By Cinematically Correct of Cinematically Correct.
This is my first time writing for the LAMB, so the pressure is on for me to correctly pick the winner of this category, Best Visual Effects. There are only three movies nominated so the odds are even more so in my favor to choose correctly.
The three movies nominated are Star Trek, District 9, and Avatar. As I said, it's going to be a real barnburner here. I'm trying to recall if any of these were called "game changers" or if they were said to "potentially change the way we watch movies". Hmm...anyone seen or heard of any movies like that?
For crying out loud, I think we all know which of these three movies is going to bring home this Oscar. They may as well give all of the technical awards to Avatar all at once and spare us an hour or two on Oscar night. What can be said that hasn't been said? Almost every raving review mentions that the movie is nothing if not for its breathtaking visuals, which are mostly all due to visual effects. So, I'm going out on a huge limb and risking my reputation...Avatar wins Best Visual Effects.
What about the other two movies? It's not like they are slackers. The team behind Star Trek may have had more pressure on them than anything else, considering they had to appease the thousands of Trek worshippers out there. My favorite thing about the Star Trek visuals is that, unlike Avatar, it doesn't look cartoony in any way. The spaceships look like legitimate big ships and space looked like your typical pictures of space. It was all very, very real. Then, throw in the few creatures that Kirk runs into while playing in the snow and you've got yourself a slick, visual effects nominee.
If Star Trek were to stage an upset, I would think it's due to Captain Nero's ship. That thing is damn impressive. Oh and not to sound too much like a pig-headed male...but Zoe Saldana looks so good in this that she could be confused as a visual effect, which she actually is in Avatar.
The final movie nominated is kind of like if the Pittsburgh Pirates or Kansas City Royals were to play in the World Series. It's the tale of a small market team done good, as District 9 had a miniscule budget in comparison to the other nominees. Do voters take things like that into consideration? If District 9 wins, then the definite answer is yes.
The massive spaceship, seen here, is pretty impressive. The alien robot suit-thingies (sorry, don't know what else to call them) are fairly mind blowing as well. Of course, the actual aliens look amazing, which is pretty important considering they are a huge character in the film. For me, the best effect is the alien arm that Wikus gets in order to operate the alien weaponry.
Also, that little alien kid was simply precious.
