I'm usually the opposite with awards season performances. Every time I see a clip of that courtroom scene I giggle.