It's an embarrassment of riches at this year's Oscars.

While 2013 was regarded as one of the best years in a decade for great films, one could make the case, based on the Oscar picture nominees alone for the 87th Academy Awards, that 2014 was even better.The year 2014 will be remembered as the year of the director.There was writer-director Richard Linklater's "12 Years a Film," i.e., "Boyhood," filmed over the course of 12 years with the same actors as we see lead actor Ellar Coltrane grow from an elementary school student of age 5 to a college teen of 18.Director Alejandro Inarritu didn't take that long to film "Birdman," but he did take long takes in a precision choreographed dance between camera and actor that is almost beyond comprehension in technical achievement.Writer-director Wes Anderson marshaled miniatures and whimsy in "The Grand Budapest Hotel," yet another grand experiment.There was also many fact-based films."The Imitation Game," a compelling look at conquering the Nazi World War II Enigma Code; "The Theory of Everything," an astounding biopic about Stephen Hawking; "Selma," a view of Martin Luther King Jr.'s history-changing Voting Rights March, and "American Sniper," based on the autobiography of Iraq War veteran Chris Kyle.Then there's "Whiplash," based on a real-life experience about a taskmaster music teacher.That's the overview. Individually, there were some fine performances, too.The envelopes, please:Actor, Male: Michael Keaton, "Birdman." The Pittsburgh area native will get the most competition from Jenkintown, Montgomery County, native Bradley Cooper, for his measured portrayal of Chris Kyle. This is Keaton's year as the crazed actor Riggan in "Birdman." After all, as Keaton says, "I'm Batman." Who are we, or Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne, to argue?Actor, Female: Julianne Moore, "Still Alice." There were also fine performances in this category, but it's Moore's revealing performance about a topic, Alzheimer's, that hits home.Supporting Actor, Male: J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash." Simmons owned the role as the mean college music professor, and the film. Again, the performances were top-notch: Robert Duvall, Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo. In "Whiplash," Fletcher (Simmons) says, "It's not my tempo." It's Simmons' tempo, though.Supporting Actor, Female: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood." Arquette's performance was understated, a real heartbreaker and the film's foundation. The other nominees were good. Arquette was great.Director, Richard Linklater, "Boyhood." This was a labor of love, as autobiographical and personal a film without saying so. The biggest competition here is from director Inarritu, whose film "Birdman" is as New York frenetic as "Boyhood" is part of the flyover slow film movement.Motion Picture: "American Sniper." Any film can win in this category. However, since director Clint Eastwood wasn't nominated, Oscar will make a statement for the 84-year-old legend who isn't ready for the rocking chair, or any chair, just yet.Animated Feature: "Big Hero 6." This will be the non-nominated "The Lego Movie" surrogate.