Now comes the fun part, and a list that's generally easier to compose than the "best of" list. There were lots of mediocre films this year, and many others that were simply terrible. Some of these were popular films, and some of these you may have seen and enjoyed, but it wasn't a pleasant experience for this critic. And since Tyler Perry didn't have a film out this year, he didn't make the list. I will list my 5 worst films followed a few on the dishonorable mention list.
Here they are, my 5 worst films for this year (in no particular order).
Fantastic Four - This superhero film was as bad as you've heard, and then some. This was plagued with problems from the beginning, and though director Josh Trank is largely responsible, 20th Century Fox did no help by intervening, actually making the film worse. The bland film is slow and devoid of action or personality, and the film is too loaded with backstory that holds little relevance to the current story. This crash-and-burn film lost a ton of money, yet somehow Fox initially moved forward with a sequel, though now that seems highly unlikely.
War Room - OK, I know I'll get flack from my Christian friends over this. Don't get me wrong. I am a Christian. I believe in God, go to church regularly and pray, but this faith-based film did Christian filmmaking no favors. In spite of its good message, this third-rate film was a shoddy production, terribly acted and awfully preachy. I hate to be critical of Christian films due to their message and the fact they must have difficulty in funding, but in good conscience I just can't recommend this, and it still seems to be preaching to the choir. In spite of all this, it was still a huge hit and a big moneymaker for its producers, so (groan), expect more of these. I keep telling myself these films will get better, but I'm losing faith in this brand of movies, which proves that Christians have grace even when it comes to terrible movies.
Tomorrowland -Another big-budgeted summer flop that went South quickly and lost a whole bunch of money for its studio Disney. In spite of a good director and writer, Brad Bird, and a charming star, George Clooney, this utterly dumb sci-fi film made little sense from start to finish, and a save-the-planet ending that wants you to hold hands and hug a tree. Bafflingly inane, at least it had some terrific trailers, which had little to do with what was actually in the movie.
Pan - This awful big-budgeted Peter Pan origin story and reimagination flopped badly, underscoring what a sucky year that its studio Warner Bros. has had ("The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Jupiter Ascending" and "Hot Pursuit" among its many other flops this year). It didn't help that this baffling, confusing and silly movie, directed by Joe Wright ("Atonement") and starring Hugh Jackman in one of the strangest pirate getups I've ever seen (not to mention singing Nirvana), also had two of the worst cases of miscasting, with the bland Garrett Hedlund as Hook and caucasian Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily - can you say whitewash?
Fifty Shades of Grey - Unsurprisingly, this bland, tame and badly assembled, rushed production (based on E.L. James tawdry, terribly written novels), was a big hit way back in February, mainly for those who showed up in its first week to see what this was all about. They quickly discovered it was all hype and really a crashing bore. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson in lackluster fashion and with zero chemistry from its stars, Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, it watered down the S&M so much the climax was just plain laughable. Expect sequels, but really, what a big waste of time.
Here's a few more:
Jupiter Ascending, Mortdecai, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Seventh Son, Get Hard, The Wedding Ringer, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Little Boy, Hitman: Agent 47, Pixels, Stonewall, Jem and the Holograms, Our Brand is Crisis, Rock the Kasbah, Love the Coopers, Hot Pursuit.
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