I really think that sentiments like these and the 'CGI is killing film..CGI is bad...CGI is cheap' are really all based out of ignorance. By promoting these myths you're simply marginalizing and helping studios marginalize VFX and CGI communities because you don't KNOW anything about it. You think it's a cheap magic box where computers do all of the work. That's studio/director thinking. Stop it. Stop it right now.
You know the studio being the VFX for Life of Pi? Bankrupt. Laid off all of their US and Canadian staff. When the VFX guy tried to talk about R&H's struggle at the Oscars..his mike got cut (but the composer was able to talk for far longer when he accepted his award). The same studio also did VFX work for RIPD, Snow White and the Huntsman, and even stretching all the way back to Babe. They are literally the same people working on flop or hit so it.
What you simply don't understand is that VFX companies are simply CONTRACTED companies and are clients to the production studio. Unless you're in animation (like Pixar or Dreamworks), then the director isn't involved on a day-to-day basis like they are on the set filming. Most don't care about the process..they just know that they have to spend X (which won't fluxuate if they want to change things) and the spending X is going to drive ticket sales.
You seem to have an issue with 'monsters' and 'building's falling down'...but that's what the script calls for. When big name actors and flashy visuals are the two surest bets to get butts in seats on opening weekend...then studios are going to cater to that (but give the VFX studios hard contracts). You also only point out the flashy 'sizzle' effects but most CGI ..pixel-per-pixel... is subtle like set extensions or removals, digital actor doubles, retouching, rotoscoping, color-matching, match-moving and objects that you wouldn't realize were fake unless I showed you the Maya/Nuke files.
CGI isn't killing anything. Bad production studios and bad directors are.
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