Eric Lavallée

We all know which actress will receive all the acclaim for her part in Another Year, but such as Ruth Sheen's perf, it would be an error to diminish the value of a supportive role that Jim Broadbent carries in this film. A sensible, caring and loving supportive husband who really has everything going for him and Broadbent makes it look so darn easy and natural that I'd be the first to not acknowledge the part. Since 1990's Life Is Sweet, Broadbent and Leigh have now worked on four projects including his unforgettable perf in Topsy-Turvy and the judge part in Vera Drake.

I love the fact that Mike Leigh works with the same players and has the knack for creating such memorable, strong and plenty of times fragile female characters. In Ruth Sheen's case this is the fifth time they've worked together, but you'd be hard pressed to remember the bit roles she had in 1996's Secrets & Lies, 2002's All or Nothing and 2004's Vera Drake.

Many directors tried to make it into the ring for this project, but David O. Russell managed to stay on for the final round and the result according to pundits is: The Fighter is one of the films that are being mentioned as a strong possibility for Best Picture. One of the rare times where the actor has been long-involved with the project before O.Russell signed on (worth noting this was also a first time that he didn't write the screenplay). Mark Wahlberg previously cemented his relationship with the filmmaker on Three Kings (1999) and I Heart Huckabees (2004) before the reunion on the Mickey Ward biopic.

Josh Brolin's part probably took less than a week to shoot and compared to some rather strong, larger than life characters, this one is pint-sized, but all Coen Bros. films, characters stick out for all intended purposes, regardless of size and scope. Following his debut performance for them in 2007's No Country for Old Men and the subtitles-friendly movie patron role in segment "World cinema" in the Cannes commissioned Chacun son Cinema, True Grit asked Brolin to don the cowboy hat once more for the villain role of Tom Chaney. His introductory scene is just as yummy as the moment where he exits the film.

If I'm Zach Galifianakis I've already offered to donate any organ to director Todd Phillips in the case that he needs one of course. If I'm Todd Phillips, I've already signed a deal with the devil to make Galifianakis available for any role he throws at him. Allow him enough space to roam and the results can be better than whatever was scripted -- and I imagine that's where Galifianakis went to with The Alan Garner role in 2009's The Hangover. This year, we saw out of control taken to the extreme with Due Date, which only promises that The Hangover II (making it three film in three years) could be a defining moment for this odd-couple.