Updated (12/20/11 at 11:28 AM): I watched The Help again recently and Davis does knock this role out of the park and not only that, she truly deserves this kind of recognition and I think the Academy is ready to give it to her.

---

Updated (12/1/11 at 10:29 AM): Viola Davis will be receiving an award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival for "Outstanding Performer of the Year" which is just one more notch in her cap as she battles it out with Meryl Streep for this year's Best Actress award.

---

Updated (10/26/11 at 12:49 PM): The heat is not coming off Viola Davis and The Help and when it comes to crowd-pleasing films it is one that stands tall and Davis is one of the #1 reasons why.

---

Viola Davis gave a tremendous performance in only a few minutes in Doubt and with The Help she gets an entire film to show us what she's made of. Early on people were wondering whether or not Dreamworks will campaign for Davis as one of the film's leads (which she obviously is) or as a supporting character. At this point I think it's quite clear it will the Best Actress route, which is a good choice since I have seen others predicting her at the top of their charts.

Right now I think she's a safe bet for a nomination, which would make her only the ninth black actress to be nominated for Best Actress. Should she win, she'd be only the second black actress to ever do so in the category.

Updated (12/20/11 at 11:27 AM): I've seen the performance and it's a great bit of mimicry, but I think Streep is poised for a second place finish once again.

---

Updated (12/1/11 at 10:31 AM): Streep was just awarded the Best Actress prize by the New York Film Critics Circle. That third Oscar is inching closer and closer to her mantle.

---

Updated (11/17/11 at 1:24 PM): It looks like it just might be Streep's year as early reviews out of the UK are praising her performance. Xan Brooks at The Guardian says, "Her performance is astonishing and all but flawless; a masterpiece of mimicry" and David Gritten at The Telegraph adds, "One can think of a few talented British actresses who might have acquitted themselves well in the role, but it's hard to imagine them doing it better than Streep." High praise indeed.

---

Updated (10/26/11 at 12:51 PM): For as long as I can remember Meryl Streep has been considered the early year frontrunner only to see her end up losing the Oscar. Why would this year be any different? Of course, there is the fact she's playing an historical figure, which is something the Academy seems to always go ga-ga for, but it's hard to argue with history. Yes, the losing streak will likely end, but are we so sure it will end this year? I'm not, and for that reason I can't keep her at the top of the list.

---

It's Meryl Streep in a biopic as Margaret Thatcher, of course she is the out of the gates front-runner, film unseen. However, the one thing that scares me is she is once again under the direction of Mamma Mia! helmer Phyllida Lloyd, a film I personally loathed. I can't help but wonder if Streep will be hampered by poor directorial choices or if her performance will shine through no matter what.

Updated (12/20/11 at 11:37 AM): Michelle Williams is becoming a strong contender for second place after wins with the Boston and Washington DC Area Film Critics along with nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes. Could she possibly surge and win it all?

---

Updated (11/17/11 at 1:27 PM): I have finally seen My Week with Marilyn and Williams delivers an elegant, neurotic, determined and intoxicating performance, stealing much of the spotlight in a film that is never quite as interesting as the character Williams creates.

---

Updated (10/26/11 at 12:52 PM): The first reviews for My Week with Marilyn showered love on Williams and she is looking like a strong contender for not only a third Oscar nomination, but perhaps her first win.

---

Michelle Williams has seemed destined for an Oscar ever since being nominated for her role in Brokeback Mountain in 2006. She was nominated again last year for a great performance in Blue Valentine and a performance as Marilyn Monroe could be the ticket. People will certainly be closely comparing so she'll have to win over the critics, but if she does this could be the one.

Updated (12/20/11 at 11:31 AM): What to do with Glenn Close? The more time goes by the more I feel her creeping back in the mix even though I don't think she delivered a performance deserving of a nomination. However, a lifetime of worthy performances will sometimes garner leniency.

---

Updated (12/1/11 at 10:36 AM): Not being nominated at the Spirit Awards is a blow for Glenn Close's chances at an Oscar nomination and I don't intend to be rude when I say it was the right decision.

---

Updated (11/17/11 at 1:26 PM): I have finally buckled and shifted Glenn Close out of my top five. It feels like a risky move, pushing such an acclaimed actress out, but when there are better performances out there you have to take notice.

---

Updated (10/26/11 at 12:54 PM): It was just announced Glenn Close will receive a Career Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival this coming January.

---

Updated (9/10/11 at 7:50 PM): It's unfortunate, but I'm sure if you read my review of Albert Nobbs from the Toronto International Film Festival you already expected this. Close's performance just isn't the "knock it out the park" performance we expected. It's solid, no doubt, but it may not actually even get a nomination.

---

Glenn Close has been busy winning Emmys and Golden Globes for her role in "Damages" in the last few years, but now it's time to see if she can add some Academy hardware to her case.

Early buzz out of the Telluride Film Festival tells us she gives a performance worthy of an Oscar nomination, but a win may be elusive with Sasha Stone at Awards Daily saying, "[This] is not Oscar’s usual cup of tea in that Close deliberately holds back much more than she gives away. This is bound to leave some with discomfort and perhaps a feeling of dissatisfaction."

Adding to the praise, Peter Debruge at Variety calls it "a career-crowning role," but also adds, "[too] bad the film is such a drag." Could the film hurt the performer?

Updated (11/17/11 at 1:28 PM): We still don't know much about Rooney Mara's performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I'm beginning to feel that if she knocks it out of the park she will be fighting with Elizabeth Olsen (Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene) for that fifth and final slot.

---

Rooney Mara is more or less unknown outside of being the girl who dumps Mark Zuckerberg at the beginning of The Social Network. However, it was probably her performance there for David Fincher that caused him to cast her as the titular anti-hero of this new adaptation of Stieg Larsson's internationally best-selling novel.

It will be interesting to see not only how Mara performs, but what kind of character she has created. Will it be too intense for Academy taste or will it be too great for the Academy to deny?