Cinematography is a powerful tool that can lead to effective storytelling… Also, Roger Deakins should probably have one of these by now, shouldn’t he? Okay, you know what, since he’s probably not going to win this year, I’m going to start this early – Please consider Hail, Caeser for Best Cinematography Of 2016!

5th Most Likely To Win: The Hateful Eight

Robert Richardson already has three Oscars. Not to mention that the whole film is mostly set in a single room. Yeah, it’s Room: Western Edition. When you put it against the other nominees in this category, it doesn’t stand a chance.

4th Most Likely To Win: Carol

The cinematography in this movie is just gorgeous. Unfortunately, nobody really seems to care about this movie anymore. It doesn’t have a Best Picture nomination. Not since 2006 has a film won this award without also having a Best Picture nomination. Only the top two films in this category have Best Picture nominations.

3rd Most Likely To Win: Sicario

ROGER. DEAKINS. When will he get his Academy Award? Will he get his Academy Award? This guy has 13 Oscar nominations to his name and an absolutely incredible resume. His work on Sicario is great, and it’s in a movie that a lot of people love. So… maybe this could happen. If the competition weren’t so steep.

2nd Most Likely To Win: Mad Max: Fury Road

It’s going to sweep a lot of the technical awards. So, by that logic, you’d think it was going to take this in a walk. The cinematography is very good and very stylized. This seems like it could be your winner, and yet… I think there’s another contender in the wings.

MY PREDICTED WINNER: The Revenant

No one has ever won Best Cinematography three times in a row. Well, that’s about to change. Emmanuel Lubeski already won BFCA, BAFTA, and ASC. He used to be overdue for an Oscar. But now, he’s become greedy and he’s about to win his third in a row.

I’ve seen four of the five nominees. This is how I would rank them;

1.) Sicario
2.) Carol
3.) The Revenant
4.) Mad Max: Fury Road