Oscars 2012: The Visual Effects Shortlist

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the fifteen movies that are in the running for the Best Visual Effects Oscar.  This is one of the least interesting shortlists that the Academy releases, as it's always a pretty predictable line-up: only so many movies are effects-heavy, or at least impressively so.  In addition to likely winner Rise of the Planet of the Apes (seriously, how can it not win with its incredible motion-capture?) and blockbusters like Harry Potter, Transformers, and X-Men, there are some viable Best Picture contenders in the running, including Terrence Malick's eons-spanning The Tree of Life with its indelible creation scenes and stunning dinosaurs and Martin Scorsese's cinematic love letter Hugo.

The full list:

Captain America: The First Avenger
Cowboys & Aliens
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Sucker Punch
Super 8
Thor
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life
X-Men: First Class

At this point, I'll take a stab and predict:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The Tree of Life