The Grandmaster Gravity Inside Llweyn Davis Nebraska Prisoners After Best Visual Effects, there is no category that is as much in the bag as Best Cinematography, and with good reason. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki has been practically reinventing the art of cinematography over the last decade, and how he hasn't won an Oscar yet is utterly inexplicable (his work on Terrance Malick's The Tree of Life may be the greatest cinematography in the history of cinema). This year though, there is no way the Academy doesn't reward him the Oscar for his jaw-dropping work in Gravity. As of late, the Academy has been giving this award out to 3-D epics such as Avatar, Hugo, and Life of Pi, and Gravity definitely fits that bill, so Lubezki has that in his favor. Plus there is the work, which despite criticism of CGI manipulation (of which Lubezki oversaw himself), I think speaks for itself. If you are looking for a theoretical upset in the category (which you absolutely shouldn't be), you could make an argument for Bruno Delbonnel's work in Inside Llewyn Davis, which did pick up a few awards along the circuit and could have the added benefit of the film's ardent fans backing it simply to get the film an Oscar, but if the movie couldn't crack Best Picture its faction in the Academy can't be all that big. Then there is the possibility the Academy may finally bestow an Oscar on cinematography legend Roger Deakins for his stunning work on Prisoners, but despite the ridiculous fact the man has yet to win an Oscar, I just don't seeing it being his year. Basically, if you pick anything other than Gravity in this category, you shouldn't be allowed to participate in an Oscar pool ever again. Will Win: GravityCould Win: Inside Llewyn DavisShould Win: Gravity
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.
