The race to the Dolby theater for this year's Academy Awards is fully underway as film festivals continue to premiere Oscar bait for the upcoming months. The Telluride Film Festival recently closed its ceremonies with three films getting most of the buzz: "Birdman," "Foxcatcher" and "99 Homes." Aside from the rave reviews for the films themselves, critics are already predicting Best Actor nominations for each films' stars - Michael Keaton, Steve Carell, and even the young but exciting Andrew Garfield.

Deadline recently commented on "Birdman": "It is not only a great directorial achievement, but also a great actors' showcase, with surefire nominations in store for star Michael Keaton, back in top form." In "Birdman," Keaton stars as "an aging actor attempting to reclaim his flagging celebrity," according to Indiewire. They go on to further praise the actor by stating, "Keaton - wrinkled, greying and bubbling with passion at every turn - rises to the challenge with fascinating determination on par with his character." By this, one can guess that Michael Keaton is definitely on the short list for Best Actor already.

Meanwhile, "Foxcatcher" continues to entice with its eerie newest trailer. The film documents the story of John DuPont's training of the Olympic wrestling brothers, Dave and Mark Schultz. Steve Carell, mostly known for his comedic roles, is already proving to be at least one of the men who will compete with Michael Keaton for Best Actor according to The Wrap. Deadline reported that Carell was curious about how the dark film would play out for US audiences and it looks like it's been mostly well received.

The Wrap predicts that based on the competing dinners with the press at Telluride, film fans can look forward to competition between "Birdman" and "Foxcatcher" for Best Picture in the upcoming months as Oscar buzz continues to build. But the 2008 housing crisis drama "99 Homes" might also be closing in. "Its dazzling performances from Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, not to mention Laura Dern and Tim Guinee, are worth the price of admission," says Deadline. Critics have also commented that Garfield's performance shouldn't be ignored, so maybe he'll be able to clinch his first Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actor. The only thing in the way is making sure the film gets U.S. distribution in time for the cutoff date.

As Oscar season gets through it's biggest film festivals, it looks like the three films to watch are "Birdman," "Foxcatcher," and "99 Homes."