Robots, Martians and bears: Which film will win the Best Visual Effects Oscar? - CNET

What's it about? Oh, the usual stuff, like Turing Tests, artificial intelligence and a robot with the face of Alicia Vikander. That's all I'm telling you because you should really watch it.

Why is it nominated? "Ex Machina" didn't follow the typical practice of green screen sequences or motion capture during the shooting of the film. All the effects to create Vikander's robotic appearance were done in post production, which is pretty rare these days. It was certainly a first for FX company Double Negative, which had previously worked on the likes of "Interstellar", "Inception" and "Captain America".

Will it win? It's already been nominated for its effects four times this award season, and the visual effects supervisor Andrew Whitehurst picked up one win at the British Independent Film Award for Outstanding Achievement in Craft. But no, it won't win. Both industry insiders and online betting establishments have it at a long shot.

The Martian

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What is it? Seriously? "The Martian"? The Matt Damon-helmed, Ridley Scott-directed adaptation of the book by Andy Weir? You're seriously saying you've never heard of it? Well, you might remember Matt Damon from "The Departed", a film he was in with Leonardo DiCaprio.

What's it about? Well, potatoes and disco music mostly, but also science, space and Mars, because that's where most of the film takes place.

Why is it nominated? MPC, the company responsible for the effects, dropped in a lot of terrain details and, obviously, weather effects to make Mars look so impressively real. It also added precise details like the glass visors in helmets of the Marstronauts. MPC has a neat reel showing the VFX breakdown.

Will it win? So far "The Martian" is the VFX bridesmaid and never the bride, nominated six times without any luck. Gold Derby, a site dedicated to predicting show business awards, has it as an 80 to 1 outsider, while other places are more bullish on its chances. For my money, I think the completely baffling Golden Globe win for Best Comedy or Musical will hurt its chances of being taken seriously at the Academy Awards.

Surprise winners of the VFX Oscar -- and...

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Mad Max: Fury Road

What is it? The fourth film in the Mad Max series and the first retu to the post-apocalyptic, car-obsessed world in 30 years. This one sees Tom Hardy from "The Revenant", a film he's in with Leonard DiCaprio, take on the titular the role of Max Rockatansky, previously played by Mel Gibson.

What's it about? Well it's either a smart high-octane action flick, or a secret feminist plot depending on which parts of the inteet you might have stumbled across. Of course, there's a theory that it might be a romantic comedy...

Why is it nominated? Fury Road has over 2,000 special effects shots, out of around 2,400 total shots in the film. Which is a lot. The film has a big emphasis on real stunts and explosions, and visual effects are often tied in with these. Colour hues were altered to give it that post-apocalyptic look and the amazing sandstorm was obviously a stand out. But some of the biggest innovation was the night-time scenes which were actually shot in broad daylight and deliberately overexposed before being colour corrected, a new technique suggested by effects supervisor Andrew Jackson. And it's incredible.

Will it Win? Not counting the Academy Awards, it's had ten award nominations for visual effects, winning five and scoring runner up for a sixth. It may have been released ten months ago, but there's a lot of hype around Fury Road still and it's definitely in with a solid chance.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

What is it? The seventh movie in a much loved science fiction series that last had a decent release in 1983, with absolutely nothing good happening to the franchise between 1999 and 2005. Although, funny story, it was during that time period that Leonardo DiCaprio actually tued down the role of Anakin Skywalker...

What's it about? Director JJ Abrams has impressed fans by tying in the original trilogy with a new crop of heroes and villains in a respectful and adept way. It's about space battles and family and destiny and a really cute robot gives a thumbs up at one point. It's great.

Why is it nominated? After George Lucas went mad with power and decided to CGI everything up to and including Hayden Christensen's ability to change facial expressions, The Force Awakens is getting a lot of love for toning down the visual effects and working them in with practical effects to create a film that doesn't look like a PlayStation 2 game. To put it in perspective: A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Retu of the Jedi all got Academy Awards for effects. The other three... did not.

Will it Win? It's odds-on favourite and it has the legacy and the excitement to make it a real contender.

The Revenant

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What is it? This is the one. The film that might see Leonardo DiCaprio get the Best Actor Oscar that so many misguided people seem to believe he's been denied all these years.