Call me crazy, but I'm not really sure why Patricia Arquette is getting all the attention for her performance in Boyhood over Ethan Hawke. I much preferred Hawke's work to Arquette's.  Hawke has always been a dependable actor and he's really solid here as a laid-back divorced father that gets to spend all the fun times with his children, while not having to deal with the not so fun times.  The flip side of that is he's also missing out on large portions of the lives of his children. Hawke starts out as kind of an immature parent, but like his children over the course of 12 years, he also matures.  It was a breath of fresh air to see a divorced father take responsibility for his kids.  Too often in movies the father is portrayed as a deadbeat. 

I always think it's somewhat tricky for an actor to play an actor, but Edward Norton really nails it in Birdman.  He's got the whole vain, entitled, ego maniac thing down perfectly.  Norton has always been one of my favorite actors and it seems like he always turns in a memorable performance.  Michael Keaton has been getting most of the attention, but Norton and the rest of the cast of Birdman do a fantastic job.  Birdman really is a great film and some of the most memorable scenes include Norton and Keaton just talking about acting and show business in general.

The stars must have aligned this year because many of my favorite actors appeared in some very good movies this year.  I've been a fan of Mark Ruffalo since seeing him in Collateral in 2004.  It kind of bugs that he's still not really a household name yet.  I swear, if I have to explain to one more person who Mark Ruffalo is I'm going to go on an Incredible Hulk-like smashing spree.  You know, the character Ruffalo played in one of the highest grossing films of all time.  Anyway, Ruffalo gained a lot of weight for his role in Foxcatcher and he really carries himself like a wrestler, right down to the way he walks.  He even has a slight hunch to him, like his spine has been trained to be in a permanent wrestling stance. In Foxcatcher, Ruffalo plays David Schultz, the only grounded person in the film.  He's the only person that truly sees John du Pont for what he is - a delusional fraud.  He's also the only person du Pont can't control.  The dynamic between du Pont, David Schultz and Mark Schultz (David's brother) is the crux of the film.  All three actors are on top of their game and it really elevates the film above the material.

Grow up, Oscar, seriously.  It's the year 2015 and CGI has become such a huge part of the film industry.  There's no reason why an actor that does the motion capture for a character shouldn't be considered for an Academy Award nomination.  Serkis has been doing motion cap work since 2002 when he should have been nominated for his work as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.  Gollum is easily one of the most fleshed out fully CGI characters in the history of cinema.  As great as he was as Gollum, his performance as Caesar might be even better.  You can clearly see Andy Serkis in Caesar.  It's especially noticeable in the eyes.  Caesar doesn't say much, but it's one of the more memorable performances of the year, a true testament to how great Serkis is.  He's a pioneer of the craft and deserves to be honored for it.  Some day, some how, I think he will be.

Whiplash is my favorite film nominated this year, and Simmons' performance is easily my favorite acting performance of the year. There were some great actors doing some great work this year, but Simmons is in a class by himself for Whiplash.  You can't help but feel happy for Simmons.  He's an actor that has been around for a long time, appearing in various failed TV shows and playing supporting characters in dozens of films.  He has 148 acting credits to his name, but most people still have no idea who is.  Sure, once people see his face they instantly recognize him as the dad in Juno, or Peter Parker's boss in Spider-Man, or the guy from the Farmers Insurance commercials and various other projects.  After his pulse-pounding portrayal of an intense jazz conductor who more closely resembles a drill sergeant, most people will remember J.K. Simmons as the guy with an Oscar.