BEST ACTOR
Nominees:
Bruce Dern, Nebraska; Christian Bale, American Hustle; Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club; Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street.
THOMPSON:
Chiwetel Ejiofor. Bruce Dern stares blankly with comedic conviction and Matthew McConaughey plays emaciated well, but Ejiofor is mesmerizing as the complicated free man returned to the killing fields.
MONK:
Christian Bale. From the minute we see him glue fake hair to his half-bald pate, we know Bale is pushing his own envelope without a hint of fear, which is why his name should be in the envelope Sunday night.
STONE:
Bruce Dern. No, he didn’t transform his body like some of the nominees. Nature has already done that for him. Dern’s cranky old man is an ideal fusion of actor, role and career.