benjamin button should win this award hands down! the movie was amazing and the make up and visual effects were outstanding. i was blown away by the whole movie

I think if we're going purely on incorporating digital effects seamlessly into a live action film I'd go with The Dark Knight because I can't really specifically think of one time where I 100% noticed a visual effects shot (and I'm assuming that this Oscar doesn't solely mean digital effects either). Ben Button did a great job, but I still thought the face wasn't 100% photoreal (something that I still am amazed they were able to do in Pirates 2, I think Davey Jones looks 100% photoreal).

My nominees would be:

– The Dark Knight*
– The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
– Iron Man

@Scott: Come on… Two Face was anything but photo real. That is the one big thing I wish I had mentioned in my review, but I was doing my best to keep all mention of the Two Face makeup quiet so as not to spoil it for anyone.

It's a toughie – I'm guessing with these awards if you DON'T notice their work then they've done a great job, but whoever did Maggie Gyllenhaal's make-up for TDK should be ashamed of themselves for making a beautiful woman look so, well, rough!

I have to say… even though I'm not a particularly big fan of Iron Man, that suit was probably the prettiest thing I've seen in a movie this year. It's a testament to its general potency when I was unable to distinguish what was CGI and what was real. For this reason, Iron Man deserves a nomination for visual effects.

So, for visual effects:

-Iron Man
-Benjamin Button
-Either Hellboy or TDK. Probably Hellboy.

Button should win both.

Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Iron Man
Hellboy 2

Make-Up
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Tropic Thunder
Hellboy 2

Here's what I think:

Visual Effects:
* Australia
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight

Makeup:
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
* The Dark Knight
* Tropic Thunder

Actually, that seems rather inaccurate. I haven't watched all the films, though, so I'm working in the dark. I think they'll nominate "Australia" for visual effects because last year they nominated "Golden Compass" even though it bombed in the U.S. And both movies had great special effects. I just hope they don't nominate Mummy 3.

Well, no thoughts on visual effects, but I think that Synecdoche, New York is a thousand times more likely to get on the makeup shortlist than The Dark Knight or Tropic. I'm not quite as confident about my number three, but

makeup
1. benjamin button
2. synecdoche, new york
3. The Reader

Hellboy 2 is the winner for makeup. I f you haven't seen it, you should if only for the brilliant character designs, the massive body of spectacular work and the spellbinding 'Angel of Death' makeup. Truly remarkable, innovative stuff here.

The other two who deserve a nom are:
Tropic Thunder
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button