MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2024

Here are a few of the films I saw last year that I have no intention of ever watching again:

"BORDERLANDS"

I should start off by saying that I have never been a fan of movies based on video games. The few that I have seen I really haven't enjoyed at all. The problem I find is that there really isn't enough of a story to base an entire film around and the filmmakers tend not to expand the narrative elements nearly enough to make these video game stories truly cinematic. And the studios end up coasting largely on name recognition to get folks to turn out to theaters. I got lured into seeing the sci-fi action-comedy, "Borderlands" based on the trailer that featured an impressively eclectic cast that included Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis. Yet once again, I was tricked. "Borderlands" is a very expensive, poorly conceived, convoluted mess with several of the creative team jumping ship during or after production and even having their names removed from this project. It begins on the planet Pandora with a mercenary soldier named Roland (Hart) kidnaps a teen called Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt) who happens to be the daughter of Atlas (Ramirez), a powerful corporate bigwig. He hires the bounty hunter, Lilith (Blanchett) to rescue his child. Tracking down Roland, Lilith discovers that Atlas actually wants Tina back against her will and she teams up with him to fight against Atlas' army, the Crimson Lance. Then the story goes further into some nonsense involving the secrets of advanced technology by a lost civilization of Pandora which Atlas believes is located in a mysterious vault that only Tina can open. Eli Roth is the credited director (with Tim Miller taking on reshoots) and wrote the screenplay with Joe Crombie (writer, Craig Mazin had his name removed from the script). The end results makes the film feel completely disjointed, impaired by underdeveloped characters, a meandering plot and without a whiff of originality. "Borderlands" was a complete waste of the prestigious talent involved and the one hundred and one minutes of time I will never get back.

"I SAW THE TV GLOW"

"I Saw The TV Glow", Jane Schoenbrun's follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 debut, "We're All Going to the World's Fair", received a glowing reception by many critics with several placing this psychological-horror drama high on their Best of the Year lists. However, the appeal of this film was completely lost on me as my viewing experience was torturous and feeling like it was never going to end. This '90's-set story follows Owen (Justice Smith), a lonely and isolated teen who bonds with another loner at school, Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) over their love of a television show, "The Pink Opaque". The program involves two teenage girls who use their shared psychic abilities to fight a villain called Mr. Melancholy, who has the power to shift time and existence. Owen and Maddy deeply connect to this show, which in turn, helps them grow closer to each other. Family problems makes Maddy want to run away from home and asks Owen to go with her. After sincerely considering this offer, he decides to stay and Maddy disappears. "The Pink Opaque" is also cancelled around this time. Several years later, Maddy reappears with news that she's been living in their favorite show during her time away. Schoenbrun has tapped into the surrealist, experimental style of the great David Lynch yet "I Saw the TV Glow" feels more muddled and less engaging than a wonderfully puzzling Lynchian experience.

"LISA FRANKENSTEIN"

The romantic-horror comedy, "Lisa Frankenstein" might have been intended be an ode to the classic comedies of the '80's but only ends up being a tired and predictable modern comedy. Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is an odd, goth teenager still trying to cope with the loss of her mother to an axe murderer. And to make matters worse, her father (Joe Chrest) has remarried to Janet (Carla Gugino), a self-involved woman who doesn't care about Lisa, and they live together with her daughter, Taffy (Liza Soberano). Lisa spends her time at the local cemetery and speaks to the grave of a young Victorian man who was killed by lightning. Lightning winds up striking twice and this man (Cole Sprouse) is brought back from the dead as a mute zombie to become Lisa's perfect boyfriend. Zelda Williams (who happens to be the daughter of the late Robin Williams) makes her feature directorial debut with "Lisa Frankenstein" and displays no real gift behind the camera, sadly proving the argument about nepo babies. The shockingly bad screenplay was written by Oscar-winner, Diablo Cody who seemed to have scripted this in a time warp, trapped reliving worn out, comedic ideas about love and relationships. Painfully dull and uninspired, "Lisa Frankenstein" is an apparent comedy that never came to life, effectively dead on arrival.

"MADAME WEB"

Based on a little known, minor character in the Spider-Man comic book universe, the super-hero film, "Madame Web" has managed to do nothing to make us intrigued, let alone inspired, to want to see anymore of her. Dakota Johnson has once again been given a leading role as Cassandra Webb, a New York City paramedic who develops abilities of a clairvoyant following a near-death experience. This leads her to connecting to three young girls (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O'Connor) and protect them from shady businessman, Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim). Also having limited psychic abilities and enhanced strength he obtained from a Peruvian spider, Sims has visions that these girls will be the cause of his demise. And that means he wants to end their lives before that can happen, forcing Cassandra to develop the use of her powers in order to save them. The director, S.J. Clarkson, who has had an extensive career working in British television, makes her feature film directorial debut with "Madame Web" and is in way over her head trying to get a handle on the comic-book genre. The hazy and shapeless screenplay assembled by Clarkson along with the team of Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless and Claire Parker does the film no favors. I do not pretend to understand the allure of Johnson yet the offspring of the charismatic actors, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith continues to book jobs despite adding very little charm and appeal to her performances. With an incoherent story, underwhelming visual style and listless thrills, "Madame Web" finds success as another very expensive addition to the garbage heap of super-hero movies that failed to launch a hopeful franchise.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2023

Cinema has always been subjective. For every movie that I love, there will be viewers of that same movie who will only not like it but could absolutely loathe the idea of it's very existence. And of course, the films that I was unable to find much pleasure, there are folks out there who love these movies. With that in mind, here is a list of my least favorite films I watched last year:

"ANT MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA"

Last year was not so great for the super-hero franchises as most of them failed to generate much excitement or interest. But one of the least engaging (and biggest disappointment) that I saw was "Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania", the second sequel of the reluctant hero who can shrink to the size of the powerful, tiny insect. Paul Rudd returns as Scott Lang, the former thief who has become the crime-fighting, Ant Man. After his time fighting with the Avengers to defeat Thanos, he has gone on to living quietly and enjoying his life with girlfriend, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and his teenage daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton). During a visit with Hope's parents, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), who were the original Ant-Man and the Wasp, Cassie announces that she has a device that can make contact with the Quantum Realm, a universe that exists outside of space and time. Terrified after being trapped there for thirty years, Janet tries to shut it down but it's too late; the message was received and all five are forced through a portal to the realm. Once there, they must work together to stop the Quantum Realm's new ruler, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). There's a lot more involved in this convoluted plot but the script by Jeff Loveness is confusing and monotonous. With the focus of the film on multiverses, alien beings (the less said about M.O.D.O.K., the better) and a mystical, end-of-the-world crisis, director Peyton Reed struggles to find an engaging human element that made his previous "Ant Man" films so successful. But the real problem with "Quantumania" is that it lacks a genuine sense of spirited fun and inspired adventure.

"ASTEROID CITY"

I have a complicated relationship with the cinema of Wes Anderson. While I admire his whimsical style and the dry, offbeat humor, I have difficulty connecting to most of his films on an emotional level. Of Anderson's films, there is one that I absolutely love ("The Royal Tenenbaums"), a few that I really enjoyed ("Rushmore", "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Isle of Dogs") but the rest I am left feeling indifferent towards. With Anderson's latest, the beautifully rendered, "Asteroid City", I really struggled to find a way into Anderson's singular world, but I just couldn't get past the artificial construct. Set in the 1950's, we are introduced to a television host (Bryan Cranston) who introduces a documentary about the making of a play by famed playwright, Conrad Earp (Edward Norton). The plot of the play involves a youth astronomy convention held in the desert town of Asteroid City with war photographer, Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) heading there with his son, Woodrow (Jake Ryan) who won a Junior Stargazer prize. Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), a famous yet weary actress arrives with her daughter, Dinah (Grace Edwards) who also won the award. A romance develops between these parents and their children then a UFO appears with an alien to reclaim a fallen meteorite. "Asteroid City" is another film with an overly complicated plot filled with random thoughts that ultimately doesn't add anything meaningful to the narrative. The film is bursting to the seams with a starry, celebrated cast (Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, Steve Carell, Jeffrey Wright, Margot Robbie to name just a few) yet they all feel wasted with the actors forced to deliver their lines in the same deadpan, monotone style. I have to add that I far more enjoyed Anderson's short film collection, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" also released last year and based on the work by Roald Dahl. But I do think it's largely because each film was not much more than twenty minutes long, making it the ideal length for me to appreciate Anderson's distinctive cinema.

"NO HARD FEELINGS"

I grew up during the time when teen sex comedies were all the rage in the 1970's and 1980's. These movies were filled with raunchy gags and almost always about horny teenage boys who were desperately trying to have sex or, at the very least, see a live naked woman. These films have largely fallen out of favor but "No Hard Feelings" has attempted to bring back the wild spirit of the classic sex comedy. But this movie fails to deliver the laughs, just coming across awkward and cringy, while the sex to be found is just sad. Jennifer Lawrence plays Maddie, a financially strapped young woman who had her car repossessed and on the verge of losing the house she inherited from her mother. Looking for some quick, extra cash, she answers an ad from concerned parents (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) seeking a woman to "seduce" their shy teenage son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) before he heads off to college. With the payment being a used car, Maddie accepts this offer and tries to sexually entice (and have sex with) the unwilling Percy. Even by teen comedy standards, this plot is completely bonkers and the script by director Gene Stupnitsky and John Phillips is unable to make it remotely plausible or humorous. Lawrence gives it her all, displaying her expert timing and gift for physical comedy, yet there is only so much she can do to try and salvage this painfully odd comedy. While there may be a sweet center, with these characters trying to help each other make a true connection, "No Hard Feelings" is just too weird and muddled to work as a timeless coming-of-age comedy.

"WONKA"

"Wonka" is the rare, original contemporary movie musical that became an unexpected worldwide box-office smash. But this origin story based on the classic character created by Roald Dahl never manages to feel necessary and the film's charms are minimal at best. Timothée Chalamet plays Willy Wonka who at this point of time is just a young, aspiring chocolatier who arrives to a nondescript European city to try his luck at opening a shop at the famed Galéries Gourmet. After his meager funds quickly run out, Wonka is misled into signing a contract to stay at the boarding house of Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman) despite a warning from Noodle (Calah Lane), the orphan who lives there. Now because of hidden fees, Wonka is forced to work in Scrubitt's launderette alongside other captives. His only hope to escape is to find success selling his chocolates but a trio of corrupt, rival chocolatiers (Matt Lucas, Paterson Joseph, Mathew Baynton) who work together to stop Wonka from opening a store. This version of "Wonka" is far removed from Dahl's eccentric tale with director Paul King delivering a safe, feel-good yet banal take of this character. The original songs by composer, Neil Hannon of the band, the Divine Comedy and written by King and co-writer of the screenplay, Simon Farnaby are serviceable yet unmemorable. As the third actor to play Wonka on the big screen, Chalamet presents him as innocent and sweet-natured, making him relatively bland compared to the kind yet eccentric interpretation played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp's darker, more oddball creation. And the actor is certainly able to carry a tune, but I wouldn't call him a "singer". "Wonka" is a CGI heavy fantasia that just doesn't have enough magic to make it a truly tasty treat.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2022

I always go into seeing every movie with excitement, an open mind and great optimism. But sometimes things just don't work out. Here are a few films that I saw last year that unfortunately just didn't work for me.

"AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER"

Sure, "Avatar: The Way of Water", James Cameron's sequel to his 2009 visually groundbreaking, sci-fi adventure, has not only become the highest grossing film of 2022 but has leapt to become the fourth highest grossing film of all-time (with Cameron's "Avatar" and "Titanic" ranking at number one and number three respectively) currently at $2.1 billion dollars. And I'm certain that I may be in the minority (since it would require many people to have seen this movie multiple times in order for it to have made this amount of money) but I did not enjoy "The Way of Water" and even given a free ticket could not get me to sit through this movie again. This film picks up sixteen years later on the planet Pandora where American solider, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is living as an Avatar with his love, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) as one of the Na'vi, raising their five children which includes Spider (Jack Champion), the human son of Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who died fighting against the Na'vi. With Earth still dying, the Resources Development Administration have returned to Pandora in order to once again try and take over the planet, with a mission now run by General Ardmore (Edie Falco). The new plan involves using Na'vi avatars that utilizes the memories of dead soldiers, including Quaritch, in the battle to colonize Pandora. With the avatar Quaritch capturing Spider, learning about the language and customs of the Na'vi, Jake convinces a reluctant Neytiri to take their family to shelter with the Metkayina people who live isolated surrounding the sea, instead of fighting. But Quaritch is determined to track them down no matter where they hide. There is more plot involved but not really worth going over as it doesn't add up to much. The narrative of "The Way of Water" is so basic with such dreadful dialogue that it makes the mind-numbing three-hour runtime feel even longer. Even the visual effects and action sequences add nothing to enhance this poorly conceived adventure. "Avatar: The Way of Water" is definitely not worth the long wait.

"DON'T WORRY DARLING"

When the actress Olivia Wilde decided to work behind the camera, her first feature film as a director was "Booksmart", a charming yet raunchy teen comedy about two high school girls wanting to finally break the rules, after spending all their time being good students, and party hard on their last day of school. This made me anticipate Wilde's follow-up and the trailer for her next film, "Don't Worry Darling" appeared very intriguing. And while this psychological thriller begins quite promising, the film devolves into a contrived, muddled mess. Set in a 1960's styled world where all the men go off to work in a California desert town called Victory while their wives kiss them goodbye, spending their days shopping, cooking, cleaning and never asking what exactly their husbands do at their jobs. Alice (Florence Pugh) is at first content as the happy housewife for her husband, Jack (Harry Styles) but she soon begins to experience odd occurrences and strange hallucinations. As she become more uneasy and increasingly paranoid, Alice pushes back against the community's founder, Frank (Chris Pine) for answers. After admitting to her privately that their society is not all that it appears to be, Alice confronts him publicly at a dinner party. Yet Frank denies everything she reveals, making it seem like Alice is losing her mind. "Don't Worry Darling" brings to mind "The Stepford Wives" which used the thriller genre to make a commentary on gender politics. Yet like that high-concept film, the script by Katie Silberman fails to have a clear vision on how to have this clever story make much sense once we reach the conclusion. The film is exquisitely shot by Matthew Libatique, features outstanding production design and has some nice supporting work by Pine and the director who plays a neighbor's wife. But it is Pugh, with an intense, committed performance, who manages to keep us engaged throughout this lackluster drama. Unfortunately, her persuasive work is not enough to make the disappointing "Don't Worry Darling" worthwhile to watch.

"BROS"

"Bros" was promoted as the first gay romantic comedy from a major studio with an actual cast of LGBTQ performers. And while the far more enjoyable other gay rom-com released last year, "Fire Island" may have been technically first, "Bros" fails to deliver many laughs or stir amorous emotions in this rom-com about modern gay men trying to find love in today's complicated world. Billy Eichner (who also co-wrote the screenplay with the director, Nicholas Stoller) plays Bobby, the host of a podcast about Stonewall who has proudly accepted being single and feeling no shame. At a party, Bobby meets Aaron (Luke Macfarlane), a hot muscle gay. The two later begin to date and while they are attracted to each other, Bobby and Aaron have very different views on life, sex and relationships, making them find a true love connection together extremely challenging. MacFarlane does bring an effortless charm to his character (which I'm sure has much to do with the years of him playing the (straight) romantic lead in many Hallmark Channel movies) but Eichner is the harder sell. The comedian and star of the popular game show, "Billy on the Street" doesn't naturally radiate warmth and charisma, making him come across far too abrasive to be effective as the focus of a romantic comedy. The actors also don't generate much chemistry as a couple which doesn't help imaging that their characters would seriously end up happily ever after. Eichner has been quite vocal about his disappointment with the film underperforming, blaming homophobia for the film's poor box-office. There certainly could be some truth to his claim but the problems with "Bros" could also be the underdeveloped characters, lack of funny jokes, too much time spent venting about gay culture and relationships and the inability to create an inviting atmosphere.



"BONES AND ALL"

Luca Guadagnino is one of the more commanding filmmakers currently working today, crafting emotionally complex, carnally driven, visually stimulating cinema like such memorable works as "I am Love", "A Bigger Splash" and "Call Me By Your Name". But the Italian director's latest, "Bones and All", based on the book by Camille DeAngelis, is a teenage cannibalistic love story that features his compelling style and some outstanding performances, yet this creepy, road-trip drama never successfully achieves a convincing cohesion with its mix of narrative themes. After being abandoned by her father (Andre Holland) on her eighteenth birthday, Maren (Taylor Russell) is forced to confront what she has never admitted to herself; she has a taste for human flesh. Maren's father details her history, beginning with devouring the babysitter as a child, on cassette tapes for her, no longer believing she will outgrow this uncontrollable desire. Out on her own, Maren meets other "eaters" which includes Sully (an excellent Mark Rylance), an older eccentric who educates her on their ways. Feeling uncomfortable around Sully, Maren flees his home, later meeting Lee (a scary-thin Timothée Chalamet), a fellow teenage "eater" who she falls for, joining her on a quest to Minnesota to see if she can get information on her mother who disappeared when she was an infant. "Bones and All" doesn't work as a romance, an emotional drama or a horror film, leaving behind only a listless, unfocused movie.

"THE SON"

Florian Zeller, the French novelist turned playwright turned filmmaker, made a big impression with his first film as a director, "The Father" in 2020. Based on his 2012 play, this engaging English-language drama about a man suffering from dementia and his daughter struggling to help him became a critical and box-office success, receiving plenty of award recognition including star, Sir Anthony Hopkins winning the Best Actor Oscar and Zeller and co-writer, Christopher Hampton earning Best Adapted Screenplay. Zeller's latest feature, "The Son" is based on another one of his plays (with the screenplay once again co-written with Hampton) yet this time, the results are extremely disappointing. Hugh Jackman stars as Peter Miller, a successful businessman who has started a new family with a younger wife (Vanessa Kirby) and newborn baby, leaving his other family behind. His ex-wife, Kate (Laura Dern) comes to Peter desperate about their seventeen-year-old son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath) who has become sullen, won't speak to her and skipping school. Peter agrees to take his Nicholas in, hoping to reconnect with his son and straighten him out. And while the new environment seemed to help initially, Nicholas begins to not go to school. Peter's response is to just yell and make demands, pushing his morose son even further away. "The Son" is an exasperating and frustrating film, watching these self-absorbed, emotionally detached parents just wanting the problems of their deeply troubled and depressed child to simply just go away, never considering getting him professional help. As I continued to watch their flagrant disregard for their son's well-being and never attempting to communicate with a calmer approach, I just became more outraged by their behavior. A great cast (which includes an appearance by Hopkins as Peter's estranged father) is wasted in "The Son", a poorly conceived drama that is a perfect guide in how not to parent a child.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2021

Since I saw so few new movies in 2020, I didn't have a listing of my least favorite films that year. But now that I've gotten back in the groove, I have unfortunately seen some movies that I did not find much enjoyment. I'm sure there are people who may love these movies on this list but they didn't work at all for me:

"HOUSE OF GUCCI"

The second film that Ridley Scott directed last year ends up on this list. "House of Gucci" is a painfully, overwrought drama based on the real-life crime involving family members of the Gucci fashion dynasty. Lady Gaga returns to acting on the big screen as Patrizia Reggiani, a young woman making a modest living working as an office manager for a small trucking firm owned by her father. Her life changes when she meets Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) at a party. After pursuing him, she eventually captures his heart but Maurizio's father, Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) sees her as nothing more than a gold-digger. Maurizio marries Patrizia anyway and promptly disinherited. Patrizia becomes pregnant, hoping this will help win them back into the family. Maurizio's uncle, Aldo (Al Pacino) welcomes them back, bringing the couple into the business and helping to mend Maurizio's relationship with his father. A power-hungry Patrizia soon wants more control over the company, first using Aldo's dimwit son, Paolo (Jared Leto) to gain more shares. After beginning an affair, Maurizio soon ends his marriage with Patrizia. And she in turn with her psychic, Pina (Salma Hayek) creates a plan to end his life. Since there were so many powerhouse actors on set, it seems like Scott simply gave up control and let them all have at it. The performances are wildly inconsistent with each of the actors appearing like they are in completely different movies. We have Gaga and Driver delivering high drama while Pacino and Leto (buried under heavy make-up) seems to be working hard on an Italian comedy farce. This is a fascinating story and think that "House of Gucci" would have been better served as a television mini-series. But with a different director, script and cast.

"DEAR EVAN HANSEN"

Due to the critical acclaim, award-collecting and the rabid fanbase who saw the play multiple times, I was intrigued to go see the stage musical, "Dear Evan Hansen" years ago. And I have a confession: I didn't like the show. At all. I still cannot comprehend the appeal of this tragic and appalling story of a teenager suffering from anxiety who makes a bad situation worse by falsely claiming to be a close friend of a fellow student who has committed suicide, then bonding with his grieving family based on this dishonesty. Now we have the movie adaptation of "Dear Evan Hansen" from director, Stephen Chbosky which only reinforces my issues with this narrative. Ben Platt, who originated the role on Broadway and won a Tony Award, plays Evan Hansen who has broken his arm after falling out of a tree. Evan's therapist recommends that he writes letters to himself for positive reinforcement and his mother (Julianne Moore) suggests that he gets people to sign his cast as a way to make new friends. After a classmate, Connor (Colton Ryan) signs his cast, he reads Evan's letter which mentions the crush he has on his sister, Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever), sending him off in a rage. Desperate for answers, Connor's parents (Amy Adams and Danny Pino) approach Evan after the letter addressed to "him" is found with Connor when he ended his life. The script by Steven Levenson (who wrote the book for the play) opens up the story yet still fails to produce much sympathy for Evan and create an emotionally satisfying drama. The bombastic, pop-structured songs by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are largely unmemorable, unable to enhance the film in any meaningful way. And all this chatter about Platt looking obviously too old in the role of a high-school teen remains the least of this film musical's glaring problems.



"LAST NIGHT IN SOHO"

Edgar Wright's "Last Night in Soho" is a time-shifting, psychological thriller that's beautifully stylish yet regrettably lacking in meaningful substance. Ellie (Thomasin McKenzie) is an old soul who loves the sounds and style of the 1960's. Dreaming of becoming a fashion designer, she's accepted to attend the London College of Fashion. Ellie has grown up in a small, rural town and struggles to fit in the big city with her fellow students. One night, Ellie has a vivid dream where she's transported to the swinging London scene of the '60's in the sexy form of Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), an aspiring singer. Sandie captures the attention of a shady, nightclub owner (Matt Smith) who hires her to perform. These dreams inspire Ellie's work yet over time they become more intense and disturbing, causing her to become extremely disoriented. The film looks great thanks to the production design by Marcus Rowland, Odile Dicks-Mireaux's perfectly mod costumes and exquisite camerawork by Chung-hoon Chung. However the script by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns starts off promising with a fun, classic horror vibe but becomes convoluted and middling by the final act. The performances are solid, which includes Terrance Stamp and Diana Rigg, in her final screen role, as Ellie's landlord, but their efforts are sadly wasted. The only consistent highlight to be found in "Last Night in Soho" (which really isn't saying much) is it's soundtrack; a lively collection of '60's pop-rock songs by largely British acts.



"ETERNALS"

"Eternals" was adapted from a short-lived Marvel comic book created by Jack Kirby in 1976. Inspired by elements of Greek, Roman and Inca mythologies, The Eternals are a group of ten super-powered, human-like alien beings sent to Earth by their creators, the Celestials around 5000 BC to protect the planet from the Deviants, another alien group also created by the Celestials that have gone rogue who are far less human and causing destruction on Earth. Lead by the wise, Ajak (Salma Hayek), the Eternals, include Sersi (Gemma Chan), Ikaris (Richard Madden), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Gilgamesh (Don Lee), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Sprite (Lia McHugh) and Thena (Angelina Jolie), all have various cosmic powers. After finally defeating the Deviants centuries later, the Eternals separate across the globe, awaiting to be called to return home. Now in present day, the group is called back together after more powerful, mutated Deviants are rising to create a new threat. But there are lingering tensions between members of the Eternals and dark secrets which jeopardizes their mission. Chloe Zhao, last year's Oscar-winner for Best Director, was brought on board to helm this project, hoping she would bring an aesthetic not usually found in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The director's vision seemed to have tried to find a balance between an introspective story and standard super-hero action yet never fully succeeding. And if the story sounds hard to follow, it most certainly is with the screenplay by Zhao along with the team of Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo not offering much depth or insight into these characters, leaving them thoroughly underdeveloped. The main problem with "Eternals" is that the film is far too gloomy and confusing to offer much fun or excitement.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2019

They say you win some and you lose some. And that was certainly the case with some of the films I saw in 2019. Here is a list of a few films that did not manage to feel like winners to me:

"THE KITCHEN"

"The Kitchen" looked like it could have been an intriguing crime thriller due to the focus on the wives of an Irish-American mob. But this adaption of a graphic novel mini-series, with the film written and directed by Andrea Berloff, fails to generate a compelling or convincing narrative. After their husbands are arrested and sent to prison by the FBI, Kathy (Melissa McCarthy), Ruby (Tiffany Haddish) and Claire (Elizabeth Moss) are left to fend for themselves despite promises from the family they would be helped out. With few options, the women decide to create their own path in the family business. These talented actresses give it their all (including a standout performance by Margo Martindale as Ruby's racist mother-in-law) but they are unable to make this disjointed story work. This was definitely one of the big disappointments for me of 2019.

"DARK PHOENIX"

"Dark Phoenix" is an adaption of the "Dark Phoenix saga" from the X-Men comic book which became one of the popular story lines in the series from 1980. Simon Kinberg makes his directorial debut with this "conclusion" to the film series. And while he's had an extensive background with the cinematic versions of the mutant heroes, having written and produced "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and "X-Men: Apocalypse", you are left wondering what happened? In Mr. Kinberg's hands, "Dark Phoenix" is surprisingly listless and uninspired. During a mission by the X-Men to save astronauts stranded on a space shuttle damaged by a powerful solar blast, Jean Grey/Phoenix (a blank Sophie Turner) absorbs the full force of this energy in order to save her team's aircraft from destruction. But Jean survives with her psychic powers incredibly enhanced yet also becoming increasingly uncontrollable. Most of the cast returns from 2016's "Apocalypse" (including James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence) along with the addition of Jessica Chastain as a shape-shifting alien who manipulates the troubled Phoenix. Yet none of them appear to be fully invested in this misguided endeavour. And despite a major re-shoot of the third act due to poor test screenings, "Dark Phoenix" remains a painfully average super-hero flick.

"THE DEAD DON'T DIE"

I am usually a big fan of the cinematic work by Jim Jarmusch with "Only Lovers Left Alive" and "Paterson" as recent faves. But the innovative writer/director's latest, "The Dead Don't Die" is an odd mixed-bag of horror and comedy that isn't particularly scary or funny. A small town becomes overrun by zombies and the small police force (recent Oscar-nominee, Adam Driver, in the least successful of the four films he appeared in last year, Bill Murray and Chloë Sevigny) must try to save the town before it's too late. Deadpan and leisurely paced, "The Dead Don't Die" never builds to anything remotely interesting or memorable with it's impressive eclectic cast (Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi, Selena Gomez, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits and Tilda Swinton) seeming to do nothing more than to pop up briefly to chat before moving on to another project.

"SERENITY"

"Serenity", a soggy mess of a noir thriller, was aiming to be sexy and mysterious yet only ends up being limp and confusing. A handsome fishing boat captain (Matthew McConaughey) is struggling to keep his business afloat. Enter his former wife (played by a lost Anne Hathaway), a cartoon femme fatale he hasn't seen in many years, arriving with an offer to bring an end to his financial woes. And it would only involve simply killing her wealthy, violent ogre of a husband (Jason Clarke) in exchange for a lot of cash. Sound perfectly reasonable, right? But then this standard-issue mystery drama makes a sharp left turn in to sci-fi territory. I must admit I have no idea what is going on in "Serenity" but I'm also certain that the film's writer/director, Steven Knight doesn't either.

"JOHN WICK 3"

When Keanu Reeves first appeared as John Wick, a former assassin forced to return to a life of organized murder after a trio of Russian gangsters steal his car and kill his puppy given to him by his late wife, this 2014 neo-noir revenge thriller was greeted with universal acclaim due to it's bold visual style, solid performances and breath-taking action sequences. I actually enjoyed "John Wick", finding it to be a well-paced and entertaining crime drama. This lead to "John Wick: Chapter 2", a more conventional follow-up which continued the story with Wick on the run after breaking a "blood oath" with an Italian crime boss who had allowed him to retire from the life as a hit-man. Now we have the third installment in the series, "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum". And while this action-thriller has become the highest grossing film in the series and received plenty of positive praise, I found the latest film to have grown ridiculously excessive and relentlessly monotonous. "Parabellum" begins less than an hour after "Chapter 2" ended with Wick now a marked man and once again on the run after the unsanctioned killing of the Italian crime lord. The High Table crime syndicate declares Wick "excommunicado" and a fourteen million dollar bounty is placed on his head, leading to endless assassins coming after him trying to collect. Despite the intriguing addition to this brutal caper of Oscar-winners, Halle Berry as another former assassin who reluctantly comes to the aid of Wick and Anjelica Huston as the leader of a Russian crime family that Wick was once a member along with Asia Kate Dillon as "the Adjudicator" for the High Table, "John Wick 3" is an artless affair bogged down by a highly labored script that has the fingerprints of four different writers.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2018

Whenever I go to see a movie, I am filled with excitement and optimism for the story I'm about to be completely immersed in. Yet sometimes I leave the movie annoyed, resentful or discouraged. Any movie that created those emotions for me in 2018 had a very good shot at making this list of my least-favorite movie of the year:

"ANNIHILATION"

The movie that was the biggest disappointment for me last year, without a doubt, was "Annihilation".  Alex Garland's follow-up to his excellent 2014 directorial debut, "Ex Machina" sounded intriguing; Natalie Portman plays Lena, a military professor whose soldier husband (Oscar Isaac) is the only person who has ever returned from investigating a growing, intergalactic force-field caused by a meteor that crashed on Earth. But her husband doesn't remember what happened and then mysteriously falls very ill. Lena volunteers to join an all-female crew of scientists and soldiers (which includes Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh) on a research expedition to get some answers on what they call "the Shimmer". While investigating, the women experience several trippy visions and dangerous, mutated animals while losing their grip on reality. However, this journey moves at a sluggish pace and concludes with a jumble of sci-fi incoherence. I know there were some critics who really loved this movie and even had the nerve to place it on their best-of-the-year lists. But the only list I would put "Annihilation" on would be "Movies to Avoid".

"A WRINKLE IN TIME"

Another disappointment I'm sad to say was Ava DuVernay's big-budget adaption of Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 sci-fi children's novel, "A Wrinkle In Time". While the film impressively features a positive message on diversity and female empowerment, DuVernay seems to spend too much time focusing on the colorfully extravagant visual effects and not enough on capturing a satisfying emotional connection. The screenplay by Jennifer Lee ("Frozen") is surprisingly flat and overloaded. Our story involves Meg (Storm Reid), a bright thirteen year old who is struggling due to the unexplained disappearance of her scientist father (Chris Pine). She lives with her mother (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) and younger brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and one day he lets a strange woman named Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) in to their home. The children are soon introduced to her friends, Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) and they reveal themselves to be supernatural travelers. Meg, Charles Wallace and Meg's classmate, Calvin (Levi Miller) are whisked off on a magical journey through time and space in order to save the world and find the children's missing father. The biggest problem is that DuVernay seems restrained by the Disney movie-making machine and "A Wrinkle In Time" comes across as lifeless and generic. The film really needed more of the innovative, personal touch that the director has given to her indie films.



"BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE"

"Bad Times at the El Royale" is the latest film as a director by celebrated screenwriter, Drew Goddard ("The Martian", "World War Z") and he fills the screen with an impressive line-up of actors. Yet they are not enough to distract from this clunky, rambling and unnecessarily bloated mystery-thriller. The El Royale is a hotel situated between the California and Nevada borderlines. Set in 1969, we see the arrival of some of the guests which seems like a set-up for a bad joke. There is a salesman (Jon Hamm), a singer (Cynthia Erivo), a couple of hippie chicks (Dakota Johnson and Cailee Spaeny) and a priest (Jeff Bridges) who all check in with the hotel's only employee (Lewis Pullman, son of character actor, Bill). They are each keeping a dark secret and none of them are actually who we think they are. And the punchline comes in the sexy form of Chris Hemsworth who plays a cult leader that seems unable to button his shirt and adds more weirdness and violence to our story. Mr. Goddard's screenplay ventures in to Tarantino territory but his script lacks the wit and bite you would find in even a modest effort from our man Quentin.



"VENOM"

First let me say that I am sick to death of these super-hero movies that don’t aspire to be anything more than a cash grab, filling the screen with monotonous, CGI-enhanced battles that are barely held together with a flimsy plot to create an illusion of an engaging story. And that leads me to "Venom", a poorly executed, mess of a movie. Based on the Marvel Comics anti-hero character, Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a journalist who is investigating a bio-engineering company, run by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), that is rumored to be doing human trials by injecting people with an extraterrestrial life-form in order to create a super-human. It turns out to be true and none of these unwilling human subjects survive. But one of the alien specimen escapes, latching on to Brock. He becomes a super-powered hybrid of two separate forms sharing one body. This makes him very appealing to Drake and he sets out to capture "Venom". The director Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland") seems unsure of exactly what type of movie he's trying to make. He has elements of comedy, action-adventure and science-fiction yet none of it is done well. Poor Michele Williams, who appears in the woefully underwritten role of Brock's fed-up girlfriend, is unable to shake the look of "No paycheck is worth having to do this shit" off of her face throughout the movie. But at least Mr. Hardy seems to be having a great time here. The British actor gets the chance to do some physical comedy while delivering an exhausting, manic performance. Too bad he’s the only one having fun.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2017

I believe that every movie begins with a simple goal; to create a work of cinema that audiences will find entertaining and engaging. Unfortunately, that goal does not always come to pass for a variety of different reasons. Here are a few films that stand out for me from last year that were not successful at achieving their goal:

 "It"

"It", the film based on the classic Stephen King novel, became a massive international success last fall. It scared up over $700 million worldwide and has gone on to become the highest-grossing horror movie of all time. And I just don’t get it. While the film is proficiently directed by Andy Muschietti and looks great thanks to the work of cinematographer, Chung-hoon Chung, "It" feels shockingly routine and lacks any genuine scares. After his younger brother vanished a year ago without a trace, Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), a stuttering teenager, continues to be grief-stricken while his parents are still so distraught that they are neglecting him. Other unexplained tragedies involving missing children in the town have been going on for centuries and Bill and his band of misfit friends discover the culprit; Pennywise, a blood-thirsty, dancing clown played with zest by Bill Skarsgård. "It" has moments that entertain and may sends chills down a few spines yet not nearly enough effort has been made to make the film a truly scary nightmare.



"Rough Night"

The comparison to "Girl Trip", last summer's hilarious hit female-buddy comedy, is inevitable but "Rough Night" ain't even on the same block. This misguided attempt of a dark comedy hit theaters first where it was met with a collective groan and a quick dismissal. Four college friends (Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer and Zoë Kravitz) reunite after ten years and decide to have a girl's weekend trip in Miami to celebrate one of them getting married. As cinema history tells us, nothing good will come from this and it doesn't as a male stripper is accidentally killed by one of the ladies. The rest of the film deals with them ridiculously trying to hide and then get rid of the body. Kate McKinnon shows up with a bad Aussie accent as another friend from their college days and "Modern Family's Ty Burrell and Demi Moore appear as a creepy, deviant couple who live next door to their rental house. While the similarly plotted "Girl Trip" successfully combined warmth and uproarious raunchy humor, "Rough Night" is just uncomfortably and incredibly bad.

"T2 Trainspotting"

Much like the follow-ups to movies like "Wall Street", "Basic Instinct" or "300" (to name only a few), "T2 Trainspotting" was another sequel that nobody really asked for. Danny Boyle, now an Oscar-winning director, returns to direct the follow-up to the 1996 film and much of the original cast are back. Irvine Welsh, the author of "Trainspotting", did write a sequel to his book called "Porno" but "T2" uses an original script by John Hodge that is loosely based on both books and follows those junkie Edinburgh lads twenty years later. Mark "Rent boy" Renton (Ewan McGregor) has been off heroin for years and living a normal family life in Amsterdam but divorce and a heart attack brings an end to his peaceful existence. After his marriage fails and loses visitation of his son, Daniel "Spud" Murphy (Ewen Bremner) becomes an addict again. Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson (Jonny Lee Miller) owns a run-down pub and has a coke problem but makes a living blackmailing dirty, old men with his young Bulgarian girlfriend (Anjela Nedyalkova). And Francis "Franco" Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is doing serious time in prison for drugs and robbery. The first film was driven by a reckless youthful energy while "T2" simply wheezes lethargically with sad and depressing middle-age spread.



"Snatched"

"Snatched" was one of the films I was really looking forward to seeing but ultimately it turned out to be one of my biggest disappointments on the year. This lame comedy stars one of the funniest comedians working today, Amy Schumer and features the return of comedy legend, Goldie Hawn who makes her first screen appearance in fifteen years. We also have the reliable talents of Joan Cusack, Ike Barinholtz, Wanda Sykes and Christopher Meloni all on board in supporting roles. With so much talent involved, the question remains why is this film so incredibly inept? One of the biggest problems is the underdeveloped script by Katie Dippold ("The Heat") and the very few laughs generated from it. The film tells the story of Emily (Schumer), after being fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend, who is still determined to go on a nonrefundable vacation to Ecuador. She talks her unadventurous mother (Hawn) to go on the trip with her and the two end up getting kidnapped and held for ransom by a murderous gang. We spend the rest of this tragic comedy watching this mother and daughter trying to escape from their captors and the unamusing situations that occur during their getaway. Fans of Schumer, Hawn and comedies definitely deserved better than "Snatched".

"Ghost in the Shell"

Even without the whitewashing controversy involving the casting of Scarlett Johansson as a clearly Asian character, "Ghost In The Shell" had other serious problems. Based on the popular Japanese manga, this Hollywood version spent most of their time and money on developing visual effects and action sequences and far less on plot and characters. Set in the near future, Hanka Robotics have secretly developed the ability to merge a human brain with an artificial body or "shell". Against the wishes of the inventor, Dr. Ouelet (Juliette Binoche), the experiment of the former Mira Killian, whose body was badly damaged and has become the cyborg, Major (Johansson) will be used as a deadly counter-terrorism operative. The rest of the muddled story involves sabotage within Hanka and the mystery of Killian's past. But the most infuriating thing about "Ghost" is that this is another American film that completely mistreats the glorious gifts of France's "La Binoche".

"Justice League"

"Justice League" brings together some of the world's greatest super-heroes; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. What should have been a thrilling and exciting adventure turned out to be a whole lot less. Dull, uninspired and pointless, "Justice League" lets down comic-book fans with a film that simply goes through the motions and makes zero effort to elevate the material to higher than average. A perfect example of lazy film making at it's finest.

Click here to read review: "Justice League"

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2016

In life, you gotta take the good with the bad. That is equally true with cinema. While I saw many films that I thoroughly enjoyed, there were a few that really disappointed or just annoyed me to no end. Here is my list of the films that left me less than entertained:

"GHOSTBUSTERS"

I had such high hopes for "Ghostbusters", a reboot of the 1984 supernatural comedy, that now features an all-female gang who hunts down some bothersome and nasty ghosts. There was plenty of ugly, unfair and sexist criticism hurled long before the movie was even released, so I really wanted this to be a hilariously fun box-office hit to prove all those haters wrong. Sadly, that did not come to pass. It appeared to be a slam-dunk with Paul Feig ("Bridesmaids", "Spy") behind the camera and the amazing comedic talents of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones plus the eye candy of Chris Hemsworth all on board. A bad script, poor pacing and cheesy visual effects didn't do the film any favors. But I think the biggest problem was that these funny ladies were not allowed to do their own thing. They seemed unable to really cut loose to create their own vision, forcing them to stick too closely to the original film.

"HIGH RISE"

Out of all of the films I saw in 2016, I think "High Rise" was probably my most unpleasant movie-going experience. I found this very unfunny dark comedy incredibly pretentious and a complete bore. Based on a novel by J.G. Ballard, Tom Hiddelston plays a doctor living in a luxury building tower in 1970's London. While the wealthy occupy the top floors, the middle-class live in the far less stellar lower floors. Life is good, for some, and soon everyone begins to lose the desire to leave the comforts of their home. It doesn't take long for a breakdown in social behavior with the occupants descending in to violence and splitting in to groups to defend their areas of the building. Despite an impressive cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elizabeth Moss, "High Rise" falls completely flat.



"THE LEGEND OF TARZAN"

Tarzan, the Edgar Rice Burroughs character of the infant son of British aristocrats who is orphaned in the African jungle and raised by a tribe of apes, has been around for over one hundred years. It didn't take long for Hollywood to take notice with a silent film made in 1918 and starred Elmo Lincoln as the first screen Tarzan. There have been many, many other versions ever since, so the idea to reintroduce the Ape Man to a new generation was a good one. However, "The Legend of Tarzan" is not good. At all. Alexander Skarsgård was an inspired choice to play Tarzan but the rest of the film is stale and moldy. This story begins years after Tarzan has left Africa and returned to London as Lord Greystoke with his American bride, Jane (Margot Robbie). He's invited to visit the Congo to see new development by the Belgium government. With an American envoy (Samuel L. Jackson) in tow, Tarzan and Jane return to Africa but this turns out to be a not-so-friendly visit with a sinister plan set up by a Belgian envoy (Christoph Waltz). The lackluster action sequences and sluggish pacing ruins any potential fun. No animals were harmed during the making of this film (due to then all being digitally created) but that certainly can't be said about any of the humans who sat through watching "The Legend of Tarzan".

"THE BROTHERS GRIMSBY"

When Sacha Baron Cohen introduced us to his Borat character with his hit 2006 mockumentary feature, this shocking comedy was fresh and a laugh riot. Now ten years later with his latest comedy he has written, "The Brothers Grimsby", Cohen's act has grown tiresome and uninspired. This time Cohen plays Nobby Butcher who was separated from his younger brother as children after they were orphaned. Nobby is now a drunk with an oversexed wife (Rebel Wilson) and eleven children. His brother, Sebastian (Mark Strong) has become a top secret agent. Not much of a surprise to reveal that this mismatched pair are reunited with Nobby getting himself involved in one of Sebastian's dangerous cases. Cohen clearly thinks that creating another half-wit with several objects managing to accidentally (and one time on purpose) find a way in to his anus or him having sex with overweight women is enough to deliver plenty of hilarity. But he is sadly mistaken. This film is just lazy, incompetent and a poor excuse for a comedy.



"THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR"

"The Huntsman: Winter's War",  a follow-up to the awful, "Snow White and The Huntsman", is a sequel nobody asked for and a film that is actually worse than the original. With Snow White out of the picture (mostly due to a messy behind-the-scenes scandal), the focus is on Chris Hemsworth's the Huntsman (whose name is Eric, in case you were seriously wondering). Why? Good question. This is an origin story of this bland man of the woods and a continuation from the first film. The evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron, still the best thing here) had a sweet, younger sister, Freya (Emily Blunt) and due to tragic events becomes the slightly-less-evil, the Snow Queen. She steals the children of people of the surrounding village and trains them to become part of her army which includes Eric and Sara (Jessica Chastain). There's more involving the magic mirror, a few other broken hearts and an epic battle between the sisters but I'm sure you've heard enough. The only other thing I will add is please do not waste your time with this wreck of a film.

"KEANU"

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele certainly know how to bring the funny as we've seen from their hit sketch-comedy series, "Key & Peele". The comedy team put together their first feature, "Keanu" but it isn't much of a laughing matter. A recently dumped Rell (Peele) is cheered up after he finds a cute, stray kitten. He names him "Keanu" but this cat actually has an owner; a pair of ruthless assassins (also played by Key and Peele) who took ownership from a Mexican drug cartel after wiping them all out. After coming home to discover his place ransacked and Keanu missing, Rell, with his nerdy cousin, Clarence (Key) by his side, goes out on a desperate search to find his cat. This leads to them impersonating the assassins, getting mixed-up with a street gang, being forced to sell a new potent drug and killing actress, Anna Farris (you really don't want to know). With a plot that is way too convoluted, jokes that land with a thud and an excessive amount of violence that feels completely out-of-place, "Keanu" is one of the most surprising misfires of the year.

MY LEAST FAVORITE FILMS OF 2015

Every year, there are always some wonderful films released. Also every year, there are films that missed the mark and did not live up to expectations. Here are my selections of the films from the previous year I did not get much enjoyment from watching:

"MAD MAX: FURY ROAD"

After thirty years, writer/director George Miller has brought his Mad Max character back and audiences have widely embraced that move. However, I'm in the minority here as I was no fan of "Mad Max: Fury Road". In this new installment set in a post-apocalyptic world, Tom Hardy now plays Max who is held captive by Immortan Joe and his army and used as a "blood bag" for the sick. Joe's associate, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) has taken five of Joe's brides to free them from their torturous life. Joe sends his army after them with Max strapped aboard to supply blood. Circumstances bring Max and Furiosa together and they reluctantly team up to escape Joe's men. While I must admit to admiring the impressive visuals by cinematographer, John Seale along with Hardy and Theron's stellar performances but overall, "Fury Road" felt like one long, endless car chase.

"LOST RIVER"

I still love you, Ryan Gosling but I really, REALLY hated your directorial debut, "Lost River". If Detroit didn't have it bad enough, Gosling has set this incredibly tedious drama there. A financially-strapped mother (Christina Hendricks) is struggling to hang on to her house. She turns to working at a mysterious underground club for extra money while her teenage son (Iain De Caestecker) salvages copper from abandoned houses. With his neighbor named Rat (Saoirse Ronan), they discover that a town nearby was buried underwater when a reservoir was built years ago which caused their neighborhood to be cursed. It seems Mr. Gosling was inspired by the surreal cinema of David Lynch. However, he failed to realize that it requires a certain mind set (which very few people actually have) to make Lynch's style of offbeat film-making entertaining. While our novice director managed to create some interesting images, what was missing was any type of emotional connection to what we were watching.



"MISTRESS AMERICA"

Director Noah Baumbach and actress, Greta Gerwig are back with "Mistress America", their latest smug comedy. They first worked together on Baumbach's 2010 film, "Greenberg" and then became romantically linked. The duo teamed up again, in addition to co-writing the script, for the unbearable "Frances Ha" (which found it's way on this list back 2012). This story revolves around Tracy (Lola Kirke), a college freshman having trouble adjusting to life on campus. She meets her future step-sister, Brooke (Gerwig), a wacky, self-absorbed New Yorker living a fascinatingly charmed life, who takes her under her wing. Tracy is mesmerized however, Brooke is not nearly as together as she'd like everyone to believe. Once again, the director has delivered another film filled with humorless writing and unappealing characters. Perhaps I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I have gone in to Mr. Baumbach's recent films optimistically due to my love of his early work like "The Squid and The Whale". Yet, I keep walking out sadly disappointed.

"FANTASTIC FOUR"

This latest version of "Fantastic Four"" was supposed to properly reboot the Marvel comic-book series on the big screen after a couple of uninspired films. However the outcome is far worse than anything previously seen. Director Josh Trank ("Chronicle") co-wrote this ridiculous origins story of teenage scientists who invent a device that can transport people to another dimension. Bruised egos cause an accident which exposes the teens to an otherworldly energy leaving them with super-human powers. The lead actors (Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan), lacking any chemistry together, struggle to make the best out of a bad situation. Uneven, silly and dull, "Fantastic Four" is just a very sad super-hero flick.

"JOY"

Despite a very impressive lead performance by Jennifer Lawrence and strong supporting turns from Diane Ladd and Isabella Rossellini, "Joy", the latest comedy-drama by David O. Russell, is surprisingly lethargic. Loosely based on the life of Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop, Ms Lawrence plays Joy, a divorced mother of three who is also supporting her mother (Virginia Madsen), grandmother (Ladd), ex-husband (Édgar Ramírez) and recently single father (Robert DeNiro) as they all live under the same roof. While cleaning broken glass on the yacht of her father's new wealthy girlfriend (Rossellini), Joy comes up with concept for her mop and struggles to convince the world it's a great idea. Shockingly, the usually assured Russell has made an ineffective film, unable to find the right balance of over-the-top humor, potent drama and real emotions.

"STONEWALL"

Did you ever wonder what would happen if Roland Emmerich, the director of "Independence Day" applied the elements he uses for his action films to create a drama based on the 1969 Stonewall riots? Unfortunately, with "Stonewall" you can experience it and the film, not surprisingly, is an awful mess. Much has been made about the controversial focus of this fictionalized story on a young, mid-western white boy (Jeremy Irvine) coming to New York and getting swept up in the gay liberation movement while pretty much pushing the drag queens and people of color (the folks actually at the forefront of this fight) far in the background but that's the least of this film's problems. Poorly directed, badly written (I had to check twice to make sure I was actually seeing the name of acclaimed playwright, Jon Robin Baitz credited as the writer) and featuring some of the worst performances of the year, "Stonewall" is not only shameful but shamefully bad.

"BLACKHAT", "IN THE HEART OF THE SEA"

The tech-thriller, "Blackhat" and angry whale drama, "In The Heart of The Sea" have exactly two things in common. One is Aussie hunk, Chris Hemsworth. The other is that they are both really lousy movies. A highly-praised director, Michael Mann ("Heat", "Collateral") is behind "Blackhat" which features Hemsworth as an imprisoned computer hacker who get released to help the FBI (a wasted Viola Davis plays one of the agents) track down a cyberterrorist threatening to cause worldwide destruction. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't understand everything that was going on with this convoluted plot but one thing I do know; not a single moment felt believable. Particularly Hemsworth as an expert computer hack.

Our intrepid performer is back with another much admired film maker, Ron Howard ("Apollo 13", "A Beautiful Mind") for the lackluster, "In The Heart of The Sea". Based on true events that inspired Herman Melville to write the classic novel, "Moby Dick", Hemsworth stars as first mate on the Essex, a Nantucket whaling ship, with an inexperienced captain (Benjamin Walker) leading the crew. After months out at sea with little results, the ship finally spots a massive whale but it's not going down without a fight. When the CGI whale displays more life and passion than our flesh and blood characters, you know you're in trouble.