The Academy f/x "bake off", a process by which they winnow down the eligible contenders for Oscar glory by viewing clip reels from campaigning films, has declared that these 7 films have the year's best visual effects:Casino Royale (Bond explosiveness)
Eragon (dragon riding)
Night at the Museum (CG chaos)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Davy Jones!)
Poseidon (ship sinking worked before)
Superman Returns (flying! lifting things!)
X-Men: The Last Stand (
Which begs the question: What of the trippiest f/x experiences of the year. In 2006 no effects work freaked me out more than that sequence at the feast in Pan's Labyrinth and none moved me more than those in The Fountain, which I suppose fall into the non-Oscary trap of actually working as storytelling (see also: the snubbing of the f/x in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) rather than primarily as surface level of "wow, how'd they do that?" razzle dazzleables.
My tech predictions here.
And this is worth checking out: Boing Boing points us to a really interesting web site on the special effects in the Pirates sequel, which are obviously heading for the win.
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12 comments:
I can't believe this. That list is so lame, and as you say, they leave off some of the best achievements of the year. I mean, Eragon? Are you kidding me? Just by looking at the trailer, it looked like a third-rate rip-off of everything LOTR.
Indeed, I'm thinking Pan's Labyrinth is the best of the year so far. The Fountain snub is unsurprising, but still depressing.
DAVY JONES? I thought the work on Pirates was ugly and unimpressive. Just because you can etch a squid on top of Bill Nighy's face doesn't make it some sort of grand achievement. The movie was awful, and certainly the visual effects were a big letdown for me.
Boo to this.
Forgive Ali, he doth not know of what he speaks. The effects in Pirates 2 are indeed groundbreaking, ou can ask anyone in the industry.
HOW DID YOU LIKE DREAMGIRLS?!
I haven't seen The Fountain yet, but Pan's Labyrinth was the absolute best in this category. These shortlists really suck.
They should just rename the category "Most Visual Effects" if they're going to continue making selections like they have been.
I always see you mention how the Oscars "snubbed" Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, but there was actually no effects in it - Michel Gondry did everything in camera, like he always does.
If you watch it keeping that in mind, it's also much more rewarding.
That 'Pirates' thing was AMAZING! That must have been very hard for Bill Nighly to do...
There should be "Oscar points" off for using CGI in special effects.
Oh, and Jack-a special effect can still be done in camera. They look better, in my opinion, that way.
Lest we forget when Tron was deemed inneligable for this category because there was too much use of computers. LOL!
BTW, I love that Casino Royale could possibly get a nod despite is being very unspecial effectsy. Anyway.
It is a shame they left off Laybyrinth and Fountain. At least Superman Returns is there. It had stellar effects.
And I actually really liked that movie a lot in general. I know a lot of people here... didn't.
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