So we get these epic, CGI slugfests that are little more than special-effects showreels. Once I was watching an interview with an sfx technician and he said, “If you, the viewer, go ‘wow, that was a really cool effect’, then WE haven’t done a good enough job.”
CGI should help the story along, not overwhelm it.

I haven’t seen Real Steel, but I get the feeling that that one is a new beginning, that the novelty is starting to wear off. Also, I read somewhere that they actually built functional robots, and that helps. The actors were responding to something other than a void.

The Abyss was great in that visual effects blended in nicely and weren’t put in just for the coolness factor. But that could be said for any of the movies in your top 5.

I also can’t resist adding my agreement about the crap that is today’s movies…or maybe even the movies of the last fifteen years or more.

It seems like so many of them now are two minutes of plot, followed by two hours of explosions. Boring, uninspired. I’m tempted to say these movies are insulting to the viewing public, but obviously the viewing public keeps buying tickets, otherwise Hollywood would stop making that kind of movie.

Anyway, great topic for a post. Nicely done.

And, it was tough picking what order to put the list in! All 5 could have tied for #1 in my opinion!

Hollywood complains of piracy… Maybe they should stop neglecting storytelling and producing so much unwatchable crap! Michael Bay is definitely not God’s gift to cinema.

Where are the young James Camerons, the young Spielbergs of this generation? Making shorts and working in advertising, mostly. And it’s a shame.

Btw, Blade Runner would be my #1 here, although The Empire Strikes Back is a solid choice.