Expect about the same showing, or even less, from this year’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”. With the same nominations it had last, the film could easily slide into Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. As with more characters involved and the visual effects of a dragon, there’s absolutely no reason this film can’t harness those same nominations, and possibly even more. If there’s original music, that could go along way for Best Original Song. And the Sound Mixing and Sound Editing nominations are always within reach. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” was one of my favorite films last year and I look forward to seeing the sequel, which I’m hoping will make my best of list and also grab a few Academy Award nominations in the process. But without having seen the film, it’s hard to make anymore generalizations.

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