comment #1

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Congrats, Jeff.

It only took a few years, but you have finally posted a non-prickly spoiler warning.

comment #2

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

No f'in way on Speed Racer and Ben Button. Denby's comments just underline how much he didn't understand the film.

Speed Racer just flat-out had too much filmmaking juice and technical mastery in it to be considered bad, let alone "worst."

comment #3

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Damn, I can proudly say I only saw one of the stinkers, M. Night's.

comment #4

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Having said all that, I can see why people would vote for SR as one of the year's worst. It's truly the love-it or hate-it movie of last year.

comment #5

actionman says ...

Changeling was great. Any "critic" who put that film on their list deserves to lose their job.

And while it's nothing great, there were far worse films this year than Australia.

The Happening EASILY takes the cake as the worst film of 2008, or at least, the worst film that I saw.

Denby is wrong about Button but hey, the guy championed Hancock and Body of Lies, two of the more underrated studio movies of the year. So he's not all that bad in my book.

comment #6

actionman says ...

And I still haven't seen Speed Racer. Everytime I think about putting it at the top of my queue I decide not too. I want to see it for the visuals, nothing more, nothing less. I'm just afraid to be watching it when the actors open their mouths. What little dialogue I have heard from the film is atrocious.

comment #7

MartinBlank says ...

You'd think more critics would've understood what Funny Games was up to.

comment #8

Joel says ...

Did these critics forget about 10,000 BC? Or the latest Mummy movie? Those were far worse than Seven Pounds.

comment #9

actionman says ...

The original Funny Games was punishing in a way that few films are. Haven't seen the remake...just don't see the need.

comment #10

PCP_Patriots says ...

Well, even if the film Funny Games was "distasteful" in anyway, it was very well done and though a direct frame by frame remake of the Austrian film, it was definately a good film.

Disturbing, but very good.

comment #11

DarthCorleone says ...

Benjamin Button isn't that bad, but it's certainly not as great as many are making it out to be.

As for Funny Games, I understood it just fine. It had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

comment #12

Floyd Thursby says ...

My ten worst:
Mad Money
Bangkok Dangerous
Miracle at St. Anna
Defiance
The Other Boleyn Girl
Leatherheads
Sex and the City
Pride and Glory
Cassandra’s Dream
My Blueberry Nights

But still love Wong and Woody.

comment #13

Nick Rogers says ...

Joel: I don't know, man. I didn't think I'd see a worse film last year than "Strange Wilderness." But, in all honesty, I'd rather watch that film again if the other choice was "Seven Pounds." I wished Will Smith had tested me and found me undeserving of his eighth gift - kicking me in the nuts for two straight hours. The best part of "Seven Pounds" was the mild comic relief of Joe Nunez as the hotel manager. When Smith set about to rehabbing the broken presses, I almost wretched. To boot, there was a woman behind my friend and I who was openly, and loudly, sobbing, during the climax. I have no idea what baggage she brought into that movie, but it made me feel more uncomfortable than I ever have in a movie theater.

Thus, I'd have to say "Seven Pounds" tops my worst list, too, followed, #2 through #10 by: "Strange Wilderness"; "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor"; "10,000 B.C."; "Four Christmases"; "Get Smart"; "Sex and the City"; "Street Kings"; "The X-Files: I Want To Believe"; and "Jumper."

Honorable mention awfulness: "Vantage Point," "RocknRolla," "The Flock," "Postal," "Semi-Pro," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," "First Sunday," "Pineapple Express," "Be Kind Rewind" and "Valkyrie"

comment #14

Rich S. says ...

Speed Racer would be at or near the top of my year's best. It was something totally new: a cartoon in human form. You either got that and rolled with it, or you didn't and you hated it. Everyone I've shown it to has liked it immensely. The acting is not only fine in that cartoon context, it's actually very good.

I find it interesting that most critics that dissed it found the need to reference the original cartoon. Something along the lines of: "That sucked, so this must suck too." Tells me they were looking to hate it from the get-go.

I was surprised the DVD wasn't more in demand at Christmas. I still say a cult will build around it and it will eventually be recognized for the quality work it is.

comment #15

Nick Rogers says ...

Sorry: "My friend and me."

The badness of "Seven Pounds" gave me a momentary lapse.

comment #16

Ryansi51 says ...

The Happening was great in that you sat there slack-jawed with the rest of the theater, chuckling aloud and wondering what the fuck m night was thinking.

Truly cringe-inducing fun.

comment #17

iamwhoiam says ...

I don't know if Seven Pounds is the worst movie of the year, but it's clearly the worst of the so-called "Oscar Baits". Really terrible film. Also, i agree with anyone who thinks that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is way way overrated. I was never really disappointed be a David Fincher movie, until now.

comment #18

Nick Rogers says ...

While I wouldn't say "Speed Racer" was anywhere near one of the year's best, I thoroughly enjoyed it when I caught up with it on DVD. As Rich said, you either went with it, or didn't.

comment #19

pchu says ...

I didn't think Speed Racer is that bad either. I missed it in theater, and watched it on DVD. Maybe it's the low expectation, but I was entertained for the most part.

Seven Pounds, on the other hand, is horribly bad.

My worst movie however, is a movie I saw in TIFF, Martyrs. It actually made me angry watching it.

comment #20

PCP_Patriots says ...

It is amazing how M. Night Shylaman has now had, what, 3 worst of the year films in a row? It is shocking that someone that had some pretty good films prior to The Village has dropped so low. And it will be interesting if he will bounce back after this fiasco. Then again we have been now saying this 3 times.

comment #21

Jesse Perry says ...

The only reason The Love Guru isn't #1 is because nobody saw it. Holy God, what a nightmare. At least The Happening was hilarious...The Love Guru was truly depressing.

comment #22

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

I don't understand why people hate Funny Games. I thought that was a good, well-done, disturbing film that looks at American's obsession for violence.

I like the movie, and I'm not embarrassed to say so.

The Changeling was an OK film, not that horrible or amazing.

The Women is such a huge insult for female audiences everywhere.... they should have never remade it, period!!!

You guys are going to laugh at me for this, but I enjoyed Speed Racer. It is like tripping on LSD while eating Mike' n' Ike candy. I think it is the perfect movie for a rave or a tripping party. not that I've ever taken LSD, of course.

comment #23

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

Jesse Perry,

my dad wanted to see "The Love Guru," because he's a proud Indian nationalist and always eager to watch films with any references to Indian culture.

I had to convince him that the movie wasn't flattering Indian culture, but rather, mocking and insulting our culture.

comment #24

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

David Denby should be fired for putting Benjamin Button his list.

Fucking cunt!!!!

comment #25

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

*on his Worst list, I mean.

comment #26

PCP_Patriots says ...

DeafBrownTrashPunk, I'm now thinking more and more about how lucky I am to not have seen Love Guru.

Still surprised that Sir Kingsley actually took part in that film.

comment #27

The Winchester says ...

Speed Racer would be an amazing film if they cut a half hour out and eliminated all the "corporate sponsorship" talk that's more irritating than the "trade route" arguments from Phantom Menace.

As for my additions to the list: Bangkok Dangerous, Babylon AD, Hell Ride, Repo the Genetic Opera, 21, Jumper, Cloverfield, Deception, Indiana Jones, Diary of the Dead, and any Uwe Boll movie.

But actionman, I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with your opinion on Changeling. It's just 2 and a half hours of Angelina Jolie crying. (Albeit, crying through lovely production design).

comment #28

Renfield says ...

Does anyone else here like hot dogs?

comment #29

Chase Kahn says ...

Clearly Denby is just blowing smoke here -- no matter your stance on 'Benjamin Button', it's in no way worse than '10,000 B.C.', 'Mummy 3' etc. etc.

Plus, his Top Movie of '08 is 'Defiance', good luck with that, David.

comment #30

Rich S. says ...

Also, I did see Speed Racer in IMAX. It's made for big-screen, hi-definition. (And I do agree that they could have cut out about 20 minutes of the corporate intrigue stuff.)

comment #31

PCP_Patriots says ...

Ooo, Winchester, I don't know about Cloverfield. That may have been one of the more hyped films of the year but I actually enjoy it more and more with the rewatch value. Obviously it wasn't going to live up to its hype but I really thought it was a great film for the horror genre.

comment #32

Mark says ...

The individual lists are so intentionally infuriating. Nathan Lee lists Rachel Getting Married, The Wrestler, and Revolutionary Road as the years worst 3 movies, followed by Another Gay Sequel. I'd begin to argue, but it's obvious that he's just crying for attention.

BTW, Speed Racer is the only movie i walked out on, and thus must be the worst.

comment #33

PCP_Patriots says ...

Mark, NO WAY! The Wrestler as one of the worst films? That's just plain wrong! 98% good reviews out of 108 on RottenTomatoes.

comment #34

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Let's face it, Shyamalan only had two decent films in him (Sixth Sense and Unbreakable from all those scripts he supposedly had stacked up.

Since then, it has been diminishing returns until the last two, truly terrible stinkers.

It's a shame that such a gifted director is going to let his writer's ego take him down. Years from now, someone will probably make one of those "Whatever happened to...?" docs about Night and everyone will sadly shake their head.

comment #35

Nick Rogers says ...

Nathan Lee can dislike what he wants. The way he rationalizes those choices, though, makes him sound like Rex Reed's protege. As for David Denby, I, too, am baffled by "Defiance" as one of 2008's best films. That story had such great potential, but it was pounded into mediocrity by Ed Zwick. I'll also never understand why Poland is beating the drum so loudly over on MCN / HB for Liev Schreiber as Best Supporting Actor. If being the best thing about a disappointing movie is the criteria, then Paul Rudd should be nominated for "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

comment #36

Jeremy Fassler says ...

SEVEN POUNDS was a lousy movie, but not the years worst.
And whoever considers REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED or THE WRESTLER as the years worst has to have their head checked. I'm not saying you can't hate them, but you have to take into account what they're going for dramatically. Save what's worst for the truly bad movies.

How about DISASTER MOVIE? Anyone here agree on that? No? Well that's because I'm the only idiot who went to see it, so I'm the only one who knows...

comment #37

Jeremy Fassler says ...

And what's wrong with Denby? I find myself disagreeing with his film stances more and more these days. BUTTON may not be a masterpiece, but it's far from the years' worst.

comment #38

actionman says ...

Hey Floyd -- Cassandra's Dream was one of the worst films of the year? Why? How? Great performances, a dark script, and a whammy of an ending.

Here's my worst list, though, for obvious reasons, I avoid a lot of the overt garbage that hits theaters:

The Happening
Get Smart
Baby Mama
The Promotion
Vantage Point
Semi-Pro
The House Bunny (Faris is great but the movie's shit)
Jumper
Smart People

Winchester -- bummer you didn't like Changeling. I thought there was a helluva lot more to the film that just Jolie crying. I thought it was the best work of her career. I found her miscast in A Mighty Heart but very affecting in Changeling. The story moved in some unexpected ways, the period detail was breathtaking, and Malkovich was stirring. The last 45 minutes of the film really worked like gangbusters. At least for me.

comment #39

/3rtfu11 says ...

The Seven Pounds hate feels more like Will Smith hate.

The film is a well acted, well photographed, well intended failure, but that doesn't make it the worst film of the year in the wake of the career-ending badness of Indy 4.

comment #40

Mark says ...

Lee's list reminds me of Poland last year, when he included Jesse James, There will be Blood, and Zodiac as the year's worst. I can actually resepct losing interest in Rachel Getting Married, or Revolutionary Road really rubbing one the wrong way, but then he completely loses me when he calls The Wrestler cliche and condescending. and now i hate him.

comment #41

actionman says ...

who's career is over due to Indy 4?

comment #42

actionman says ...

*whose*

comment #43

Chase Kahn says ...

I didn't know Poland put three of the best movies this decade on his "worst" list last year...

comment #44

Pinko Punko says ...

actionman. Think of all the unbelievably terrible garbage that you like enough to have the unironic handle of "actionman." Go see Speed Racer. Jesus Christ. It is a family movie that doesn't patronize kids or adults. It thinks more about the line between childhood/adulthood dreams/reality than a lot of movies. It is essentially, the anti-Transformers.

I watched it on my laptop and it was still as good as the theatre. I also picked out a line that I missed the first two times:

"BRUNHILDA!!!!!!!!"

comment #45

LYT says ...

Nobody's mentioned "Meet the Spartans" yet.

Some people don't grasp the difference between "Worst" and "Most Overrated." I happen to think A Christmas Tale, Benjamin Button, and Happy-Go-Lucky all fall into the latter category, but would agree that they took a certain amount of skill to make. I wish more people who disliked Synecdoche could at least concede the same for it.

Something like Shutter or The Haunting of Molly Hartley, though...that's stuff clearly made with no care and no merit.

comment #46

Floyd Thursby says ...

I find Cassandra's Dream too relentlessly bleak, as if Allen is straining too hard not to have a single light moment. Except for the always uninteresting McGregor, the performances, especially Farrell's, are good, but everything is so predictable. Allen's surprise ending is a surprise only to him. Allen's habit of having characters refer to each other by name--remember all those grating Frenchies in Small Time Crooks?--is especially annoying here. I swear that Farrell and McGregor get confused (or tired) and call each other by the wrong names. Hate the music, too.

comment #47

DavidF says ...

I agree with what LYT said - if you think Benjamin Button stinks it's really dumb to put in the same category as MEET THE SPARTANS or THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE.

Even a bitter critic should be able to admit that as much as they might hate something like Rachel Getting Married (or whatever) it's not the same class of bad as movies like those.

The list should at least be something like, "Worst movies that thought they were good movies." Seven Pounds kicks ass there, but obviously-bad movies like 10,000BC need not apply.

comment #48

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

SPEED RACER is on that list? Fuck that shit.

Finally saw it last week (admittedly, trepedatiously), and it's nowhere near the level of supposed "awfulness" some of these "10 Worst" lists claim it is.

Hell, even Quint and Massawyrm at AICN called out the haters on this one this past week in their own year-end lists, and now I see where they're coming from.

comment #49

actionman says ...

Think of all the unbelievably terrible garbage that you like enough to have the unironic handle of "actionman."

Pinko -- what are you talking about? Honestly. Just what do you mean? What unbelievable terrible garbage do I like that would have caused me to come up with the handle actionman.

comment #50

actionman says ...

"I didn't know Poland put three of the best movies this decade on his "worst" list last year..."

Chase...that's because Poland is a massive tool box. He's a terrible critic. He writes good stories about box office. That's about it I'm afraid.

comment #51

hunterd says ...

I HATED Happy-Go-Lucky. I found it totally grating and, even while I can respect the craftsmanship behind it, I have no idea why you would want to watch it (aside from Sally Hawkins starring turn).

I was so looking forward to it, but the only moment that came alive was the sequence with the homeless man. I suppose some of the driving school schtick was okay...but I don't know why this movie exists.

comment #52

actionman says ...

yeesh

comment #53

Josh Massey says ...

Now that I'm no longer a professional reviewer, I'm much pickier about what I see. But of those I've checked out, I didn't see a bigger pile than Street Kings. It makes Seven Pounds - which I've also seen - look like Fellini.

Benjamin Button, of course, is nowhere near the year's worst, but personally it is the most disappointing.

comment #54

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

you guys need to realize that the reason NO critics have mentioned "Meet the Spartans" or "Disaster Movie" on the list is because they would probably be too embarrassed to admit that they ACTUALLY sat through these terrible movies.

hahahaha, but for some reason, The Love Guru isn't?

LOL!!!!!!!!!!

comment #55

James Rocchi says ...

Seven Pounds is a well-shot film that tries to talk about guilt, shame and sorrow, plus it features a really interesting performance by Smith as a man having a siantly nervous breakdown. It's not geat, but it's interesting as all hell.

Speed Racer? All I can say is to quote that sage Norville Barnes: "You know -- for kids!"

Finally, if you don't get Funny Games -- if you're not thrilled by it, intrigued by it, disgusted and shocked by it, then you're not really looking at it, and just because a movie doesn't pull down the top sheet, put a mint on your pillow and tell you nice things you already know, well, that doesn't make it bad. To paraphrase the Selsun Blue dandruff commercials, that tingling sensation -- of fear, of disgust, of revulsion, or hopelessness, or of being upset -- you get when watching Funny Games tells you it's working.

comment #56

Pinko Punko says ...

Transformers?

Sorry if I was too aggressive, but you need to see Speed Racer. As James Rocchi says it is a kids movie. For kids while being more than inventive and sly enough for adults to feel like a kid with its matchbox car physics.

There is no fake conflict or forced generational conflict between the parents and the kids. It is a giant hearted kids movie that succeeds on so many levels.

comment #57

Rich S. says ...

One last thing: the race through the desert in the second act of Speed Racer (which is very much like the cartoon) is the REAL remake of Death Race 2000 from 2008.

comment #58

thatmovieguy says ...

10. "Repo! The Genetic Opera"
9. "Four Christmases"
8. "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale"
7. "Beer for My Horses"
6. "One Missed Call"
5. "88 Minutes"
4. "Witless Protection"
3. "Made of Honor"
2. "The Love Guru"
1. "The Hottie and the Nottie"

But "The Happening" just missed making it in.

comment #59

/3rtfu11 says ...

actionman Lucas, Ford, and Spielberg will continue to work as long as they're alive.

comment #60

Josh Massey says ...

Thatmovieguy: That list right there is why I don't miss being a reviewer. I didn't see a damned one of those films.

And ok, it took 60 posts, but I'll admit it - I didn't think Seven Pounds was that bad. It was silly, I'll never see it again - but it certainly wasn't painful. Hell, I liked it a lot more than the overbearing Pursuit of Happyness.

comment #61

Doug Pratt says ...

I guess everybody has forgotten about 21, where they strap money around their waists and fly to Las Vegas for the weekend instead of just driving down to Connecticut.

comment #62

T. S. Idiot says ...

The worst movies aren't instant garbage like HOTTIE NOTTIE but pretentious crap that doesn't realize it's pretentious crap: FORREST GUMP, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, ORDINARY PEOPLE, AMERICAN BEAUTY, DREAMGIRLS, etc. Such movies harm the soul more than the latest Mike Myers cringefest.

comment #63

Renfield says ...

I think hot dogs are the perfect food.

comment #64

Jonah says ...

"The worst movies aren't instant garbage like HOTTIE NOTTIE but pretentious crap that doesn't realize it's pretentious crap: FORREST GUMP, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, ORDINARY PEOPLE, AMERICAN BEAUTY, DREAMGIRLS, etc. Such movies harm the soul more than the latest Mike Myers cringefest."

Wow. Thanks for providing me with a great laugh.

comment #65

lipranzer says ...

I finally saw SEVEN POUNDS, and while it certainly has an awful ending, I think it's more of an interesting failure than an awful movie.

My worst list this year (and I must admit that like Josh Massey, I missed a lot of so-called stinkers because I didn't have to see them)

RIGHTEOUS KILL (why isn't this cynical pile of crap on more worst lists? More to the point, why is Jon Avnet still directing?)
CHARLIE BARTLETT (the worst comedy of the year, though admittedly, I haven't seen THE LOVE GURU)
DECEPTION (sorry, but AUSTRALIA and "Viva Laughlin" were not the worst Hugh Jackman projects of the year, this would-be thriller was)
TOWELHEAD (Alan Ball's script for AMERICAN BEAUTY walked the fine line between caricature and character, but never crosses it, which is why I still like it. This crosses it from minute one. Only Toni Collette can hold her head up after this)
SAVAGE GRACE (Unlike, say, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, which tries to explore larger issues in telling sordid tales about how the rich are not like you or me, this merely chooses to get off on the story)

comment #66

Krillian says ...

Changeling was one of the better movies of the year.

The Love Guru was bad but didn't make my bottom ten.

My Worst Ten Movies of 2008.
10. THE HAPPENING
9. DRILLBIT TAYLOR
8. DECEPTION
7. WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS
6. CHAPTER 27
5. SEX & DEATH 101
4. ONE MISSED CALL
3. STRANGE WILDERNESS
2. MEET THE SPARTANS
1. OVER HER DEAD BODY - It's basically a remake of Hello Again that makes that movie look good by comparison. Eva Longoria Parker sabotages any chance she had of parlaying Desperate Housewives fame into a movie career by playing an uptight shrew of a ghost who has no sympathetic characteristics. She's also the least-curious dead person ever. Doesn't she want to know where heaven is, where God is, if his name is Yahweh or Allah or Morgan Freeman? Anything? Nope, she wants to stick around and drive her ex-fiance's new girlfriend crazy by making fart noises.

comment #67

Wiggumx says ...

The readers' worst-10 lists are much more dead-on than the critics.

LYT was dead-on when he said that many people can't differentiate between "worst" and "most over-rated." Some of the films were definitely a let-down, but they were far from the worst. Sit through "Meet the Spartans," "Witless Protection," or the Dungeon Siege movie and you'll see truly terrible film-making. To say that something like Speed Racer was the worst of the year is just wrong. I recently saw it on HD PPV, and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's not great, but it's definitely a well-done visual trip, and to say that it gets zero credit for that is ridiculous. Pick on something that has nothing to offer before you kick movies that simply under-performed or didn't meet expectations.

comment #68

Hallick says ...

Seven Pounds is messed up, and emotionally out of order, and Will Smith's performance is like that scene in the Animatrix where the robots are poking captives in the brain and flipping emotional switches on and off at random; but it isn't Worst Film of the Year worthy. You can still see a really good movie crawling around in the wreckage. It comes THAT close to being a fascinating mess instead of a mere interesting one.