With the release of Avatar and James Cameron’s masterfully woven combination of 3-Dimensional CGI and live action marking the height of special effects film making, it’s time for a look back across the timeline of modern cinema at some of the milestones that have allowed movie making to reach such seemingly impossible heights. Here is a list of 5 of the most ahead of their time movies (in the CGI era at least) from a visual perspective, bolding integrating new technology to paint their picture on a moving canvas.5. Looker (1981) Michael Chrichton, of Jurassic Park fame, made history with this less celebrated science fiction suspense story by releasing the first commercial film with a realistic computer generated character and the use of 3D CGI shading. The film commented on the standards of beauty in the media, by portraying a day when TV and advertising could use completely computer generated actresses/actors. Ironically, that day seems to be at hand already.4. Total Recall (1990) Directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall marked one of the last large-scale uses of miniature effects instead of computer generated imagery. The films 42-second CGI sequence, which was the first to use motion capture for CGI characters, went on to pave the way for future use of the technology on a larger scale production.3. Terminator 2 (1991) Just a year after Total Recall, Schwarzenegger strikes again, this time ushering in the first realistic human movements on a CGI character and the first use of a PC to create major movie 3D effects.2. Casper (1995) Edging out Toy Story (which was actually a much more impressive overall accomplishment) by just 6 months, Casper the friendly ghost was the first CGI main character in a feature length film and the first character to realistically interact with live actors.1. The Polar Express (2004) This come to life Christmas classic was the first CGI movie in which all live acting performances were fully motion captured.