Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild

An audience favorite over the summer, the film has probably suffered in the awards race because it was released so early in the year. (If it's on DVD by Christmas, odds are the academy will ignore it.) Sure, "independent movies" seem to do well at the Oscars, but... HA HA HA, just kidding. What, did you think it's the '90s all of a sudden? This scrappy little favorite is full of surprising turns from unprofessional, untrained actors, and, let's face it, they've handed out enough awards to people of color in the last few years, so you should expect the five nominees for Best Actor to be from movies like Argo, The Master, Lincoln, et cetera. It's a shame, however, because Henry's performance broke my heart. Let's just hope he continues with this late-in-life acting career and shows up in a few more movies.