Oscar Predictions: Best Visual Effects

Last year’s nominees: Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Hereafter, Inception, Iron Man 2

This year’s contenders: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, Hugo, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Tree of Life, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Real Steel

The rundown: This category, which should be trimmed to five nominees, has been narrowed down to ten finalists, discounting, most notably, “Thor” and “Super 8.” The obvious choice is the final “Harry Potter” film, and I assume it will be joined by the Marvel features that were eligible, “X-Men” and “Captain America.” There are plenty of late series entries in the mix, but I think they’ll be overlooked in favor of the imaginative “Hugo” and the well-received “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

Forecasted winner: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2”