Thursday, January 7, 2010

Worst of 2009

Since I still have a bit of time before I can officially make my top ten of the year, as well as personal award selections, I'll just offer my selections for some of the lesser achievements of the year. I make a bottom five, only five because I see so few bad films that to extend that to five would include films I don't consider the worst of the year. Also are awards for individual "achievements" for films.

1. G.I. Joe
This is an action film that was completely void of any sense of fun, excitement or basic entertainment. The plot is ridiculous, the acting is atrocious, and saying that this is suitable entertainment for children is an insult to the intelligence level of children, especially in a day and age when kids have films like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight to enjoy. Simply awful.

2. Bruno
No clever social satire here. Just 90 minutes of following a completely unlikable character who perpetuates homophobic stereotypes in a quest to make white Southern men uncomfortable. This film is absent of any charm and humility that made Borat a halfway decent success. Magic doesn't strike twice for Sacha Baron Cohen.

3. Transfomers: Revenge of the Fallen
What makes this film even worse is that I was actually a fan of the first film. But Michael Bay takes everything that was problematic about that film and amplifies it about one hundred times here. You've got a nonsensical, overly complicated plot, overwrought visual effects displays that drain on the mind, and not to mention those racist robots. One of the most unpleasant experiences at the movies that made a ton of money.

4. The Soloist
I simply love that Roger Ebert quote which says something to the effect that there are some bad films that could only have been made my very talented people. So is the case with this one, which takes a potentially inspirational story and turns it into a melodramatic piece of trite that goes on for far too long and overindulges on self-conscious musical interludes that service nothing to the film. What started out as a potential Oscar vehicle turned out to be a real disappointment.

5. Observe and Report
I've heard many people come in defense for this film as a great satire on the anti-hero film, but all I saw was a film that wanted me to think that a mentally disturbed, racist, bipolar jerk who date-rapes Anna Faris serves as meaningful entertainment. I guess I didn't get the joke, but I know plenty of other people that didn't get the joke either.


Worst Picture: G.I. Joe
Runner Up: Bruno

Worst Actor: Sacha Baron Cohen - Bruno
Runner Up: Seth Rogen - Observe and Report

Worst Actress: Malin Ackerman - Watchmen
Runner Up: Megan Fox - Jennifer's Body; Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Supporting Actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt - G.I. Joe
Runner Up: Ramon Rodriguez - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Supporting Actress: Sienna Miller - G.I. Joe
Runner Up: Julie White - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Director: Michael Bay - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Runner Up: Stephen Sommers - G.I. Joe

Worst Screenplay: G.I. Joe
Runner Up: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Biggest Disappointment: Inglourious Basterds*
Runner Up: Nine

*I should say that I did like Inglourious Basterds, and am a supporter for Waltz to win an Oscar, but I didn't want to just like a Tarantino film, I wanted to love it, and that is a disappointment for me. Certainly not a bad film, but one in which my level of excitement did not match my level of enjoyment.

1 comment:

A Lawrence Dreyfuss said...

I think Bruno was hugely under appreciated and I think the social satire comes not out of what Bruno does in the film, but rather how the audience reacts when watching it in a packed theater. The comedy comes not from within the film but rather the audience reaction of being disgusted. I think this was the entire point of the film and I think it was hugely successful in that regard.