The First Annual Cyber Hellfire Club Motion Picture Awards "The Cybies"

The nominations for the Oscars have just been released. Now, I usually disagree with the Oscar nominations, and with the winners too, but this time I've been left astounded by one category in particular: Best Visual Effects. The nominations are Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong and War of the Worlds. The effects in Narnia were good but there were several shots that were less than perfect, the effects in Kong were VERY patchy, with at least one sequence being awful; and as for War of the Worlds...the effects were good but certainly didn't stick in the memory. This would all be fair enough if there weren't two films whose effects really stood out as head and shoulders above everything else. The effects in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire were outstanding, and should have received a nomination at least. However, it's the lack of a nomination for Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith that really beggars belief. Not only should this film have been nominated for Best Visual Effects, it should win, hands down. Firstly there's the consistency of quality throughout the film. The effects in Episode 3 are consistently good...unlike King Kong which has some outstanding scenes, but is let down by a lot of sub-standard work. Secondly, there's the sheer quality itself. The opening shots alone set the bar for quality of SFX at a new high point. Personally, I feel that ILM managed to capture perfectly that same jaw dropping feeling that the opening shots of Episode 4 created.

So, without further ado I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and present the First Annual Cyber Hellfire Club Motion Picture Awards....The Cybies!

Best Leading Actor

Ralph Feinnes - The Constant Gardener

Best Supporting Actor

Skander Keynes - The Chronicles of Narnia

Best Leading Actress

Ziyi Zhang - Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Supporting Actress

Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener

Best Animated Feature

Howl's Moving Castle

Best Art Direction

Memoirs of a Geisha

Best Cinematography

Batman Begins

Best Costume Design

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Best Director

Mike Newell - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Best Makeup

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Best Music (Score)

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Best Picture

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Best Sound

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Best Visual Effects

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

Best Writing (Adapted)

The Constant Gardener

Best Writing (Original)

Serenity