Monday - Art & Design, Music
Tuesday - Technical Achievements
Wednesday - Short Films, Special Feature Films
Thursday - Writing & Directing, Acting
Friday - Best Picture
Films I haven't seen are marked accordingly.
FILM EDITING
Who Will Win: Argo
Who Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty
Let's not beat around the bush here: I believe Argo will win Best Picture. However, it faces a challenging and potentially historic road to get there, given its lack of a Best Director nomination. One thing that will help it on its way to victory will be picking up key awards, like Best Editing. Although it often gets lost in the shuffle of "those damn technical awards," Editing is closely linked to Best Picture wins, which makes sense when you sit down and think about it. The Academy has surprised us in this category before, but Argo seems like a very safe bet for now.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees: Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, SkyfallWho Will Win: Life of Pi
Who Should Win: Skyfall
Please, for the love of all that is holy and sacred, can be please give Roger Deakins an award? The veteran cinematographer (nominated here for Skyfall) now has ten frickin' nominations without ever winning an Oscar. He's worked on some of my favorite films of all time, most notable The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, along with most of the Coen brothers' movies. Maybe, just maybe, he can beat out the established favorite, Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi. It would make me so very happy.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Who Will Win: Life of Pi
Who Should Win: Life of Pi
Have you seen Life of Pi? Have you seen that CGI tiger? It's actually amazing and I totally understand why it will win this category. It's refreshing to see a film that uses visual effects in such an understated and naturalistic way, rather than going for something wildly stylized or aggressively otherworldly. There are plenty of worthy candidates in this field, but Life of Pi and its massively fake tiger should chow down on the other nominees.
SOUND EDITING
Who Will Win: Skyfall
Who Should Win: Skyfall
Without an aggressive technical juggernaut like last year's Hugo, it appears that the technical awards are going to more spread out than in years past. Hopefully, this will include Skyfall snagging a much-deserved award for Sound Editing. Skyfall is a dense, taut film that benefits immensely from its detailed sound work. As with other categories, I'd be perfectly happy seeing Zero Dark Thirty win some awards, just on principle, but Skyfall is both more likely and more deserving.
SOUND MIXING
Who Will Win: Les Misérables
Who Should Win: Skyfall
Okay, fine, I understand. Live singing, yadda yadda yadda. I guess that warrants some level of recognition. I happen to think that Les Mis' sound mixing wasn't always completely successful, but I do have to tip my (almost entirely irrelevant) cap to the ambition and scope of what Tom Hooper & Co. were trying to accomplish. Again, I think the sound work on Skyfall outpaces everything else in the category, but we do not live in a fair world. Perhaps if Tom Hooper zooms in incredibly close on my face and positions me slightly to the right of the frame while I sing, you'll understand my internal emotional state better.
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