The Edge of the Frame

Much like the award for Best Documentary, the AMPAS Best Visual Effects committee always whittles down the selection of possible nominees to a box-sized fifteen. The Academy just released the list to the public. It is as follows:

“Alice in Wonderland”
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
“Clash of the Titans”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1″
“Hereafter”
“Inception”
“Iron Man 2″
“The Last Airbender”
“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
“Scott Pilgrim vs the World”
“Shutter Island”
“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”
“TRON Legacy”
“Unstoppable”

This doesn’t really change my predictions much at all. From the looks of it, I’m not sure anything will be able to take down “TRON Legacy.” Much like last year’s winner, “Avatar,” it appears to be an absolute visual feast, and added to that, the effects actually look quite stellar and authentic. Perhaps the only thing that might have a fighting chance is “Alice in Wonderland” or “Inception.” However, “Alice”‘s effects are a bit too cartoonish and over-the-top and “Inception,”‘s while incredible and realistic, are short-lived and really kind of secondary to the story (and yet that did not hurt “Gladiator” on winning this particular award).

My predictions for this category remain:

“Alice in Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I”
“Inception”
“Iron Man 2”
“TRON: Legacy”

Perhaps the only thing that bugs me in this category is the quiet snub of…wait for it…”The Social Network.” I know that it’s an award that this film really doesn’t need to sweep and “Social”‘s effects are easy to overlook. And yet, that’s just the point. The impeccable work on creating the Winklevi out of one actor is at least worth some recognition for it’s good enough for some viewers to really believe that the part is played by twin actors, rather than Armie Hammer. However, I’m humble enough to let this one past…..as long as the film still takes all the rest.