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 Best Actor |
Ty Burr says ...
Which message will Academy voters want to send? “Sorry we screwed up on Prop. 8”? Or “Welcome home Mickey Rourke”? Philip Seymour Hoffman’s delicate balancing act — his priest in “Doubt” is a creep; no, he's a great guy — belongs in the best actor category. Brad Pitt’s nomination belongs in supporting. For “Burn After Reading.”
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Will win
Sean Penn, Milk 
Should win
Sean Penn, Milk
or Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
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Shouldn't be here
Brad Pitt, Benjamin Button -
Was robbed
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Wesley Morris says ...
With great respect to Richard Jenkins, the underrated Brad Pitt, and the overrated Frank Langella, Sean Penn descends from Mount Self-Seriousness and reinvents his bombastic style. And yet it's something more, since rather than noticing how much of Penn has gone into this Milk, you notice how little of him there is. As good as Mickey Rourke is, you're not seeing him turn water into wine. He was better in “Sin City.”
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Will win
Sean Penn, Milk -
Should win
Sean Penn, Milk
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Shouldn't be here
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon -
Was robbed
Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon
Richard Jenkins
The Visitor
Frank Langella
Frost/Nixon
Brad Pitt
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke
The Wrestler