With the 79th annual Academy Awards show approaching on February 25, we debate which actor and actress will win a little gold man.

Jamie Malanowski, managing editor: It does seem that Forest Whitaker has a lock on the award for his excellent performance in The Last King of Scotland, and I'd be happier about that if A) it didn't seem like he was running away with the award and B) I liked the movie more. Otherwise, it's a fine thing for a deserving actor to win for a deserving performance; much better than to give it to Peter O'Toole because we're sorry he didn't win for Lawrence of Arabia or Becket or The Ruling Class or any of the other films for which he was astonishing. The real winner this year will be Leonardo DiCaprio, who went from being A Really Good Actor to The King of Hollywood. Leonardo wants to play Millard Fillmore? Done! Leonardo wants to star in Flintstones VII? Done! He's the man.

In the same way, a fully deserving Helen Mirren will win for The Queen, topping my favorite performance of the year, Meryl Streep's in The Devil Wears Prada. It's hard to argue with those who say that it takes extra skill to bring out a dramatic part, but if it's so damn easy to play comedy, why aren't we laughing more?

Greg Fagan, contributing writer: With the possible exception of Daniel Craig's work redefining Bond this year—easily 2006's most significant performance, and arguably its best—the field reflects the fact that it was middling year for men in film. I was surprised to see Leonardo DiCaprio up for Blood Diamond, because I thought he was better in The Departed, his best acting since Gilbert Grape. He may benefit from voters moved by his body of work in the year, but that's a stretch. I loved Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson and Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, but both movies trafficked to varying degrees in sentimental schmaltz.

And as good as the performances were, neither succeeds in elevating the material to excellence. Peter O'Toole for Venus? He was even better in My Favorite Year, and still lost—to Ben Kingsley's Gandhi. This time, it will be Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland in a walk. It is truly an actor's showcase, unlike any of the competitor's films. Plus: real-life actors playing made-up actors can't beat actors playing saints or dictators.
We'll find out just how superb an actress Helen Mirren is on Sunday night if she gets up there and effectively feigns anything but humility when her Oscar for The Queen is announced. They might as well be announcing that Tuesday is the second day of the week. That said, Judi Dench's turn in Notes on a Scandal would have won in many previous fields, and Meryl Streep's fashion-mag doyenne in The Devil Wears Prada completely hijacked the movie. It should have been in the supporting category, where it would have won, perfectly manicured hands down. Penelope Cruz should be pleased to have her Volver turn noticed, and Little Children's Kate Winslet should find solace in the fact that—with her fifth nomination at the tender age of 31—she's now on track to beat Streep's record for acting nominations (Streep was 35 when she took the fifth, for Silkwood; although unlike Winslet she'd already won twice at that point).

Stephen Rebello, contributing writer: Somebody needs to step right up and say that Clive Owen gave one of the very best, yet most unsung performances in Children of Men, playing a formerly politically progressive guy in a dystopian, broken society who heroically redeems himself from having become a sell-out. Just great work. Sacha Baron Cohen is brilliantly, scathingly funny in Borat. Also great work. Owen and Cohen aren’t nominated for a Best Actor Oscar and, even if they were, the statue is Forest Whitaker’s to lose. That said, of the nominees, the performances both Peter O’Toole in Venus and Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson are insanely good and far less showy, but the Academy voters go for showy.

Helen Mirren is a virtuoso in The Queen; no other performance in the Best Actress category can touch it for power and subtlety. No complaints about this category at all. They got it right.

Robert DeSalvo, associate editor: I can’t get too shaken or stirred by any of the movies represented in the Best Actor category. In fact, I’d probably rather drink bleach than sit down and watch these Oscar-begging flicks back to back. Where is Daniel Craig for Casino Royale? Why is Leonardo DiCaprio and that accent nominated for Blood Diamond instead of his much better performance in The Departed? Forest Whitaker will likely win but, a year from now, no one will be able to rattle off the names of the five films in this category without checking IMDB first.

As for Best Actress, would Meryl Streep get nominated for reciting a phone book? Just checking. Her one-noted, cartoonish bitch performance in The Devil Wears Prada might have garnered chuckles, but does it show range or depth? God save the Queen or, in this case, Helen Mirren will. If it weren’t for her expert portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II I’m pretty sure The Queen would have been nothing more than a Lifetime original feature.