Oscar race for Best Visual Effects narrows down to ten contenders

Earlier this month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected twenty films to be shortlisted in the Best Visual Effects category. With the official Oscar nominations a little over a month away, the Academy has announced which ten films have remained in the running, and surprisingly, movies such as LOGAN, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, and WONDER WOMAN have failed to make the cut. Check out the full shortlist below.

ALIEN: COVENANT

BLADE RUNNER 2040

DUNKIRK

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

OKJA

THE SHAPE OF WATER

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

All members of the academy’s visual effects branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from the shortlisted films on January 6, 2018, and the official Oscar nominations will be announced January 23, 2018, after which we'll be left with just five contenders. Which five will make the cut? If I was a betting man, and I'm not, because I'm terrible at it, I'd place money on BLADE RUNNER: 2049, DUNKIRK, THE SHAPE OF WATER, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES taking their place as the official nominees. The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 4, 2018.

Which five films do you think deserve a shot at Oscar glory?