Interesting choices. I'd have to say the most effective SFX I've ever seen were in Tom Cruise's War of the Worlds

Tron was great. Kurt Russell's The Thing was ground-breaking when you think it came out in the 80s.

But let's not forget Revenge of the Sith

I'll second Christian H.'s vote, "War of the Worlds" was a lot of fun to watch. I LOVED that scene where Tom Cruise and his family are waiting to get on the ferry boat while the three alien walkers approach the town from a neighboring hill.

Not a big special affect guy, but some movies that I thought the special affects added a lot were:

"Pan's Labryinth"
"King Kong" (2006)
"Jurrasic Park"
"Terminator II"
The alien's POV scenes in "Predator."
Every "Star Wars" movie had phenomenal special affects.
When I was a kid the Sinbad the sailor movies impressed me.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

I tend to dislike CGI effects (like, say, REVENGE OF THE SITH or the upcoming AVATAR), because they lack a certain degree of life. The Harryhausen claymation of ages past may not be as convincing, but there's something about it that is more alive, and therefore more impressive for it.

As far as a recent film goes, though, I think ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE handled effects nearly seamlessly. It holds up in ways that more recent films don't.

Surprisingly, this list didn't even include 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I still find among the greatest special effects ever crafted.

And Metropolis never ceases to amaze me with its groundbreaking optical and in-camera effects. Yet, this isn't on the list either, for some odd reason...