Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady."

Credit: The Weinstein Company

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Predicting Best Makeup nominees is always a blind-man's-buff process, but the one title we can reasonably expect to show up on Tuesday morning is "The Iron Lady"; like Marion Cotillard's Edith Piaf, Meryl Streep's Margaret Thatcher is enabled by startling cosmetic and prosthetic wizardry. This has been recognized by BAFTA, but as blogger Bradley Porter, who also worked on the film, points out, credit isn't entirely being given where it's due: the only name nominated by BAFTA is chief makeup and hair designer Marese Langan, thoroughly deserving of notice -- but prosthetics designer Mark Coulier isn't on the list. Given that he's the man behind the ageing work that most wows people in this area, that's a shameful oversight. Here's hoping the Academy doesn't make the same error. [Eat Sleep Live Film]   

Chris Laverty talks to "War Horse" super-producer Kathleen Kennedy, with particular emphasis on the film's costume design. [Clothes on Film]

Leslie Lindeman talks to "Harry Potter" production designer Stuart Craig, gunning for his fourth Oscar nod for the series (and his tenth overall). [Below the Line]

Mark Harris predicts a Michael Fassbender snub on Tuesday morning. I have a horrible feeling he might be right. [Grantland]

Nicole Sperling talks to Lynne Ramsay and Tilda Swinton about "We Need to Talk About Kevin." (There are too many "talk abouts" in that sentence.) [Los Angeles Times] 

S.T. Vanairsdale monitors the progress of the Consider Uggie campaign, which at this point is doing the film more good than the dog. [Movieline]

Nathaniel Rogers's ever-entertaining Film Bitch Awards continue with his Best Supporting Actor category. I sense the Academy's five won't be as interesting. [The Film Experience]

Bringing his own addiction experience to the table, Glenn Kenny offers probably the sharpest, truest piece anyone's yet written about "Shame." [The AV Club]

Alex von Tunzelmann finds Best Original Screenplay hopeful "Margin Call" heavier on historical credibility than actual excitement. [The Guardian]

Guy Lodge
Critic

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Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.