F/X Oscar Nominations

Jan 09, 2008

SCI FI Wire has a list of the flicks nominated for a best F/X Oscar, and I just cannot help but think this was not the best year for SF movies.

Out of the Running

I have to be up front and say that these these films are out of the running because I either have not seen them or do not plan to see them.

The Bourne Ultimatum

I liked the first one didn't like the second one,this one is on my Netflix list.

I Am Legend

I have a general rule that I will not see in the theater any film starring Will Smith that is based on a book that I like. Even though I like Will Smith, very few good things come from this combination. I may rent it.

I liked the comic and have been told that this film will disappoint me more than Doom did, so on advice of friends, I have not seen this one either.

So I am limiting my discussion to the films I have actually seen.

Evan Almighty

Good film, but the F/X were anything but spectacular. They are like the film itself, worthy of cable television, but not up to the standard I expect in a feature film. This is the "man gets hit in groin by football" nomination, except it wasn't a football it was a dog.

The only major effect I can remember is at the end of the film and it brought the story to a proper climax, but is failed to wow me. It felt like something I had seen before, and to me, that is a not Oscar worthy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

The F/X in this flick were extraordinary, but again, they did not wow me. I may have been distracted by Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, and that might have caused me to miss things that I ordinarily might not have.

The biggest thing that this movie has against it in the race for the best effects is that I saw them all in the last two Pirates movies. They were all cutting edge the last time I saw them, but not in this film. I am not sure why it was nominated other than its popularity. That said. I think it deserves the prize more than Evan Almighty.

The Golden Compass

This was probably the best fantasy film of the year, and it has some of the best special effects I have seen in a long time. The artistic style they chose for the film worked well and stayed consistent throughout the film, but at no point did I feel they were real.

The Golden Compass felt more like animated film than a live action film. This is the films only real flaw, and the only thing that keeps me from saying it should be the winner. I am if it were not for the successful integration of the actors into this film I would have to object to it being on the list.

Transformers

I know what you are thinking, "How could you say that Transformer is worth and Oscar?"

But of all the films on the list, this is the only one that made me believe that the impossible was possible. The robots feel real, and not added to the picture. I have to say even with all of Michael Bay's nauseating jitter cam, the combat and the machines still, what was the magic word?? They wowed me.

I doubt it will win, but of the nominees, The Transformers should win the award.