VFX Holiday Preview: 5 Movies to Watch

We offer our holiday preview with five examples of VFX craftsmanship that runs the gamut from explosive to bloody to sublime to howling to out of sight!

By Bill Desowitz | Friday, November 13, 2009 at 5:50 pm

Posted In | Magazines: VFXWorld | Site Categories: Films, Visual Effects

Werewolves invade the Twilight Saga in New Moon: Calling Phil Tippett. Courtesy of Summit Ent.

2.) The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Ent., Nov. 20)
The second installment in the Twilight franchise is setting records on Fandango and could top its predecessor. And the vfx bar has been suitably raised, with lots of werewolves from Tippett Studio entering the vampire fray.

If Weta Digital had its hands full with Lord of the Rings, then it had no idea what a challenge Avatar would pose. Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

1.) Avatar (Twentieth Century Fox, Dec. 18)
OK, this is it -- the film we've been waiting and waiting and waiting for: James Cameron's return to the big screen. We've seen the trailers, we've glimpsed the IMAX 3-D footage from "Avatar Day" and we will know soon enough if this hybrid has been worth all the hype. Rest assured: it will be a forward-looking stereoscopic spectacle that will have the industry frantically seeking to join the virtual production revolution. And Weta Digital is the lead vendor in this game changer.

Bill Desowitz is senior editor of AWN, VFXWorld.