1. Gravity2. Pacific Rim3. World War Z4. Iron Man 35. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug(Alt: The Lone Ranger) If there is one award that is an absolute certain this year, it's Gravity winning Best Visual Effects. Every other film in contention is just merely trying to get a nomination. The Effects branch uses a bake-off method similar to Makeup and Hairstyling branch, where a reel of effects used in the film is shown off and the members vote based on their impressions of these clips. Films that tend to have some flashy scenes, even if they don't have the most consistent effects throughout, have a slight advantage in this category. I expect Pacific Rim to be a likely nominee, as well as World War Z, given both films massive scales. The next two spots could go to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Iron Man 3, although if the branch has a "been there done that" feeling towards these sequels, they could go in a new direction with something like Oblivion or The Lone Ranger. There's nothing so impressive from either of these newcomers to necessarily entice them away from the comforts of the familiar, so I'm going to bet on the tried and true, but if the branch has antsy feet, I will definitely be eating some humble pie in this category.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
