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JPRaup 12-13-08 10:18 PM

Top 5 Disappointments of 2008
 
I wrote this article for The Film Stage: http://thefilmstage.blogspot.com/200...s-of-2008.html

Here are my Top 5:

5. Ghost Town
4. Body of Lies
3. Miracle at St. Anna
2. Quantum of Solace
1. Click Here to Find Out

What our yours?

Sanjuro37 12-13-08 10:26 PM

That's an excellent list, but I'd leave off Ghost Town. It looked like it was gonna be shite but Gervais and Kinnear elevated the cookie-cutter story. I would leave off Body of Lies too, but only because I want to add two to your list: Cloverfield and Indiana Jones 4.

JPRaup 12-13-08 10:29 PM


Originally Posted by Sanjuro37 (Post 9131545)
That's an excellent list, but I'd leave off Ghost Town. It looked like it was gonna be shite but Gervais and Kinnear elevated the cookie-cutter story. I would leave off Body of Lies too, but only because I want to add two to your list: Cloverfield and Indiana Jones 4.


Cloverfield is in my top ten of the year, and I've seen almost everything. That would be the most surprising films of the year. I was going to put on Indy 4 though, but i just didnt hate it that bad.

RichC2 12-13-08 10:39 PM

The "Click here to find out" isn't going to play well.

Okay list. Be Kind Rewind was exactly what I expected so it escapes disappointment, and I expected Miracle at St. Anna to suck, which it more or less did save for a few small parts.

Still need to see the others.

JPRaup 12-13-08 10:42 PM


Originally Posted by RichC2 (Post 9131562)
The "Click here to find out" isn't going to play well.

Okay list. Be Kind Rewind was exactly what I expected so it escapes disappointment, and I expected Miracle at St. Anna to suck, which it more or less did save for a few small parts.

Still need to see the others.

I need people to read what I wrote somehow!
:)

Sanjuro37 12-13-08 10:46 PM

I maintain a hatred of Cloverfield no matter how many times the internet tries to sell me on it. I thought the characters were unrealistic- yes, I know it's a monster movie, but in what way does that excuse humans from the need to act like humans? Plus, you could see everything coming. It was basically the Matthew Broderick Godzilla with hand-held cameras (yeah, I thought it was that bad). And I thought it was gonna be gangbusters and even kept trying to sell my friends on it before it came out. So, Abrams made it personal :)

So I'd put it as the biggest disappointment for me. Be Kind Rewind was a big letdown, but I was way skeptical on the idea even with Gondry involved- reminded me too much of the Blockbleester sketch on The Amanda Show.

RichC2 12-13-08 10:48 PM

Oh yeah, Cloverfield exceeded my expectations as well, great little flick.

Daytripper 12-13-08 10:52 PM

1) (with a bullet) "Australia". The moment I heard about this film going into production, I was very excited. Even with Russell Crowe on board. The early advance stills generated even more excitement for me. Saw the movie opening day. And wow, was it not what I had hoped. The first half, terrible. The last half, pretty good. Still, didn't care for the lousy painted background throughout. Or "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" throughout the film. Too corny.

2) "Jumper". Even with anemic the Hayden Christensen, I love Doug Liman. And thought this could have been great. I didn't hate it like most. But thought it was o.k. at best.

3) "Speed Racer". Such a huge misfire. Nice to look at. But a horrible film.

4) "Mamma Mia!". Fun play. Didn't have the highest expectation for a stage to screen version. But after "Hairspray" (which I thought was fantastic), I had hope. But man oh man, the movie was horrible. Worst film of 2008 from a major studio IMO.

5) "Run Fatboy Run". Love love love Simon Pegg. But this movie was CRAP! Not funny. Not cute. Not romantic. Nothing. Sure, no director could have made this work. But David Schwimmer just made it 1000% worse. And should never be allowed behind a camera again. He also killed the studio sketches on "Little Britain U.S.A.".

Zen Peckinpah 12-13-08 10:55 PM

Be Kind Rewind definitely disappointed big time. LOVED the Ghostbusters remake, and there were quite a few points that showed a glimmer of a classic. But
Spoiler:
the damn FBI subplot and them making a "real" movie"
murdered the film.

I loved Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale was 2/3 of a great film and the rest was a boring drag, however this stepped right on the gas and never let up.

Cloverfield was quite an achievement (and scared the living shit out of me at several points), but I feel like it's something that requires a theatrical experience (nobody I know who saw it on DVD has liked it very much).

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was as good a film as it could have been. It couldn't be Raiders, it couldn't even be Last Crusade. The CGI is distracting, but it was pretty good.

Was interested in Body of Lies, decided to wait for the Blu-ray once the lukewarm reviews came out, although one review putting it on the same level as Scott's Black Rain got me interested.

The Ruins was also a sizable letdown for me IMO.

Sanjuro37 12-13-08 10:56 PM

I would have said Australia, because it did get me excited, but then I hate Baz Luhrmann with such a passion that I saw it coming. It was still a big letdown even by those standards though. And Speed Racer looked like shit from a mile off. I still don't know why I sat through all of it.

Matthew Chmiel 12-13-08 11:40 PM

I 100% disagree with:

Cloverfield. While I still feel half of the first twenty minutes could've been left on the cutting room floor, once the shit hits the fan, the film never lets up. It also scores some points for being fucking brutal for a PG-13.

Speed Racer. You had to know what you were getting into. A completely faithful adaptation to the original anime that had some genuine heart and a family film that was actually about family.

Ghost Town. I went in expecting the film to be awful, but the film took me completely by surprise and is easily one of the year's most criminally underrated films.

Mine:

1) Wall-E
2) Semi-Pro / Step Brothers (tie)
3) Mamma Mia!
4) Run Fatboy Run
5) Be Kind Rewind

JPRaup 12-13-08 11:45 PM


Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel (Post 9131621)
I 100% disagree with:

Cloverfield. While I still feel half of the first twenty minutes could've been left on the cutting room floor, once the shit hits the fan, the film never lets up. It also scores some points for being fucking brutal for a PG-13.

Speed Racer. You had to know what you were getting into. A completely faithful adaptation to the original anime that had some genuine heart and a family film that was actually about family.

Ghost Town. I went in expecting the film to be awful, but the film took me completely by surprise and is easily one of the year's most criminally underrated films.

Mine:

1) Wall-E
2) Semi-Pro / Step Brothers (tie)
3) Mamma Mia!
4) Run Fatboy Run
5) Be Kind Rewind

Ghost Town was one of the highest rated comedies of the year: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1190970-ghost_town/

Wall-E..what disappointed you exactly? I feel the film is perfect.

I was going put Run Fatboy Run in as well, what a disaster, not a good year for Pegg. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People was one of the biggest bombs AND was truly awful.

Matthew Chmiel 12-13-08 11:54 PM


Originally Posted by JPRaup (Post 9131626)
Ghost Town was one of the highest rated comedies of the year: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1190970-ghost_town/

Wall-E..what disappointed you exactly? I feel the film is perfect.

I was going put Run Fatboy Run in as well, what a disaster, not a good year for Pegg. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People was one of the biggest bombs AND was truly awful.

And you know who saw Ghost Town? Nobody. Therefore, it's underrated.

Wall-E has an amazing first act. The film goes right to shit once the film goes into space and slaps it's audience over the head over-and-over-and-over again with it's heavy handed political message about how humans are fat, lazy and stupid about their treatment of Earth. It's like the children's version of Idiocracy, just not as entertaining.

wm lopez 12-14-08 12:03 AM

DIARY OF THE DEAD is like CLOVERFIELD as far as film making style so it's my winner.
DIARY had much worse acting.

Ronnie Dobbs 12-14-08 12:04 AM

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Castle

starman9000 12-14-08 12:05 AM

Be Kind Rewind was probably my biggest disappointment. Wanted is second (not that I had any intention of seeing it to begin with, but I let the internet hype get to me).

Daytripper 12-14-08 12:11 AM


Originally Posted by Matthew Chmiel (Post 9131634)
And you know who saw Ghost Town? Nobody. Therefore, it's underrated.

Wall-E has an amazing first act. The film goes right to shit once the film goes into space and slaps it's audience over the head over-and-over-and-over again with it's heavy handed political message about how humans are fat, lazy and stupid about their treatment of Earth. It's like the children's version of Idiocracy, just not as entertaining.

Matthew, underrated doesn't mean box-office. In terms of reviews, by both users and professional (also see IMDB), it's rated extremely high.

And about your "Speed Racer" remark, about knowing what you were getting into. I watched the anime show faithfully as a child. And it was no where close to it's magic. In fact, it was just a soulless attempt to capture that show.

Mercury&Solace 12-14-08 12:25 AM

Oh my god, what is with you people and riding Cloverfield's nuts? This movie was absolute fucking crap. Blair Witch with a stupid ass monster.
Oh wait you guys are probably the same fanboy crowd when you saw the stupid ass monster crash into the ocean went ape shit and had to get a DVD still off that exact scene. What a bunch of shit.

JPRaup 12-14-08 12:28 AM

No, I saw it opening night at mdnight, without knowing a single thing about the story or the ARG or whatever else there was. I was blown away by the (mostly) realistic dialogue (esp in the beginning), and the way the monster was revealed. It really was one of the top 5 theater experiences I've ever had. I absolutely love the film, it was nice and short and exceeded my expectations tenfold.

Patman 12-14-08 12:35 AM

I'll put down 8 films that I was pretty interested in seeing at the time of their release, but now, I don't really much care to ever see them again.

Wall-E
Quantum of Solace
Blindness
Pineapple Express
The Happening
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls
Smart People
Vantage Point

beavis69 12-14-08 12:44 AM

I thought Cloverfield could of been great had they not gone back for the girl. If it was about them trying to escape the city and their path gets cut off or something like that i would of been better. However, them going back to get someone that a guy kinda has a crush on was ridiculously stupid. That said, i enjoyed it for what it was and have watched it numerous times on blu ray. With that said, heres my five

Indy 4-Shia swinging with monkeys. And that wasnt even the dumbest part

Diary of the Dead-Just a terrible zombie movie by a man who shouldnt be making terrible zombie movies

Funny Games-Just one of those movies were the previews sucked me in, but the actual movie didnt do anything for me

Appaloosa-Felt like one of those "Not Another" movies but for a western. Felt like someone watched a couple of Eastwood movies and said "i could do that." They couldn't

Tropic Thunder- I was really looking forward to this. The black face thing i thought was going to be done very cleverly, all the actors involved are funny in their own right. Should be a no brainer. This movie was the anti funny. The only thing i laughed at was the panda scene. Such a dissapointment.

edit: forgot my honarable mention, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Im tired of british accents in German movie. Also the fact that the premise of the movie was so unbelievable it took me out of anything story they were trying to tell. You could almost see the string they were pulling you along with to try and make you feel the way they wanted you to feel.

Moonstone 12-14-08 12:56 AM

Get Smart was my choice for the biggest disappointment of the year mainly because it took its 5 main actors (Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp) and not only gave them very little to do but ran them through a gauntlet of second rate action sequences, Swell.

But If I had to blame somebody, it would actually be Carrell since he was also an executive producer on the film, why didn't he try to do better or demand better script material, I'll most likely never hear that question answered but there was my reason why this got the title.

Daytripper 12-14-08 01:18 AM


Originally Posted by beavis69 (Post 9131690)
I thought Cloverfield could of been great had they not gone back for the girl. If it was about them trying to escape the city and their path gets cut off or something like that i would of been better. However, them going back to get someone that a guy kinda has a crush on was ridiculously stupid. That said, i enjoyed it for what it was and have watched it numerous times on blu ray. With that said, heres my five

THANK YOU!!! "Cloverfield" could have been great. But the whole guy going back for a girl that's not even his girlfriend, with an end of the world scenario going on, was absolutely ridiculous. And don't get me started on the building that fell over into the other. Where they jump to rescue her. If I had a soda while watching it, I would have thrown it at the screen. No, the story should have been everything trying to get the fuck out of the city and trying to survive ONLY!

advdfreak 12-14-08 01:45 AM

5. 88 Minutes - Pacino is one of my favorite actors and its disappointing to see the roles he is given now.
4. 10,000 B.C. - Looked promising but then I watched it.
3. Hancock - This is the 4th highest grossing movie of 2008 and I'm still wondering why?
2. Semi-Pro - It had some funny moments, but too few in between.
1. The X-Files: I Want To Believe - I didn't know what to expect, but the wait was definitely not worth this.

TimeandTide 12-14-08 02:03 AM


Originally Posted by beavis69 (Post 9131690)
Tropic Thunder- I was really looking forward to this. The black face thing i thought was going to be done very cleverly, all the actors involved are funny in their own right. Should be a no brainer. This movie was the anti funny. The only thing i laughed at was the panda scene. Such a dissapointment.

Ditto. Had such high hopes for this. BIG letdown.


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