Agreed with Superman Returns, I place the vast majority of the blame for that movie on the poor script.

The Da Vinci Code, Great ideas and cool concepts, yet the movie was so mediocre. I haven't seen Angels and Demons yet but I'd guess it's the same.

A couple Horror movies:
Ghost Ship, I love the idea of finding an old abandoned, haunted luxury liner in the ocean. This film had so much potential but flat out sucked!

House on Haunted Hill, A great haunted house movie, add to spooky "Haunted hospital" elements and it had the potential to be quite creepy. Turned out to be a pile of crap.

I know they're easy targets but most horror movies would fit this bill, especially the watered down PG-13 garbage we get. A lot of great ideas in those movies but shit execution.

Mystery Men

Was watching the trailer for Thirst, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance popped to mind for this thread. I like Chan-wook Park a great deal, but nothing in Sympathy... worked for me in terms of filmmaking. There was no atmosphere, just sterile observation, I felt nothing for any of the characters despite the situation, and the pacing just felt off.

Gone Baby Gone covers similar ground so I don't necessarily think it will be remade, or that it should be, but it was one of my bigger disappointments, especially considering ho well received it was around the time I saw it. Great story, just deadly dull.

Angels and Demons, I'm all for a movie about resurrecting the Illuminati and taking on the Vatican... but not like this.

The Star Wars prequels. The core ideas were pretty good, but the movies are so plodding and boring, with such poor screenplays that nothing comes off right.

Seconded...I was so very excited for this film...Mike Judge, great concept...and in the end I was completely let down. Parts were funny...but it just didn't do it for me...

Screwed - On paper, the pairing of Dave Chappelle and Norm MacDonald should be comedy gold. In reality it was one of the dullest comedies I've ever seen... I honestly can't remember a single thing about it other than it was a massive disappointment.

We're going to see The Expendables on this list once it comes out. There's no way it'll match the movie everybody's built up inside their heads.

I agree. The story could have surpassed the Original Trilogy, as in theory it is more adult, more deep, more dramatic. And then Jar Jar Binks steps on screen, and the rest is history!

A older movie with Cheryl Ladd and Krist Kerstofferson...Millennium.

Also the recent Benjamin Button. Great concept. Horrible execution.

Toys - Loved the idea of a toy manufacturer producing weapons. At times stagerringly beautiful to look at, but rarely rises above painful to watch. May be the only time I didn't like Joan Cusack in something.

Great choice! It plays as a mystery/cover-up but gives away too much of what should have been the "ah-ha" moment. Perhaps if the future stuff was considered as a "dream" Ladd was having, then it would be a real twist.


Yup; Levinson didn't seem to know which direction he wanted to take and the mysterious "sea swine" was an anti-climatic dud. Some great imagery with the "Mirror song," the house in the middle of the corn fields, and the kids forced to play the wargames. But the dialogue and story arcs are terrible for such a unique idea.

I think Star Trek V really does count as an example; the idea of finding God was perfectly sound but the effects, some of the slapstick, and lack of depth into certain aspects, like Sybok and the "release of pain" were the film's downfall.

Jumper leaps to mind.

I think the surreal imagery is weird and great, the overall story is kinda meh.

There are a few "Robin Williams moments" in the movie, which are a nice touch.