Countdown to Oscar Night: Special Effects

Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story

Once again, this is one of the toughest categories to handicap. Recently the trend has been for the Academy to go with the movie with the most effects rather than the most impressive effects. This is also tough because none of the films nominated really break any new ground visually. I'm going with the most popular movie, but Ready Player One (the most effects) or First Man (the most artisitic of the bunch) wouldn't surprise me.

My Ballot
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Avengers: Infinity War
First Man
Christopher Robin

My Pick to Win
Avengers: Infinity War

Shamefully Snubbed
Sorry to Bother You


Best Sound Editing
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma

This year's Academy Awards presentation has been marred by losing hosts, adding (and then retracting) new categories, and finally announcing (and then retracting) that other categories would be awarded during commercial breaks. The sound categories are a perfect emblem of the disconnect that the producers of the show have with its audience (me). Instead of using these categories to highlight artistic achievement in film by giving examples of the craft or explaining the process, they usually joke about how no one cares and quickly play the winner off stage. Imagine how interesting it would be if the viewers were treated to an analysis of the sounds of the plane in Roma, the waterfall in Black Panther, the Gemini rockets in First Man, and the waterfall cutting through A Quiet Place. Alas, they will probably screw it up...

My Ballot
A Quiet Place
First Man
Roma
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody

My Pick to Win
First Man

Shamefully Snubbed
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse