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[ManaByte]

Jurassic Park is on the SciFi channel right now and it got me thinking about what they best visual effects of the modern era (where CG is used) are.

In my opinion they are:

Jurassic Park (1993): The brachiosaur. In one shot, ILM not only proved that CGI was viable as a primary means as effects, but also brought an extinct creature back to life on the big screen in a scene that's still amazing twelve years later.

Apollo 13 (1995): Saturn V lift off. Again, ILM created an incredibly effective shot that was so believable that NASA astronauts asked Ron Howard how they got that angle of the rocket lifting off.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003): Gollum. WETA and Andy Serkis' job on Gollum is the single largest leap in visual effects since that brachiosaur walked across the screen in Jurassic Park. WETA demonstrated that a computer generated character could deliver a performance as good as a real life actor.

 

[Matlock]

Terminator 2.

T-1000.

 

[Howlin' Mad]

Son of the Mask...

 

[Odnetnin]

insert most of big budget cg features. DAT.. MATRIX R + RL... + MORE

 

[pnjtony]

......ducks..................................... :lol

 

[Iceman]

I was absolutely baffled when I found out how heavily Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was filled with VFX. 700 effects shot.

ILM (Twister + every other movie not named Lord of the Rings) and Asylum (Minority Report and AI) worked on this one.

Frikkin impressive.

 

[FortNinety]

Terminator 2.

T-1000.

Nothing since has managed to impress me as much.

 

[truesayian]

THe day after tomorrow..

 

[Deleted member 1159]

THe day after tomorrow..

...sucked as much ass as the CG

 

[whytemyke]

cop out vote: LOTR. although, for different reasons. When those Wargs were riding against everyone it was awesome.

Or when the ghosts were sweeping through. Or when that wyvern or whatever was about to eat the king of Rohan. I was hard ROFL OMG YUP!!!!1

 

[Hitman]

Bah I think Gollum is overrated. In some scenes he looked alright, in some others he was so obviously animated.

 

[Tarazet]

The only DVDs I own: a Janacek opera, Seinfeld Seasons 1 & 2, and Dragonheart. Breathtaking.

 

[crisdecuba]

I actually wasn't too pleased with the Brachiosaur at the beginning. I was, however, completely blown away by the following shots:

1) The far-away shot shortly after the initial Brachiosaur shot - you see them by a lake/lagoon in the distance, along with some Hadrosaurs.

2) The T-Rex chase scences - both where Ian Malcolm is being chased and shoved through the porta-potty and the one where it chases the jeep.

3) The final raptor vs. t-rex scene in the rotunda.

Man... I loved this movie so much! Saw it 7 times in theatres, and countless times on video. Actually went through all the dino scenes in slow-mo, looking for missed details.

~Cris

 

[Master Z]

I have yet to see a CG character as life like and as believable than Gollum from LOTR. Who would of thought that computer generated images would evolve so nicely? Obviously not the Canadian National Film Board who actually invented the technology then sold the patents to Americans because they "saw no use for it". :lol Silly canucks.

 

[Scrow]

Or when that wyvern or whatever was about to eat the king of Rohan

fell beast of the nazgul

 

[Jotaro]

I have yet to see a CG character as life like and as believable than Gollum from LOTR. Who would of thought that computer generated images would evolve so nicely? Obviously not the Canadian National Film Board who actually invented the technology then sold the patents to Americans because they "saw no use for it". :lol Silly canucks.

Tony de Peltrie was the grandaddy of CG! But the technician who animated the film later invented Softimage and got rich and succesfull while selling it, his name was Daniel Langlois. So the frog laughed all the way to the bank. :lol

 

[Uncle Dukey]

I agree with Iceman. Master and Commander was great because none of the effects "stood out" as being computer generated.

 

[whytemyke]

fell beast of the nazgul

:lol
Yeah, that one. I've really gotta read the books... I don't even know what a fuckin' wyvern is, haha.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Starship Troopers in the most underrated.

 

[Ragnarok]

Starship Troopers in the most underrated.

Agreed. The bug horde looked pretty bad-ass.


Actually most of the CG in that movie (minus space scenes) was amazing.

 

[Timbuktu]

I think the CG in the Chow movies like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle as well as in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are worth a mention since they used CG to appeal to other emotions rather than just be impressive. The Brachiosaur shot in JP was the definitive moment for me, I loved dinosaurs as a kid and that shot appealed to my imagination more than anything else. T1000 was just plain scary. Nowadays though, it's getting harder and harder to be surprised with the CG. I like the films like Shaolin Soccer, Master and Commander and Eternal Sunshine because they used every effects shot with a purpose rather than just to impress, to be CG for the sake of being CG.

 

[Lakitu]

I wasn't a huge fan of the Matrix sequels but the machine city was awesome.

 

[xabre]

Besides the obligatory mention of Jurassic Park, T-1000 and Gollum, the use of CG in movies like Hero impresses me a lot.

 

[ourumov]

Terminator 2.

T-1000.

Agreed...I was like WTF when Terminator became the mother of John Connor, the policeman or Sarah Connor. Very impressing stuff...

 

[android]

The Matrix : the helioopter scene from the rescue of Morpheus to the crash.
Spiderman 2 the fight scene at the top of the building with Aunt May. You could really feel the
impacts.
Return of the king: the Nazguls
Attack of the clones. I loved the Obi wan vs Jango Fett fight in the rain.
Apollo 13: the liftoff

 

[wobedraggled]

5th element

 

[Scrow]

the use of CG in movies like Hero impresses me a lot.

...

eww

I hope that's sarcasm.

 

[Odnetnin]

I think the CG in the Chow movies like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle as well as in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are worth a mention since they used CG to appeal to other emotions rather than just be impressive. The Brachiosaur shot in JP was the definitive moment for me, I loved dinosaurs as a kid and that shot appealed to my imagination more than anything else. T1000 was just plain scary. Nowadays though, it's getting harder and harder to be surprised with the CG. I like the films like Shaolin Soccer, Master and Commander and Eternal Sunshine because they used every effects shot with a purpose rather than just to impress, to be CG for the sake of being CG.

not sure about this but I've read that there are NO CG shots in Eternal sunshine. Michel Gondry is a wiz @ lens trickery and most of the film is probably be done without CG. Compositing is a different issue though.

and that's what makes this great little film even greater.