Posted on 09/13/2005 11:31:27 AM PDT by Houmatt
Just for fun, what is the WORST film you have EVER seen? And why?
I know a lot of you will be inclined to insert a Michael Moore film, but I am talking about films that are supposed to be fiction.
To begin, here is my personal pick: Ron Howard's The Grinch.
Surely we all remember the classic story from Dr. Seuss. Very simple, all about the spirit of Christmas.
Now, we get to the film. To begin with, the Whos are portrayed as the exact dead opposite of what they are in the story: They are quite materialistic.
Then, there seems to be something happening concurrent to the X-mas celebration. Just what the hell is the "Whobilation?" The audience is never told.
And there's the Grinch. The story says nobody knows why he hates Christmas. So, naturally, he is given a back story that rather implies he should be hating the Whos, or at least certain Whos, but certainly not Christmas. AND he is given a love interest (played by Christine Baranski).
Considering the target audience of the book (and therefore the film), there is some humor and a particular dress worn by the aforementioned Baranski early on (accented by a camera angle) that is just not suitable for that audience. So why have it? Heaven only knows.
Finally, when we get to the stealing part of the story, we see the Grinch predicting some very upset Whos. Now we all know what happens in the original story. But guess what? In this version of the story, the Grinch is proven right. In fact, it takes one of the Whos to talk the others into believing Christmas is more than just toys and trees.
I was shocked when I saw this film upon its release in theaters. Was it true Theodor Geisel's widow actually approved of this? How could she, when it absolutely violated everything her late husband was trying to impart with his beloved masterpiece in children's storytelling?
Whatever the truth was, one thing was certain: This film was an abomination. It was not merely bad; it was offensive. And I have never been so angered by a film like that to this day.
It is worth mentioning, as an aside, the film went on to make $250 million dollars domestic box office, making it perhaps the most profitable Ron Howard directed film to date. However, about three years later, when they decided to repeat or at least further the insult with another Seuss classic, Cat in the Hat, people saw right through it and gave it the b*tch slap it deserved.
I hated "Leaving Las Vegas". It seemed to drag on and on. After about an hour (it seemed like four) I said "just die already" as Nick Cage was dragging it on and on.
Yeah when I saw Titantic some a**hole screamed out the ending and ruined it for everyone...
"Lost In Translation"
We sat thru the whole boring thing and by the end we were screaming WHEN IS SOMETHING GOING TO HAPPEN ANYTHING? Nothing ever did happen.
Well like granpa always said "ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances"!
I saw it about 20 times and liked less each time I saw it.
"Either the sun is sinking in the East or they moved the South China Sea."
LOL........agreed on all counts!
The Way We Were I can understand, but Robinson Crusoe on Mars? An underrated SF gem. Godzilla? The American remake sucked donkey but the original Japanese film is an excellent and even evocative film. The Little Shop of Horrors? Both films are charming in their own way, with the first version being a masterpiece of economical filmmaking.
What about Terms of Endearment, Prizzi's Honor, As Good as it Gets, About Schmidt and Blood and Wine?
Yeah, ok, I read the reviews, saw stage and film versions of "Little Shop" back in my theater days and tried to nod while people went on about it. But, MY opinion is that those were the movies I didn't care for. I saw the original Godzilla - it's a classic - but it was fakey then and the remake sux, too. Guess I was a cynical kid! LOL!
1st Runner Up: Defcon 4
WORST. MOVIE. EVER.
BORN AMERICAN
For what it's worth, I think 'what happened' is that the Murray/Johannsen characters fell in love but didn't act on it because they were both in relationships. I liked what that said (atypically, given the Hollywood prediliction for adultery) about their morals, as well as about people's ability to simply give and take only the best of one another without being so greedy/needy as to ruin something beautiful.
Gross. I sound like a freshman film student!!!!
Incidentally, Caligula was a big hit in Europe, and spawned a number of even worse (imagine!) rip-offs which tried to out-gross and out-pervert it. One of them featured a scene with a horse which must have inspired Tom Green when he did Freddy Got Fingered, the Caligula of the 21st century.
Lions Gate Films, Larry Clark as Director..
Though I do agree, this movie should SCARE any parents who think kids can be unsupervised for any length of time..
Top Gun
Independence Day
The Flintstones (gag! I should be kick-banned just for admitting that I went and saw that movie)
The Day After Tomorrow
Twister
Titanic (the one with Kate Winslet (sp?) and Leonardo DiCrapio.)
It is therefore the worst film I've ever experienced.
Thatones gotta be bad...
Actually, Gummo was directed by Harmonie Korine, the SCREENWRITER of Kids, and it is also my choice for the worst film of the nineties, a thoroughly inept geek show lacking any sort of genuine intelligence or emotion . Kids was directed by Larry Clark, who has made other movies in the same vein such as Ken Park and Bully. He means well, but he lacks the sort of genuine sympathy for his characters that made Paul Morrissey's films so compelling, and they wind up being sleazily voyeuristic instead of thoughtful.
It's certainly one of the worst big-budget science fiction films, ever.
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