Best Sound Editing
The difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing can be a difficult one, but in the most basic terms, sound editing analyzes the actual sounds of a film, such as the practical sound taken on set and the sound effects, while sound mixing looks at how well all the sounds are put together with the music and the dialogue.

Inception
Great action = great sound, and Nolan is great at technical awards.

Toy Story 3
Pixar is always a contender, but almost never a winner in this category. It was a crying shame that Wall-E didn’t take this award home with it (the entire movie was made out of sound effects!) and Toy Story 3 doesn’t boast nearly the amount of impressive sound as that one.

Tron: Legacy
Much like the original, the sound effects for this film makes the audience feel as though they’re in a video game, but unlike the original, there aren’t enough moments in the games or fleeing the master programmers to make this sound truly great.

True Grit
A shoot em up western would be a great contender here, but True Grit gets more out of its silences than it does out of its sound.

Unstoppable
The runaway train groans and grunts like a monster, completely personified by the sound effects in this film.

What Will Win:
Inception. It’s one of the biggest action movies of the year and the sound awards tend to favor these. But with a little luck, something could surprise and come through…

What Should Win:
Unstoppable. It’s definitely the underdog here since this is the film’s only nomination, but the sound effects escalate this movie from a simple, no brainer popcorn flick, to an enjoyable action film by making the runaway train it’s main character.

Are you checking movies off of your list? I’ve been working hard to check some off of mine! Over the next two weeks, we’ll be taking a look at every category, as well as spotlighting each film nominated for Best Picture. In the meantime, check out my tips for tracking down hard to find movies.

Waste Land – This was a previously “unattainable” documentary, but has recently popped up in a handful of theaters in major cities (LA, DC, NY). It may be playing near you!

Unstoppable – If you missed this one in theaters, it’s available on DVD and Blu Ray on Tuesday, February 15th. Netflixers, be sure to hit up your local Blockbuster or Red Box- Netflix’s restrictions on new releases means they won’t get it in time for the ceremony.

Gasland – Are you an HBO subscriber? If so, this documentary is currently available On Demand.

Wolfman – Another one for HBO subscribers, you can catch this Best Make Up nominee On Demand now.

Shorts – Keep an eye out for a theater near you playing the animated and live action shorts. In Los Angeles, they began playing at the Nuart Theater on February 11th, and the Documentary shorts will show starting February 18th.

Best Picture Showcase – Missing some of the films nominated for Best Picture? If you think you can handle it, check our AMC’s Best Picture Showcase. They offer 2 days of Best Picture nominees, as well as a 24 hour marathon of all 10 films.