Sometimes it's the little things that send the mind soaring. Take the pen that floats, weightless, before being plucked from the air by a space stewardess in 2001: A Space Odyssey: It's a simple scene, but it feels real and sends the imagination into hyperdrive. Still, when Wired.com asked its readers to name their favorite sci-fi visual effects of all time, we got plenty of over-the-top nominations, from Alien's vicious extraterrestrials to Avatar's groovy bioluminescent trees. The conversation that unfolded in the comments section of our Monsters giveaway post was surprisingly thoughtful — and surprisingly long. We received more than 1,300 comments. Here, in no particular order, is a sampling of the best sci-fi visual effects of all time that readers recalled. Above: Space Odyssey's Floating Pen The best visual effect in any sci-fi film has to be the floating pen in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's just floating in the spaceship and the woman grabs it outta midair and starts writing with it! How did Kubrick do that in 1969? Still my favorite film from my favorite director. —machin3man

Men in Black's Aliens I like the aliens in Men in Black. So creepy and real. —dianawaite

Poltergeist's Pranks The monster that comes out of the door in Poltergeist. It was done by submerging the sculpture in water and allowing it to dissolve, creating that horrifying misty look. Brilliant!—gabbot20 In Poltergeist where things are just starting to turn strange, there's a scene where the camera follows the mom bending to get something from a lower cabinet, and when she stands back up, all of the chairs are stacked on the table. This was pre-CGI, and the thing is not blue-screened. The chairs had to be moved in real time off-camera, only in the moments the camera was turned downward. It's amazing! —BlueHerring

1954's Original Godzilla My favorite sci-fi film effect is "suitimation." While jeered by many as inferior, it is a very common effect and, if done well, makes the film. Through suitimation, like it or not, you get to see the full heart of the actor or actors in the production.... My favorite sci-fi film that showcases this special effect to my liking is of course the original uncut 1954 Godzilla. While not impressive by today's standards, its effects were fantastic given the year and the time limit allowed to make the film. Haruo Nakajima does a great job at portraying the monster's somber reign of terror upon Tokyo, truly bringing Godzilla alive like no other suit actor has since. It really showed the monster's fury and that he was the victim of human experimentation of nuclear weapons that wanted vengeance rather than a demon of ill intent. I felt more for the monster than the military Godzilla destroyed after he was killed. If that isn't a classic, nothing is. —ByStorm

Amazing Aliens From Alien Movies One of the all-time sci-fi effects has to be in Alien when the monster is nose-to-nose with Sigourney Weaver dripping its acid saliva. —markmobs My favorite sci-fi effect of all time? That has to be the first time I saw the Alien burst out of the stomach. I didn't expect it and it surprised the heck out of me. Now it looks kinda cheesy, but at the time it was effective! (Get the pun — effective, special effect? Never mind.) —jimocz The chestburster scene in Alien is a classic, especially when you learn that not one member of the cast — apart from Lance Hendrickson — was told exactly what was going to happen. (This is from the [H.R.] Giger documentary). Their expressions are entirely genuine. Some of the cast were apparently a little worried before that first terrifying take because the crew were wearing raincoats!—JeffCGD The face-hugger from Alien. The subtle idea that this "thing" completely covers your face as well as incapacitates most of your senses is considerably unsettling. Not to mention that there's really no way to cut it off unless you want to spill acid all over yourself at the same time as the alien tightens its tail around your neck, suffocating you. —Hanpa_etc Can't beat the chest-popping alien in the first Alien movie. So creepy. —Kewger I love the original Alien and Aliens movies; great monsters and old-school special FX [that were] still very "real." —seraphimpunk My favorite sci-fi visual effect will always be the chest burster from Alien. There really isn't anything more terrifying than the thought of a parasite inside your body exploding from your chest cavity. No matter how tough you are, how smart you are, its going to pop out of your chest and kill you. It was such a powerful visual effect the first time I saw it on screen my jaw physically dropped. —ilblissli I love the alien versus Ripley-in-a-construction-robot battle scene where Bishop's head, torso and arms slide across the grating when Ripley opens the outer hatch. He looks freaked out and his robot guts are just dangling out. Intensely suspenseful, believable and hilarious at the same time. Sometimes you don't need the CGI to make awesome SFX. —hughho

Bullet Time in The Matrix My favorite is probably the bullet-time rig used in The Matrix. At the time, it was incredibly innovative and completely integrated into the narrative. So while it was an eye-popping effect, it wasn't gratuitous. It was also an effect that, when I first saw the film in the theater, had me wondering how on earth it was achieved. When I found out, it was so brilliantly simple (at least in concept) that I felt a little foolish for not figuring it out myself. —stuminnis I believe The Matrix's introduction of bullet-timing was the most innovative visual effect in sci-fi movies. It really moved me!—BlackCharles

The Fellowship of the Ring's Balrog I particularly liked the visual effect when the Balrog roars in The Fellowship of the Ring. Seeing the heat stream out of its mouth was a really awesome effect. —ncampbe1 My favorite sci-fi effect is the Balrog in Lord of the Rings. Maybe it's more fantasy than sci-fi but it's still badass. —sposborne

Star Wars' Spaceships The opening flight of the fleeing ship chased by the Star Destroyer in the original Star Wars completely changed the way a movie could transport you to another world. I lost two hours of my life in that movie but gained a lifetime of fascination with special effects, whether handmade or CGI. It really was the beginning of groundbreaking genre creation by George Lucas. —RobGardiner My all-time favorite special effect has to be the opening scene in Star Wars where the little ship carrying Princess Leia zooms past and you think, "Oh, that's cool," followed by an interminable goliath of a Star Destroyer that makes you feel very, very small. Nothing beats that Star Destroyer for me. —Cristian202 Though dated by today's standards ... nothing, to my mind, has come close to the moment of wonder, shock and awe that came with seeing that Corellian Corvette being pursued by an Imperial Star Destroyer! —Doraemond Pretty big on the laser cannons in Star Wars — I mean, what does a laser sound like? What does a laser sound like in space?! Good stuff. —shicks I still love the old, slow-moving X-wing and TIE fighters from the original Star Wars movies. They always remind me of how watching those movies made me feel when I was a little kid. —BrashRansom Best visual effect (ever ever ever) is the "going into hyperspace" sequence from Star Wars: Episode IV. Second best is when they lit that whiny bitch Hayden Christensen on fire. —chromedome

Two Face From The Dark Knight The visual effect used on Two Face was incredible. Grossed me right out, but completely captivated the "visual effect"-seeking part of my brain. —Louisville

Dumbledore vs. Voldemort My favorite scene is in Harry Potter 5 when Dumbledore and Voldemort fight. Everything and anything could be used. I just wished it could have been longer and that they tried Silly Putty. —balisana

Inception's Upside-Down Fight Scene I loved the movie Inception's special effects; the exploding objects, the tilting landscapes and especially the tricks-of-the-eye staircases and walls that fooled you into believing the worlds went on forever. —JulioLonnieLopez Hands down, the best sci-fi effect I've seen was the hotel fight scene in Inception. I'm not talking about the rotating landscape; it must have taken some serious editing to get that kid from Third Rock From the Sun to be a badass. —dfain

*Benjamin Button'*s Aging Effects The way the actors were aged or de-aged in Benjamin Button was amazing. The effects were so real and usually you can tell a CG by the mouth movement. Sometimes it is so fake-looking and the way they did that was so good, mapping it over the real faces. —Hopper44

Blade Runner's Futuristic World Blade Runner has a number of shots that continue to blow away anything I've seen done in CG (e.g. flying cars, L.A. skyline on fire or flying video-wall blimps). —HankyTheXmasPooh

Brazil's Face-Lift The face-lift scene in [Terry] Gilliam's Brazil cannot be unseen; it was made before CG really took off and relies on concept more than execution, mind you the execution is brilliant and the acting is spot on. —Sharperlight

District 9 Weaponry I loved the weapon effects in District 9 ... guns that make people explode?! Yes, please! —rhygaar The mech suit from District 9 [and] the repulsor gun. —trblsh00t

Forbidden Planet's Id Monster I'm going to go way back and remind everyone of Forbidden Planet and the attack of the id monster on the C57-D's defensive barrier. The creature, eerily visible in the glow of the blasters and barrier rays, impressed me to no end when I was a boy. It's still an amazing piece of traditional cel animation. With its theramin sound track, intelligent script and top-notch special effects, it was a landmark movie and is still quite watchable after more than half a century. —artkadet

*Independence Day'*s Destruction My favorite sci-fi visual effect moment was when the alien-ship in Independence Day blew up the White House. It looked so real and having the White House blown up was just such a horrifying thought to me that it made me gasp. When I rewatched the movie recently, it was just as breathtaking, and that's saying something considering how long ago it was made. —thinkgood On the opening scene of Independence Day, the camera pans across the moon's surface and as the mothership passes overhead, the vibrations from the alien spacecraft vibrates moon dust over Neil Armstrong's footprints. You just knew it was going to be an interesting movie from that point on. —stan0614

Contact's Opening Sequence I would have to say my favorite effect is the opening sequence of Contact, where the camera moves through the galaxy while you hear the radio/TV broadcasts from Earth getting more and more modern. It was, for me, truly moving to feel the vastness of the universe and how small we [are] compared to it. I think the best effects are those that touch you emotionally; it's just getting too easy these days to just be pretty or realistic on the big screen. —Stimpson

Doctor Manhattan in Watchmen Doctor Manhattan, hands down. The guys took the technology used to make Golem so convincing in Lord of the Rings and took it to the next level. I love how quickly people adapt new and exciting technology: Who would have thought 20 years ago that we could animate a totally convincing naked blue guy? Much less golem himself. Beautiful, breathtaking, totally convincing! —Comicgal

Pan's Labyrinth's Fantastically Believable Visuals One of my favorite films for special effects is Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. The places and beings he has created are so fantastic, but at the same time do not feel fake. The effects for "the pale man" are definitely my favorite — you know they are impressive when you start to believe something that looks like that is real. I also love that Del Toro carried over some of these beings to Hellboy 2, (which also has great special effects).—gentlymad

Star Trek's Transporter What special effect has been revisited so many times, and has such a cool factor, that every FX wizard has taken a crack at rebooting it? The transporter from Star Trek. It has such subtlety, yet such power, that it is mythic. And we must never forget to give credit where credit is due: The sound FX for so many of these effects is so critical that it speaks to a need to sync visuals to sound from the very start. —TorontoDad I know it's old school, real old school, but I still love the original Star Trek's transporter effect. Amazing, too, considering the nontechnical way they pulled that effect off. —ssm0use Mine has to be the transporter from Star Trek. It was corny in the original, but got better and better over the years. I'm still hoping for it, although it's unlikely in my lifetime. —KMP50 I always loved the starry shimmer (with the perfect sound effect) when characters used the transporter on Star Trek! — Dorkmaster1

Terminator 2: Judgment Day I thought CG was just getting started and amazing. When the liquid metal terminator came out of the checker square linoleum floor then turned into the hospital guard, and when he went through the metal bars and his gun got stuck. The last one is when the liquid nitrogen froze him and was shot into a thousand pieces and then heated back together. It kept you on the edge of your seat! —Harvenator Best visual effect in a sci-fi movie was the morphing android in Terminator 2. Watching it squeeze through metal bars, alternately break through the windshield of a helicopter and then flow into the seat next to the pilot, and morph from one shape to the next, was an amazing feat of combining live action and CGI. —brianedwardgreen The liquid body of the T-1000 from Terminator 2 is definitely one of my favorite visual effects. Just like in many other films, it was the combination of real-world puppetry and CGI [that] made it truly realistic. Eerily realistic. Had it been purely CGI, it would have looked fake and awkward (admit it, you've seen just how awkward it can look). —FlyingJaco My favorite visual effect is from the Terminator 2 movie. When the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) walks out of the flames after crashing the 18-wheeler, it blew me away. The way the T-1000 was all shiny like it was actual liquid metal and reflected the surrounding objects was so realistic. Then, when the surface of the T-1000 turned out to look like Robert Patrick, it was very cool, but chilling. —TheDogFather Definitely the liquid metal terminator in T2 — nothing like shooting the enemy up into little pieces then [watching] the reflective metal drops gravitate toward each other and merge back into a being again. Like one of those dreams where you just can't make it work like you want. —AlexD Watching the original Terminator back in the early '80s is my first memory of a gripping sci-fi visual effect. When Schwarzenegger's T-888 character is looking at his reflection in the mirror after being damaged, I remember how real the effect seemed. Watching the film again now, I can't believe how I was duped by the effect as I have subconsciously "learned" to spot good visual effects over the years. It's still a great film. Sticking with the terminator theme, the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, introduced another striking visual effect with the T-1001 liquid metal machine. After that effect was introduced, it seemed like the "liquid metal" effect snowballed and was seen in many other sci-fi films. —kschlum My favorite special effect is in Terminator 2, when the T-1000 is at John Connor's foster home having morphed into his foster mother. While on the phone, her husband complains about the dog in the backyard. She makes a gesture, and when the camera pans to the husband he is shown with a carton of milk with the swordlike spike through the carton and into his mouth. The scene was very memorable and had a lot of impact on the movie. The terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who was impersonating John on the other end of the phone call tells John Connor, "Your foster parents are dead." —Rokzilla

Time Bandits I think my favorite visual effect was in Time Bandits, with the approaching Deity head following after the bandits. Yeah, it may be cheesy, but it made an impact I've never forgotten. —spankston

Vaporized Civilians in War of the Worlds Remake In the recent War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise, the alien ship starts firing the disintegrator ray at the crowds and vaporizing people as they are running away. The faces of people as they fly apart are haunting; it looks simultaneously painful but not gory — just really creepy and weird. And it looks exactly like what a "disintegrator" ray would do ... you just fly apart. Tom Cruise freaking out with all the people dust on him is just a truly horrifying sight. We share his revulsion and shock. It's one of the most unique, emotionally effective sci-fi effects I've seen in the last several years.—bookgnome Good or bad, the rebooted War of the Worlds was the first movie for me where I could not tell the difference between real and CGI. The lighting and particle effects were so impressive, you really felt like everything was real. The worst crime of any special-effects-laden movie is when you notice the special effects, which then pulls you out of the story. I was constantly amazed by how real everything looked and actually felt for the characters' plight with the aliens. Now, I can't speak on how good the movie was, but the special effects were spot on. —drcgmc Most terrifying effect recently for me is the remake of War of the Worlds. The sounds the machines make, the way that they move and the thought that turn humans into blood shakes — gross! Great effects! —wolfgang325

Cloverfield's Monster Cloverfield's effects really got me, the buildup and mystery to what the hell was out there, then the brief reveal of something so alien and huge.... It looked different enough from any monsters I can think of previously that it gave a good visceral horror jolt just from its appearance. —duckn

Constantine's Trip to Hell In the movie Constantine, dude sent himself to the great down under. There were oddly jointly creatures walking around (somewhat like a canine).... Inside the creatures' head (the top of which was wide open) was a living, moving duplicate of everything around in the down under. Excellent "camera" work from close to wide angle. —cliftz

Hellboy's Tentacle-Waving Wonders My favorite monster is still the Sammael creature from the first Hellboy movie. It's such a great blend of digital and practical special effects. —threadtracer What about the crazy, 50-foot-tall, multitentacle squid that Hellboy had to attack in the first film? That thing was wild! I always wanted to see giant water creatures coming onshore, not just one but a whole army. —chawdog

Moon's Miniatures I loved the miniatures, moonscapes and model work in Moon.... It's good to see an old craft being preserved as an aesthetic in the CGI era, especially when the best of the old can be combined with the best of the new for something better than the sum of its parts. —ceeb

Sandworm in Dune I love 1984's Dune. My favorite parts were the Sandworms, glowing eyes from the Spice and the spacing-guild. Dune is a classic! —ThatTechKiddThatTechKidd

X-Men: The Last Stand One of my favorite movies for effects is actually X-Men 3 and how Phoenix could turn anything to dust — in particular the scene where the younger Professor Xavier (another great effect — making him and Magneto younger) is turned to dust. —anonWired

Jurassic Park's Dinosaurs I've always loved Michael Crichton's sci-fi creations. It would've been cool to have a carnotaurus or two in the Jurassic Park film series. The thought of carnivorous chameleon dinosaurs is just a touch frightening for me. —bonjourstacy

Minority Report's Futuristic Interface My favorite is the Minority Report virtual interactive UI. So inspiring — many special FX are forgettable, but this one has captured the imaginations of so many people. "Minority Report-style" user interfaces are cropping up all around. —gridzilla@gmail.com

Ghostbusters' Stay Puft Marshmallow Man I have always been a fan of the effects in Ghostbusters, which is to say the mix of physical props with superimposed animation and a dash of claymation. They were fun and effective for the time — and what a hilarious nod to Japanese monster films with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! I wish there were more films today with a healthy mix of CG and workshop props. —Kosmogonia

Morphing Monster in The Thing Probably because I was very young, the FX that struck me the most were the alien creature in [John] Carpenter's The Thing, especially when it turns the poor guy's belly [into] a fanged mouth, and right after that his severed head turns into a disgusting spider and runs away. Absolutely wicked and awful. I know it sounds cheesy now but by then I couldn't sleep for days. —JacquesAlexandre The spider head in The Thing. Rob Bottin has disgusted many of my flatmates by proxy. — jampot

Transformers Transform My favorite sci-fi visual effect in a movie is the sound effects in Transformers. I am an audiophile, and when I hear the sound of the Transformers transforming, it makes me geekgasm. —chungfumaster