War of the Worlds Saw this one yesterday. It's not a typical movie at all ... character development is minor, the major focus seems to be on the fear and tension caused by our new neighbors.
The movie succeeds wildly in that respect. The action scenes are incredible, eschewing the typical framed bluescreen effects setpiece. Instead, ILM has seamlessly integrated their effects into the background plates, even in the midst of a shaky handheld cam. This combined with bleached process they put into the film gives it a documentary feel. The compositing and match-moving is outstanding, nothing looks out of place. Not even the huge 100 foot tripod!

I'm much more impressed with this type of visual effect, contrasted to Revenge of the Sith which was largely an animated movie with the amount of shots that were 90% CG. Dennis Muren should be taking home another statue come Oscar time.

The first act is a showstopper. The imagery is stunning. Very reminiscent of 9-11 disaster footage. I love the shot of the freeway getting blown apart, great design and execution.

After 40 minutes, the film slows down. A lot people dislike the third act of the film, but I'm okay with it. It doesn't match the tension of the first act but it's not terrible either. I'll probably get the DVD for the visuals and sound design alone.  ¶ 7:32 AM