Yesterday I posted my favorite movies of last year, today I go the other way: my most disappointing films of 2009. I say "disappointing" because, honestly if I go see something that turns out to be exactly what I expected, or
should have expected (i.e. the hour-too-long
Transformers 2, the awful
Obsessed), I kind of get what I deserve, right?
Here are some though that I had higher expectations for:
The Unborn - with its pedigree, David S. Goyer (co-wrote The Dark Knight!), Gary Oldman, Idris Elba (who was also in the dreadful
Obsessed -- rough year for a brilliant actor) I expected more than a run of the mill, lame horror film. That was the best you guys could do? A perfect
REVIEW. Also falling into the lame horror movie camp:
The Haunting in Connecticut. Awful. And these (as well as my next pick...) really stuck out in a year with some smart and very, very entertaining horror flicks such as
Paranormal Activity and
The Last House on the Left.
H2 - I was pleasantly surprised by last year's remake of
Halloween, so had high hopes for this Rob Zombie sequel. Much bigger budget this time, much more mediocre results.
Terminator Salvation - Call me crazy for expecting good things from this latest incarnation of the man vs. machine war, but the trailers looked pretty great and Christian Bale is always good (especially when he's not growling or cussing out a DP.) The look of the movie was perfect, but the story quickly devolved into complete absurdity. It has been widely reported that the original script was great -- and get this, actually made sense! -- but that Bale demanded his part be bigger and so many scenes were rewritten/added to. Ugh. For a much more entertaining use of your time, go google Bale's on-set rant!
The Men Who Stare at Goats - Expected
Three Kings, got three headaches trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Or why this movie was even made... Shallow, unfunny and boring -- although it looked like the immensely talented actors had fun making it!
What about you? Any major disappointments at the cinema this year?
Biggest disappointment for me: The Time Traveler's Wife. I don't know who Bruce Joel Rubin is, but even with incredibly rich source material, he totally flubbed the script. Boring and without any of the heart of the book. Eric Bana was just a deplorable casting decision, too. ...just 180-degrees of awful...
ReplyDeleteWolverine was a complete and total hack job of an iconic character. There wasn't a single original idea or shot in the entire movie. Hey, Wolverine is walking away from an explosion! Hey, Wolverine is holding a body in his arms and screaming toward the sky! It was like they took one film class and were then given a $150 million dollar budget. A waste of Liev Schreiber, who is too talented to be in such dreck.
ReplyDeleteYou also forgot to mention the end of Terminator: Salvation, which was one of the biggest, most egregious and ridiculous moments in movies last year.
And though I refused to see Did You Hear About The Morgans, I continue to wonder who can possibly find Sarah Jessica Parker funny or attractive.