C3PX said:

Few guys like Peter Jackson understand this, a lesser film maker would have gone for CG orcs. The LOTR trilogy will look great for years to come.

umm, I dunno about that. The LOTR series is fantastic, but that bit in ROTK where the ghosts are sweeping and circling up through Minas Tirith near the end kinda looks like a 'scooby doo' cartoon effect to me. That completely jolts me out of the movie every time.

Also, the original Golum in Fellowship' looks pretty dated these days, but doesn't detract too much from the movie itself.

I think the best visual 'effect' Peter jackson used in those movies is the New Zealand scenery itself. No CG can possibly compete with that!