So AMPAS has released their top ten finalists in the Visual Effects department today. Those are as follows:
“The Amazing Spider-Man”
“Cloud Atlas”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“John Carter”
“Life of Pi”
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Skyfall”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
“Cloud Atlas”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
“John Carter”
“Life of Pi”
“Marvel’s The Avengers”
“Prometheus”
“Skyfall”
“Snow White and the Huntsman”
So this makes things a little easier to widdle down. I am FLOORED that The Impossible missed here, as did Flight. This spells a little trouble for The Impossible, a film I expected to rack up quite the nomination tally. This should have been an easy nomination, considering that the tsunami scene has been talked up quite a bit. I had ruled out The Hobbit, sight unseen, since it looked ridiculous and just didn't feel like an Oscar movie, but those effects are pretty undeniable and I'm starting to think that it'll get in, even though I don't see a shot at winning. I also see Life of Pi as a lock and our potential winner at this point. After that, I'm at a loss for a solid contender.
I can't see Spider-Man making it, when a large complaint about the film was that the special effects were too cartoonish and didn't hold up against other contenders. The Dark Knight Rises has a shot, since it is from a more respected trilogy and DC films usually fare better with Oscar than Marvel; but Avengers is a visual wet dream and they did nominate both Iron Man films. I'm thinking that Cloud Atlas could actually score here. I had mentioned in a previous post that it was fading from memory, but the inclusion here could make it more visible.
And then I really wonder if Prometheus can pull off a nomination here, despite weaker reviews and a really early release date. It is an effects heavy summer film with a respected director at the helm.
Right now, I'm thinking:
Personally, I haven't seen a ton of effects heavy films yet this year. Of these ten, I've seen five of them (Life of Pi, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, Snow White and the Huntsman & The Avengers). They also happen to be my complete ballot at the moment. Life of Pi, while my least favorite film of the five, is the easy winner. Those visuals were outstanding.
AWARDS TALLY:
The Avengers] Hollywood Film Award
