2007: Best Special Effects

10. PLANET TERROR
In a world of giant special effects companies, Robert Rodriguez is a real scrapper. His films are overly ambitious when it comes the effects and he loves cheap and easy solutions he can brag about on the DVD. Terror featured zombie effects where the skin would bubble, and complicated action sequences including Rose McGowen’s machine gun leg. He also used effects to degrade the film, changing grain and color. (Some hated this process, but I thought it was ingenious.)


9. ZODIAC
You always hear that the best effects are the ones you DON’T see, and I never got a finer example of this then when a bootleg video hit the web (now pulled down) highlighting some remarkable effects used to bring period San Francisco to life. Of course there’s also the great effects you do see like the one-shot cab ride through the city streets.


8. I AM LEGEND
The creatures in I AM LEGEND are so bad (and uninspired looking) that the film doesn’t even deserve mention. However, the creation of a desolated New York City is so awesome, how can you not mention it?


7. SUNSHINE
This effects employed for this trip to the sun perfectly captures not only the intense heat and light, but also the desolation and extreme cold of outer space.


6. DAYWATCH
The film is a showcase for highly creative effects. Standout sequences include horses charging through solid walls and the complete destruction of a large city. However, they pale in comparison to the car that drives across the side of a building.



5. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
With the budget, there’s no effect this film couldn’t do well. (Okay, except for a giant Calypso sea goddess.) Still, with effects as simple as crabs that look like rocks and as complex as the typhoon finale, you almost overlook how impressive Davy Jones still is.


4. SPIDER-MAN 3
Again, almost anything is possible if you spend enough money. While it never looked right every time Venom revealed Topher Grace, the effects wizards captured the elusive nature of sand really well. The “Birth of Sandman” sequence was amazing.


3. HARRY POTTER & THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
Of course where there’s wizard magic, there’s movie magic, so rather than list the numerous great effects just watch the Voldemort battle at the end and imagine how empty it must have looked during filming. Now remember how when you were watching it, you didn’t even think about the effects, just the magic.


2. TRANSFORMERS
TRANSFORMERS is a tough call for me. I hated how the robots were filmed too close and the transformations often happened too fast to see how it all came together. It seemed unnecessarily complex. However that’s more the fault of director Michael Bay, who didn’t make it easy for the effects team. Still, the transforming and destruction blended seamlessly with the real environment.


1. 300
A debatable choice, but each year the chasm between live action and animation gets smaller and smaller. Photorealistic animation like BEOWULF still doesn’t sit right, but with SIN CITY and now 300, animated photography is gaining larger acceptance. You can’t even list the many effects here since it’s ALL an effect in some way. But I think 300 is a step forward, showing (to the extreme) how technology can create a completely original film experience.