Oscar Prep: Cinematography

Still in the middle of the Gravity portion of the Oscar predictions. It's one of the most diverse categories this year with a single nominee, a couple doubles, and a couple Best Picture contenders across a variety of genres too. It would be one of the hardest for me to pick. Thankfully, Oscar season can be tracked much easier than my opinions.

A couple notes first:
-Each category is arrange from Most to Least likely to win by my measure.
-An '*' before the title indicates a movie that I have seen.
-I'm trying to keep the shorthand to a minimum (get it). A couple that come up though are BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), SAG (Screen Actors Guild), PGA (Producers Guild of America, WGA (Writers Guild of America), DGA (Directors Guild of America).

Other Picks

Best Cinematography
Front Runner: *Gravity
Winner: BAFTA - Best Cinematography, Cinematographers Society - Outstanding Cinematography in Feature Film
If the guild and the British like it, that's all I need to know. I won't pretend that I have a great eye for cinematography but by my measure, it's pretty damn spectacular in this.

Dark Horse: *Inside Llewyn Davis
Nominee: BAFTA - Best Cinematography, Cinematographers Society - Outstanding Cinematography in Feature Film
Double nominee for cinematography and shot beautifully. If voters are looking for a way to award the Coens (which clearly, they aren't this year), this would be a good place to do it.

Other Nominees:
*Nebraska
Nominee: BAFTA - Best Cinematography, Cinematographers Society - Outstanding Cinematography in Feature Film
The choice to do black and white is an interesting one and it is shot well for that. It's not flashy enough to get a win.
*Prisoners
Nominee: Cinematographers Society - Outstanding Cinematography in Feature Film
I'm glad they found some way to nominate this movie and cinematography was the right place. This is Prisoners' lone nomination which means it probably won't yield the attention needed for a win.
The Grandmaster
Nominee: Cinematographers Society - Outstanding Cinematography in Feature Film
From the trailer alone I can see why this was nominated. Perhaps I'm undercrediting the Academy's appreciation to eastern cinema. And, did the Cinematographers Society and Academy really have the exact same picks? Kind of seals it for Gravity then, I suppose.