Originally posted by: Windexed
I agree 100% with Tiptup. When watching the new "Kingdom of Heaven" DVD (which is excellent) Ridley Scott, to this day, believes that if there is anyway possible to create a scene NOT using CGI, then it should be done that way.

These are my sentiments exactly. Kudos for Ridley Scott for insisting on taking the hard road for the sake of better moviemaking. I've always said that CGI should be a tool and not a crutch. It should be used only when absolutely necessary, and it should never draw attention to itself. Filmmakers are becoming lazy and relying on CGI for everything these days (including things like floors!). Uncle George seems to have fallen under the notion that "we'll use CGI for everything, because we can!" What a shame.

Two of the only films I can think of I've seen that use tons of CGI for the surrounding sets successfully are "What Dreams May Come" and "Mirrormask". It works well there simply because both films take place in dreamlike environments that aren't meant to be real, and the CGI only adds to that unreal/surreal factor.

--SKot