Sunday, February 28, 2010

Oscar Predictions: Technical Categories

Art Direction: When it comes to this race it pays to have a certain fantasy element to a film. I'd say when it comes to that aspect of it the film with the lowest chances is The Young Victoria, because we've seen this sort of film before and everything is always exactly the same. There comes a time when one can get bored of it all. The next two that are hardly stemmed in reality are Sherlock Holmes and Nine, and while Holmes has enough striking imagery to give it a good shot, Nine doesn't really have a chance due to its negative reviews among critics. Though it pains me to say it, Avatar is most likely to take this one, with my alternate being The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Cinematography: I'm very glad Bruno Delbonnel ground out a nomination for his work in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It probably won't win, but it opens the possibility of seeing more of his work in the future. This category is wide open for any of the other four to take it. Avatar with its bright, colorful imagery; The Hurt Locker with its gritty, shaky, realistic look; Inglourious Basterds with its slanted, textured angles; and The White Ribbon with whatever it has in it. The White Ribbon just won the Cinematographer's Guild Award's top prize which gives it a bit of an edge, but it's too much of a competition to tell. My vote goes for Inglourious Basterds.

Makeup: I really thought that I had this category locked down until the nominations were announced and District 9 was surprisingly not on the list. While it does shake things up a bit, it's still a pretty sure race. Il Divo and The Young Victoria are too grounded in reality to have anything that would put it ahead in this race. The win is probably going to go to J.J. Abrams' Star Trek.

Costume Design: I can't offer much of an opinion on this race. I only know what I can tell from the trailers. Nine doesn't have a chance at any wins this year, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus lies a little too out there for anybody to take much notice. The Young Victoria could come in for a win, but it's mostly down to Bright Star and Coco Before Chanel, with the scale tipped a little bit in facor of the latter.

Visual Effects: I don't think I need to even register an opinion on this. I love District 9 and Star Trek so much more, but this award belongs to Avatar, hands down.

Film Editing: Usually this one goes to the Best Picture winner, and I feel if I give an opinion on this category then I've already said what is going to win that race. But I think that The Painful Sensation Storage Compartment or Container is going to win this.

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