Category: Best Visual/Special Effects

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Love and Monsters (2020)

If you haven’t seen Zombieland, this movie might seem fresh and exciting. If you have seen Zombieland, this really feels like a repeat of that film except the zombies are giant cold-blooded animals. Throughout the film, I kept seeing Dylan O’Brien as Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus character and it didn’t make a difference to the movie. Couldn’t they at least have changed the gender of the main character to mix it up some? Maybe it’s just my complete disinterest in zombie films, but I enjoyed this one better, despite having a protagonist that is the most uninteresting character in the entire film and a really stupid third act. It also imagines a post-apocalyptic world where the only romantic configuration is coupling, outright ignoring the needs/wants/desires of singles. It annoyed me in Deluge and it’s really disappointing that it’s where we still are 90 years later. I had gone into this really suspicious of this film’s Oscar nomination, but the monsters are really gorgeous to look at and fit seamlessly into the world.

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

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Reap the Wild Wind (1942)

Perhaps not surprisingly, I haven’t seen many films set amongst marine salvagers in 1840s Key West. Cecil B. DeMille directs an absolutely stacked cast including John Wayne, Ray Milland, Louise Beavers, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, and a bawdy sea shanty singing Paulette Goddard. It’s a bit long and drawn out for the story, but it culminates with an amazing underwater battle scene that might make it all worthwhile. There is also an incredibly creepy ongoing bit where Ray Milland speaks for his dog Romulus. Cutting out that alone would have done wonders for the length.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color

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Aliens (1986)

I believe there are some who feel that Aliens is superior to Alien. For me, the two don’t compare. They illustrate the stark contrast between films of the 1970s and what was made in the mid-1980s. Where Alien was more shadowy and dark in portraying the same location, Aliens is all bombastic, large, and in your face. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, dragged along on a mission to supposedly annihilate the xenomorphs for good, is completely shoehorned into a mother role, though it does create a nice parallel for the big ending. Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein are both massively over the top as part of the Marine crew. Paul Reiser is spectacularly oleaginous portraying the ultimate in capitalistic greed. Again the moral of the story is you should really listen to Ripley.  Scifi  Horror

Oscar Wins: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; Best Effects, Visual Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Score

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Alien (1979)

Not being a fan of either, I generally avoid sci-fi and horror films. This film is why I can’t avoid them completely. With its feet planted much more firmly in the sci-fi half of the equation, it has incredibly visual design in both the ship and the alternate lifeform. I’m overwhelmed with how perfect the design of the Xenomorph is. Seeing a picture of one, it has the look of a typical Giger design. On the ship, slithering through the shadows of the ship’s mechanics, it is perfectly camouflaged until the moment it decides to show its menacing self. They found an entire crew of extraordinary actors to man the craft, most impressively Sigourney Weaver of whom the entire movie could be summed up with the words ‘you really should listen to her.’  Scifi  Horror

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Visual Effects

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

Essentially an earlier version of Aladdin, any Disney fan wouldn’t be surprised with the general storyline here. Filmed in Technicolor emphasizes the glorious sets and costumes, but also shines a spotlight on the loads of unfortunate brownfacing exhibited in the movie. Highlights are Sabu as the scamp thief Abu and Rex Ingram as the Djinn, plus special effects that are rather impressive for their time.

Oscar Wins: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction, Color; Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Music, Original Score

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Samson and Delilah (1949)

Not knowing anything but the bare details of the story of Samson, I’m not entirely sure I came away with much more after watching this film. A thoroughly lavish production, it follows Samson using his otherworldly strength in vengeance against the Philistines who stole away his bride. The cast is filled with an array of stars from Victor Mature’s Samson and Hedy Lamarr’s beautiful Delilah to supporting roles by George Sanders and Angela Lansbury. It’s visually stunning with plenty of action of Samson displaying his strength in battles and collapsing of temples. The story isn’t incredibly compelling beyond that action.

Oscar Wins: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Effects, Special Effects; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

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Blithe Spirit (1945)

As a lesson to not mess with the supernatural, Blithe Spirit features Rex Harrison as a British author who realizing he needs more material for his next book hires a medium to perform a séance in his home. Unfortunately the séance is too successful and brings forth his dead former wife to haunt him. Despite an unfortunate makeup choice where the ghost looks like the Wicked Witch of the West, the film is witty and amusing, culminating in an end where everyone receives their just desserts.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

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