Best of 2012: Sound Editing and Sound Mixing

Best Sound Editing

• The Grey - For the discomforting grisliness of the bone-crunching, the unrelenting elemental dangers of the survivors' surroundings, and the gnarling viciousness of their predators.

• Life of Pi - For oodles of dreamy riches the sound team captured for the film's aquatic soundscape, and all of those ripely textured animal sounds.

• The Turin Horse - For the bellowing blusters of those sizably apocalyptic winds, and all of the quotidian details of the father and daughter's life.

• Wuthering Heights - For minimalist achievement in capturing agitated nature that perfectly and thematically serve this cinematic treatment to Bronte's work.

• Zero Dark Thirty - For confirming how horrible waterboarding sounds and the disquieting affect of the gunshots in the film's titular action sequence.

 Honorable Mentions: (in alphabetical order) - The Amazing Spider-Man (even though I disliked the film a lot and found Sam Raimi's take on the web-shooting sound design much more vibrant); The Avengers; Brave; Django Unchained; Killer Joe; Looper; Moonrise Kingdom; Skyfall; The Snowtown Murders

Best Sound Mixing

• Moonrise Kingdom - For shimmering with the same amount of dioramic detail Anderson puts into his sets with a summery, campfire-centric sonic palette.

• The Snowtown Murders - For tone-setting incorporation of its seedy score and brilliant evocation of space which the film uses to swelteringly oppresive effect. (Which is meant in the best possible since.)

• Tabu - For nailing its very bold narrative gambit, blending bewitching African soundscape and beautifully composed narration (in lieu of dialogue) that linger over the intimately stark images.

• The Turin Horse - For taking those aforementioned apocalyptic winds and quotidian details and keeping them in a tight, tonally agonizing grip.

• Wuthering Heights - For serving the film's elemental fascination with cold, dilated atmosphere, incorporating such bold strokes with rustic melodies of its heavy downpours and barren fields.

Honorable Mentions: (in alphabetical order) - The Avengers; Battleship; The Deep Blue Sea; Django Unchained; End of Watch; Life of Pi; Looper; Miss Bala; Skyfall; Zero Dark Thirty

Best of 2012: Supporting Actress

I know, I'm terrible at keeping up with these, but this just hasn't been my week, okay? I'm back now, though, with the latest addition to my 2012 personal ballots. This time with the next acting category.

Best Supporting Actress

• Gina Gershon for Killer Joe - For absolutely giving herself over to the degrading and woozily foreboding mess that is Killer Joe with brittle, unflinching desperation.

• Louise Harris for The Snowtown Murders - For shading this devastated mother with gravel-coated bitterness and a sense of life-stricken weariness without wallowing in miserabilism.

• Nicole Kidman  for The Paperboy - Because she fearlessly tackles the film's disarmingly vulgar form of veracity and lustful tones with deliciously grimy, yet human detail.

• Diane Kruger for Farewell, My Queen - For exquisitely furnishing Marie Antoinette with delicate vulnerability, narcissism and heartbreaking flourishes of longing.

• Elena Lyadova for Elena - For breaking through her character's cracked shell with such rich, thematically perceptive wit, and shaping sharp, resentful and reluctant edges while doing so. 

Honorable Mentions: My sincerest apologies for not getting around to Middle of Nowhere beforehand, which Lorraine Toussaint is supposedly sublime in. I promise to rectify the situation as soon as it releases on DVD (seriously, DVD people, any day now).

Now that that's out of the way, both Macy Gray and Isabelle Huppert (two names you always knew you'd see mentioned together) both craft thematically vital and emotionally stingy miniature portraits in The Paperboy and Amour, respectively, and are my very honorable mentions.

Megalyn Echikunwoke broadcasts hilarious impatience and insightful navel-gazing, while nailing Damsels in Distress' very bleak comic tone; Olivia Munn gracefully ignites her character with a winning combination of personality, nuance, intelligence and sultriness in ways that may not have clicked as well with other actresses in Magic Mike; Emily Blunt continues to prove her unique simpatico relationship with her characters, showing layers of flaw and regret in Looper; I wish Kathryn Hahn had been able to earn the uncommon deftness of humor and character she possesses in Wanderlust with a little more to do, but she's a no-bullshit comic delight, regardless; Eva Green has the misfortune of being in a movie that doesn't entirely deserve her (though, I was more forgiving of this film than others), she's still so cheekily game, sexually vivacious and in tune of the tongue-in-cheek goofiness of Dark Shadows; Jennifer Ehle exudes personable fatigue in Zero Dark Thirty and brings out Chastain's best moments with gal pal jovialness; and Emma Watson channels her inner-Molly Ringwald in The Perks of Being a Wallflower coloring a surprisingly complex and warm spin on teenage angst.

I can't say I'd readily include Amy Adams  for The Master (who, becoming especially apparent on a second viewing, isn't given much of a character), Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables (who, to me, does the exact opposite of what Louise Harris does in Snowtown), Sally Field  for Lincoln (who I actually like as Mary Todd Lincoln, but wasn't quite Honorable Mention material), or Jacki Weaver for Silver Linings Playbook. Though, they all have their moments, if we're being generous to Jacki Weaver, an actress I love, but is offensively underutilized in her film. I really don't get what people saw in that performance. It's all especially befuddling when you consider how well David O. Russell has captured family discord in the past through his lively ensembles. Anyway, as for Helen Hunt, well, just wait until I announce my Lead Actress nominees. Since it's a LEAD performance.

I believe I've covered all of my bases. Can't promise this week will be as productive (tests and whatnot), but the benefit of being your own audience is that you don't have to worry about the impatience of your readership. Have a lovely rest of the weekend!

Best of 2012: Makeup and Visual Effects

Best Makeup & Hairstyling

• Goon - Because those fights are so effectively disgusting, and the aftermath never forgets to accentuate how much of a teddy bear Scott is as he displays those nasty injuries.

• Holy Motors - For ingenious singular creations and for evoking such alive, loose-screwed moods that are indelible in its ode to the craft.

• Lawless - For nailing and primly enveloping the ensemble in the film's authentic period-specific style.

• Looper - Because JGL as Bruce is just uncannily executed. Gordon-Levitt's prosthetics are never rendered acting-proof.

• This Must be the Place - For delivering wonderfully eccentric detail to the aging rocker and for allowing Sean to breathe livability and melancholy into the design. The novelty, surprisingly, never grows dormant.

Honorable Mentions: Despite how much I admire the films' individual achievements above (especially Holy Motors and Looper), I'd be lying if I said this category was laden with strong contenders to begin with. Anna Karenina, Bullhead and The Grey all beautifully utilize their makeup design to wonderful effect, and came very close to cracking the top five, but other than that, I struggled with coming up with a top 10. Had I decided to highlight five in the honorable mentions, the two films to round out the top 10 would've been Django Unchained and The Paperboy, both of which are mainly for two pairs of actors' makeup/hair work in each of their respective films (Waltz/DiCaprio and Kidman/Gray), though they tend to overdo it and underdo it at the same time in other areas. 

And no, I didn't forget The Hobbit, Lincoln or Les Miserables. I liked The Hobbit: The Pointlessly Meandering Journey okay, and still find Gandalf lovably designed, but the dwarves were kind of an eyesore. Lincoln, I will say, does tremendously nuanced work in turning Day-Lewis into the 16th president, but for every delicate detail of Lincoln's visage there are five as garishly designed as James Spader or Tommy Lee Jones' wigs. As for Les Miserables, I will always appreciate Hugh Jackman's malnourished, soul-deprived Jean Valjean at the film's opening, but the rest of the film is just riddled with statically dour and just plain befuddling choices. Zombie whores? Really?!

Best Visual Effects

• The Avengers - For diligent detail in its elaborate, atmospherically-aware setpieces. And for the best and least self-serious use of The Hulk out of all three film incarnations.

• Life of Pi - For utter loveliness in its epic, luminescent beauty. Refreshingly earnest in its sweeping use of scale.

• Looper - For minimalistic resourcefulness in its futuristic detail and the ingenuity of the film's time travel logic (the deteriorating Old Seth and Joe's self-inflicted secret messages).

• Skyfall - For both strainlessly serving its action sequences and playing into the film's stylized elegance with brilliant pizazz.

• Ted - For making Ted's facial expressions, beer-chugging and bong rips feel so palpable, and for perfectly incorporating him into his live-action environment.

Honorable Mentions: I actually didn't see that many VFX-driven films in 2012, which isn't usually a problem for me, despite how much of a film snob I'm perceived to be. So it should be noted that, despite seeing 129 films from 2012, I never got around to The Impossible, Prometheus or Snow White & The Huntsman.

Nevertheless, Chronicle, The Dark Knight Rises and Flight were the only other films I really considered before compiling the list.

Best of 2012: Cinematography & Film Editing

Welcome back to my belated celebration of the best of 2012! Sorry it's been a while, but sickness and last week of classes before Spring Break kept me busy. Nevertheless, I'm back with two of my favorite categories!

Best Cinematography

• Alps - For enveloping us in its world of nervy unsustainability with bizarre, absurdist textures; and for crafting an appropriately alien surface in which to project them.

• The Master - Because while at times they feel impenetrable, each image (beautifully shot in 65mm) bursts with dream-like beauty and captivating surfaces.

• Skyfall - For crackling use of light in its setpieces (and an apt sense of pure sensuality). Deakins might be showing off, but it's a wonder of gobsmackingly beautiful lensing.

• Tabu - Speaking of gobsmackingly beautiful, Tabu, a film that swells with unapologetic romanticism in its images, uses gorgeous B&W to capture fragmented memories of the past and foggy loneliness of the present. Deserves much more than one sentence can give it.

• The Turin Horse - For apocalyptic sorrow in its wonderfully dreadful atmosphere and engaging mundanity in its compositions. Unrelenting work.

Honorable Mentions: In a year as strong as this one for cinematography, it killed me to leave off Wuthering Heights' brutal elemental awareness, The Snowtown Murders' well-earned sordid imagery, Beasts of the Southern Wild's magical naturalistic detail, Moonrise Kingdom's warm storybook aesthetics and human detail, and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia's hemispherical richness and ingenious natural lighting.

Best Film Editing

• How to Survive a Plague - For masterful arrangement of archival footage and emotionally-stirring confessionals that vividly insert us in this important place in history and tells a wholly rousing story while doing so.

• Moonrise Kingdom - For what some might call fussy preciosity I find to be quaintly immersive and  pleasantly paced storytelling. The letter montage is an utter delight.

• The Snowtown Murders - For an impeccable vice-grip on its complex narrative structure, slow-burn tension and eerie economy in claustrophobic dread that slowly slithers its way under your skin. 

• Tabu - For the profound dead air of "Paradise Lost" and the nostalgic liveliness of "Paradise." "Paradise" especially evokes an exciting free-flow of sensations.

• Zero Dark Thirty - For juggling a vast conduit of details while remaining light on its feet and assembling such a tight, muscular final act.

Honorable Mentions: Magic Mike for an eclectic array of surprises in its genre-weaving (from Mike's final dance to Adam's awry night of drug experimentation); Alps for a constant unspooling of new perspectives and wavy formal flow; Amour for surgical precision in its long takes and clinical cuts; and Oslo, August 31st for a mesmerizing and hypnotic tracking of a day in the life of Anders.

Best of 2012: Supporting Actor

My second official post!

I figured since the Oscars have come and gone, and we're now looking forward to the 2013 film year, I thought it would be a good idea to finally begin my own year-end lists now that I've seen pretty much everything I wanted to see (with deepest apologies going to Middle of Nowhere, which played at the Belcourt at the worst possible time for me) in an attempt to both usher in the new year and to sort of informally introduce myself a little more. The lists in question are my personal perfect-world Oscar ballots, which will eventually lead up to my top 10 of 2012 (or my Best Picture nominees).

Best Supporting Actor

• Simon Russell Beale for The Deep Blue Sea - For imbuing such a contrived, and self-serious script with sobering regret, barely-contained composure, and a "guarded" sense of both care and disdain.

• Jason Clarke for Zero Dark Thirty - For resourcefulness and curiosity in this intentionally thinly-drawn character, Clarke bears the mental scars that come with his job beautifully with permeating physicality and masculinity in the film's only character arch.

• Stephen Cone for The Wise Kids - For treating his portrayal of Austin with the same sensitivy and communal grace in which he treats his script. Never finding the easy answers to this film's complex and tender-hearted questions, while brimming with sincere heartache.

• Matthew McConaughey for Magic Mike - For perfectly utilizing his star persona and typically energetic humor to explore Dallas' sketchy, yet irresistible charms. And for always surprising us by just how seamlessly he slides into Dallas' skin.

• Bruce Willis for Moonrise Kingdom - For effortlessly inserting himself (and all the things that make us love Bruce) into Anderson's deadpan comic energy and simmering gradations of sadness and heartbreak that complements all angles of this bittersweet love story.

Honorable Mentions: Noe Hernandez who emanates raw terror and frightening unpredicatability, serving as the protagonist's closest ally and most dangerous enemy in Miss Bala; Javier Bardem for delightfully unhinged grudge-holding and unabashed queer villainy as one of Bond's most exciting enemies in Skyfall; Aris Servetalis for dangerous, misplaced devotion to his own patriarchal social institution in Alps; Richard Green for having a similar devotion to his film's more dangerous group of "heroes," but in more disturbingly self-sabotaging ways in The Snowtown Murders; Tommy Lee Jones for providing Lincoln with it's most poignant moments of earnest outrage, rich (unhammy) humor, and generous characterizations; Ezra Miller for perfecting his all-too-comfortable state of playing smart-ass teens with 'tude, whilst injecting his character with unexpected warmth and the oft-forgotten art of showing true friendship in The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Jude Law who, perhaps, wishes for the uncommon depth that Simon Russell Beale has in a very similar role in The Deep Blue Sea (or at least wishes Wright would allow him to do exude such depth), but still glows with thick-bearded hurt in Anna Karenina; and Andrey Smirnov serves as a wonderful foil in Elena, while also never forgetting to show his frustration and understanding toward the titular character.

Oscar Predictions: Will Win/Should Win

Best Picture

"Amour"
"Argo"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Will Win: While Ben Affleck's "snub" might hint at a rare occurrence in which the Academy could go against the proverbial grain in terms of Argo's frontrunner status, momentum and sheer admiration for his film is hard to deny. Heck, if anything, his failure to secure a Best Director nomination seems to have boosted his film's chances more than anything. In a near sweep of a precursor race, Argo's success (and the "Poor Ben" supporters that has extended from Hollywood to my Media Writing professor) has shown that Ben Affleck's fanbase will want to ensure that he and his film don't go unrecognized. Because God knows if there was a film that went more unfairly overlooked this year than Argo, I wouldn't know where to find it....

Should Win: ....unless you mean Amour! This immaculately orchestrated and unflinchingly performed duet of a couple at the end of their life was looking at a fairly rough road in regards to its likelihood of receiving a Best Picture nomination (I myself didn't have the guts to predict it) as more and more contenders broke through the mid-to-late December gate and took up many of it's precursor slots (even Best Actress) and passionate ralliers (we have seen and expect better from Tarantino than Django, no?). So going from expecting Silver Linings Playbook to be your personal favorite of the nominees (I hadn't seen Zero Dark Thirty at the time, just to clarify) to this? Oh my lord, yes! Everything from it's flawless staging, masterful editing, and it's keen, smartly-played performances (all of which I hope to talk about more when I show you guys my own ballot) puts Amour leagues above it's fellow nominees.

Best Director
Michael Haneke for "Amour"
Ang Lee for "Life of Pi"
David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln"
Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Will Win: Without Ben Affleck here we just might have the fourth Best Picture winner in history to not receive a Best Director nomination (so surprising because Ben Affleck can do no wrong). But of course that does nothing to help us decrypt the mystery behind this category. I'm tempted to say that the only certainty to be found here is that the youngest nominee of the bunch Benh Zeitlin probably stands as the least likely of the nominees, but in a year like this even a longshot like him shouldn't be counted out. The fact that he was nominated alone is a cause to suspect he has fans. Yet, even with this race's frontrunner conundrum, there's still a safe haven to be found in the Spielberg-Lee two-horse race theory. Of the two I think I'm going with Ang Lee in a squeaker over Spielberg, because as much as they liked Lincoln I think they'll be more tempted be Lee's technical virtuosity and ability to adapt the "unadaptable."

Should Win: As enamored as I was by Lee's sweeping use of scale and concentrated epicness, and Zeitlin's lyrical, magical and visually singular creation, I must single out Michael Haneke again for crafting such a universal tale of love and death (one that particularly stuck with me after losing my grandmother two months ago). If Haneke's last effort, The White Ribbon, was too clinical of an exploration of his usual ideas for some (myself included, sadly), Amour shows us a deeply personal side of himself in which he executes with uncompromising formal precision.

Best Original Screenplay
"Amour"
"Django Unchained"
"Flight"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Will Win: Like Best Director, this category also suffers from a lack of a frontrunner, but I'm less inclined to believe how up in the air the category is, since I'm pretty sure Amour has plenty of members rallying for it. Though Django and Zero Dark Thirty are a cause for concern, they lack the one factor that Amour has: a Best Director nomination. If you asked me pre-nominations I would totally agree that Mark Boal had the best shot, but despite it's Best Picture nomination, the love for Zero Dark Thirty (and moreso in regards to Django) just isn't there, and if there's one place Amour will win outside of Best Foreign Language Film, it's here. To those who think foreign films have trouble securing a win, may I point you to Talk to Her? Seriously, may I? It's so good.

Should Win: Ah, but of course. The one category in which my vote wouldn't go to Amour, is also the one in which I predicted it to win. Yes, me and my contrarian ways would personally love to see Moonrise Kingdom walk away with an Original Screenplay win (though only by the skin of its teeth). Because Wes Anderson, in all of his dioramic warmth, continues to stretch beyond his stifling limitations (a trend started with the wonderful Fantastic Mr. Fox), allowing for adventure, genuinely felt heartbreak and his unique eye for humor to flow through his characters and affectations.

Best Adapted Screenplay
"Argo"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"

Will Win: My instinct is to go with Lincoln for such a beloved and, admittedly, fresh look at the bravest, most eloquent (those monologues!) and most influential American President of all time (even though it didn't fully jive with me, personally it does, in it's best moments, breathe invigorating life into the Historical Drama genre), but I think I'm going to go with Argo on this one, due to it's frontrunner status.

Should Win: Four fine scripts. Not one of them gives me  any major problems, while at the same time not really engaging me in any of the other "things" that might be going on in their film (each script leaning heavily on their actors or directors to help me feel as if I was, which works best for Playbook and Pi, respectively). The nominee that doesn't meet that criteria is the blissfuly alive, and constantly blooming with imagination and ideas, Beasts of the Southern Wild. And nothing would make me happier if it did pull off a win. (Which is not as far-fetched as it sounds. Consollation prize?)

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty"
Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emanuelle Riva for "Amour"
Naomi Watts for "The Impossible"
Quvenzhane Wallis for "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Will/Should Win: *Deep breath* I am sticking with my guns and going with Emanuelle Riva. What, you've never seen an Oscar prognosticator let personal preference sway him or her in their predictions? But really it's not entirely because I'm blinded by enthusiasm that my favorite performance of the year got in (though, it might've helped a little). It's just that her film seems genuinely loved (Trintignant was probably stuck in the dreadful 6th or 7th slot), and I think people will want to see Riva honored after giving a career-best performance in an already stellar filmography.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln"
Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables"
Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master"
Denzel Washington for "Flight"

Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis. You heard me.

Should Win: Really, this is a pretty nifty lineup. Bradley Cooper is the key to Silver Linings Playbook's success in a tonally and tastefully tricky part, Daniel Day-Lewis gives a quietly delicate spin on the 16th U.S. President,while smartly underplaying all of Lincoln's mannerisms and all of Lincoln's "showy" scences with lived-in nuance, Denzel Washington actually manages to feel flexible and intimidatingly carnal in ways that probably don't work as well on paper in Flight (his best in years), and even Hugh Jackman in his tastelessly manipulative film manages to give Les Miserables it's most raw feeling of emotion and grandeur that was promised from it's source material. But for my money, Joaquin Phoenix's unpredictable whirlwind of caged inner-turmoil in The Master would be most deserving in this more than commendable lineup.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams for "The Master"
Sally Field for "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables"
Helen Hunt for "The Sessions"
Jacki Weaver for "Silver Linings Playbook"

Will Win: There's no denying it at this point. Anne Hathaway will be an Oscar-winner by the end of the night. We got that?

Should Win: But, come on guys. Are we all seriously unallowed to, not even dislike, but have a few minor quibbles about her performance. Yes, even in the "I Dreamed a Dream" sequence. For sure, Anne Hathaway is a delightful young actress, who, like Jackman, is strong and smart enough of a thespian to know how to tackle emotionally tricky parts like Fantine. But even an actress as resourceful as Anne can't outrun her director's tasteless portrayal of Fantine's suffering, which she allows herself to perform as a simplified "brave, crossbearing whore" trope. No, for my money I'd go with Helen Hunt (albeit, in a terrific LEAD performance) who bears her body and her soul in much more beautifully layered ways as a sex therapist in an emotionally-dead relationship who begins to fall for her patient (who's sensitive chemistry is so important in portraying it's sex-positive message).

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin for "Argo"
Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook"
Philip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln"
Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained"

Will/Should Win: Your guess is as good as mine in terms of the will. I'd be a little more confident in predicting Tommy Lee Jones, if Christoph Waltz didn't decide to become the frontrunner all of a sudden (is it 2009?), but I think I'm going to anyway, mostly in hopes that it sticks. It'd certainly make me happy! Jones provides Lincoln with all of it's outraged passion and complexity, and is one of the many elements that brings a fresh air to the film and to his own, usually monotonous mannerisms (this and Hope Springs makes for such a terrific year).

Best Animated Feature
"Brave"
"Frankenweenie"
"Paranorman"
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits"
"Wreck-It Ralph"

Will/Should Win: Making a bold move here and going with Frankenweenie. While there are sound arguments in regards to Brave and Wreck-it Ralph taking the statue. Brave feels too divisive, while Wreck-it Ralph (which does have supporters aplenty) might not be as appealing to others. It might just be Frankenweenie, Tim Burton's cleverest and most passionate film in years, that has the most favorable odds.

Best Foreign Language Film
"Amour"
"Kon-Tiki"
"No"
"A Royal Affair"
War Witch"

Will/Should Win: Amour. Need I say more? I haven't seen any of the other nominees as of yet, but I can't wait to see No.

Best Documentary
"5 Broken Cameras"
"The Gatekeepers"
"How to Survive a Plague"
"The Invisible War"
"Searching for Sugar Man"

Will Win: As much as I wish it was How to Survive a Plague, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Documentary branch will follow suit eith the precursors and go with Searching for Sugar Man.

Should Win: How to Survive a Plague, for it's rousing, emotionally-stirring arrangement of archival footage to tell an empowering story, while shedding light on the gay community's three-decade struggle with the disease. I have never felt prouder of my community than I have while watching this powerful documentary.

Note: Since I'm releasing these later than I wish, I'll provide my predictions for the tech categories without commentary.

Best Cinematography
"Anna Karenina"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"

Will Win: Life of Pi

Should Win: Skyfall

Best Costume Design
"Anna Karenina"
"Mirror Mirror"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Snow White & The Huntsman"

Will Win: Anna Karenina

Should Win: Mirror Mirror

Best Film Editing
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Will Win: Argo

Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty

Best Makeup/Hairstyling
"Hitchcock"
"The Hobbit"
"Les Miserables"

Will/Should Win: Les Miserables

Best Original Score
"Anna Karenina"
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Skyfall"

Will Win: Life of Pi

Should Win: Anna Karenina

Best Original Song
"Chasing Ice" for the song "Before My Time"
"Life of Pi" for the song "Pi's Lullaby"
"Les Miserables" for the song "Suddenly"
"Skyfall" for the song "Skyfall"
"Ted" for the song "Everybody Needs a Best Friend"

Will/Should Win: Skyfall

Best Production Design
"Anna Karenina"
"The Hobbit"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"

Will Win: Life of Pi

Should Win: Anna Karenina

Best Sound Editing
"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

Will Win: Life of Pi

Should Win: Zero Dark Thirty

Best Sound Mixing
"Argo"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"Les Miserables"
"Skyfall"

Will Win: Argo

Should Win: Skyfall

Best Visual Effects
"The Avengers"
"The Hobbit"
"Life of Pi"

"Prometheus"
"Snow White & The Huntsman"

Will/Should Win: Life of Pi

Now to recap:

Best Picture: Argo
Best Director: Ang Lee
Best Original Screenplay: Amour
Best Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Actress: Emanuelle Riva
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway
Best Supporting Actor: Tommy Lee Jones
Best Animated Feature: Frankenweenie
Best Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Makeup: Les Miserables
Best Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Original Song: Skyfall
Best Production Design: Life of Pi
Best Sound Editing: Life of Pi
Best Sound Mixing: Argo
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi