Oscar Predictions: Best Sound

Last year’s nominees: Inception, The King’s Speech, Salt, The Social Network, True Grit

This year’s locks: Hugo, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Possible: Moneyball, Super 8, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Adventures of Tintin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, War Horse, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Hanna, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor

The rundown: The Cinema Audio Society announced their nominees, which included two Oscar contenders, “Hugo” and “Moneyball,” and three more technically-competent films, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Hanna,” and the generally-ignored-until-now “Super 8.” Usually the list looks much more Oscar-friendly, and therefore I’d expect that “ “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is a safe bet , and should replace “Pirates.” Otherwise, watch out for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Adventures of Tintin,” which could be strong contenders for this category specifically, and then some others that could figure in, like “War Horse,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” and “Thor.”

One possible crazy scenario: “Fast Five” actually gets it due!

Forecasted winner: “Hugo”