What's the worst movie you've ever seen?

[Daniel Smith]

well, that's your loss.

(assuming you ment 'experimental')

Not necessarily... some people aren't into experimental cinema, which is fair enough. They simply, do not like it. Just as experimental film lovers choose not to like mainstream cinema.

 

But there's certainly nothing wrong with liking only mainstream Hollywood cinema.

 

I think when I begin to make larger films, I'm going to use as many mainstream Hollywood techniques as I possibly can.

 

Why?

 

Because I want to be original, rebel against what everyone else is doing and throw hammers through the walls of conformity.

Edited December 28, 2006 by Daniel Ashley-Smith

[Matthew Buick]

All of the Carry On films, they're dated, trashy, depressing, after one of them I'm feeling suicidal.

[Brandon McCormick]

"Crank"

 

I've never sat through a worse steaming pile of doo doo.

 

Amazed that anyone thought it could be passed for entertainment. Apparently a story isn't required these days, just some flashy camera work and sex.

 

A pity, it was shot on my camera too. HDW-F900

Lame, lame, lame.

 

B

[Daniel Smith]

"Crank"

 

I've never sat through a worse steaming pile of doo doo.

 

Amazed that anyone thought it could be passed for entertainment. Apparently a story isn't required these days, just some flashy camera work and sex.

 

A pity, it was shot on my camera too. HDW-F900

Lame, lame, lame.

 

B

Wow.. interesting to know it was shot on digital.. I didn't notice. And you OWN an F900?

 

Personally I thought the idea behind it was pretty good. The fact that he had a time limit, and that he HAD to keep his heart pumping fast to stay alive. It was just the perfect foundation for a completely mental action film. An original foundation. (as far as I know)

 

Not that I'm attacking your opinion, just saying.

Edited December 29, 2006 by Daniel Ashley-Smith

[Leo Anthony Vale]

All of the Carry On films, they're dated, trashy, depressing, after one of them I'm feeling suicidal.

 

But surely charles hawtry is a national treasure.

[Terry Hsieh]

i'd....have to say I think that some of the worst stuff i've seen and heard in terms of dialogue and destroyed storyline has to be the last 3 star wars movies. I felt that those last 3 were pretty bad......if they had better actors and better dialogue the rest of the movie might have caught up to the epic proportions of the cinematography and the story.

[James Steven Beverly]

i'd....have to say I think that some of the worst stuff i've seen and heard in terms of dialogue and destroyed storyline has to be the last 3 star wars movies. I felt that those last 3 were pretty bad......if they had better actors and better dialogue the rest of the movie might have caught up to the epic proportions of the cinematography and the story.

You want better actors that Liem Nissen, Ewan McGregor, Natallie Portman and Samual L. Jackson :blink: ! You don't want much, do you. Maybe we could dig Olivier up for you or Olsen Welles perhaps...how about Brando. B)

[Troy Warr]

Paycheck, Alpha Dog, Femme Fatale (what the hell happened to Brian de Palma? He also made one of the best movies I've ever seen, Carlito's Way)

[James Steven Beverly]

Paycheck, Alpha Dog, Femme Fatale (what the hell happened to Brian de Palma? He also made one of the best movies I've ever seen, Carlito's Way)

 

Carlito's Way had Pacino as a gangster. How do you screw that up? B)

[Jesus Sifuentes]

You want better actors that Liem Nissen, Ewan McGregor, Natallie Portman and Samual L. Jackson :blink: ! You don't want much, do you. Maybe we could dig Olivier up for you or Olsen Welles perhaps...how about Brando. B)

 

 

Well I for one could tell that some where along the line they all lost their commitment to the project. The acting was stale at best. Had no ounce of passion in the dialogue, considering you had some amazing actors.

[Nicholas Jenkins]

I think the Coleman Francis trilogy is probably the most vile group of films I've ever seen. I can't imagine anything more devoid of life and joy.

 

The Sky Divers

The Beast of Yucca Flats

and

Red Zone Cuba

 

lord help me, even Mike and the bots couldn't help these much.

[David Mullen ASC]

I think the Coleman Francis trilogy is probably the most vile group of films I've ever seen. I can't imagine anything more devoid of life and joy.

 

The Sky Divers

The Beast of Yucca Flats

and

Red Zone Cuba

 

lord help me, even Mike and the bots couldn't help these much.

 

MST3K did one of their best skits during one of those movies: a public service announcement regarding the fact that some old movies weren't decaying fast enough. "But if you call 1-800-LET ROT and make a donation, we'll transfer these movies onto volatile nitrate stock and store them in a warm damp place!"

[Nicholas Jenkins]

MST3K did one of their best skits during one of those movies: a public service announcement regarding the fact that some old movies weren't decaying fast enough. "But if you call 1-800-LET ROT and make a donation, we'll transfer these movies onto volatile nitrate stock and store them in a warm damp place!"

 

Agreed. GREAT skit. :D I think that was on Beast of Yucca Flats. *shivers*

[Jason Debus]

Paycheck, Alpha Dog, Femme Fatale (what the hell happened to Brian de Palma? He also made one of the best movies I've ever seen, Carlito's Way)

 

OK you'll have to explain this one to me, Brain De Palma's Femme Fatale is one of my favorite movies.

[Nicholas Jenkins]

OK you'll have to explain this one to me, Brain De Palma's Femme Fatale is one of my favorite movies.

 

I think allot of people just haven't seen any really REALLY bad movies. De Palma's work has gone down hill but Femme Fatale was actually one of his stronger pieces as of late. But even his bad ones are just kind of Bad Big Budget movies.

[Troy Warr]

OK you'll have to explain this one to me, Brain De Palma's Femme Fatale is one of my favorite movies.

 

Hi Jason,

 

I saw it in the theater so it's been a while, but from memory:

 

- Rebecca Romijn is a horrible actress. I vaguely remember one scene where she was crying or something, and I couldn't help but to laugh, it was so hard to swallow the performance. Antonio Banderas isn't usually bad but in this movie I didn't like him much at all.

- *Way* too much gratuitous sex. It seems like every movie made today just has to include some of this, and it's really annoying - poor substitute for a story, plot, theme, etc. Just a way to boost the male audience. I realize it's "Femme Fatale," but in my opinion there are so many other creative ways to emphasize this aspect without resorting to lesbian make-outs, etc. In this instance that only served to titillate the audience, which more or less ruins my chance of taking the movie seriously.

- In my opinion it didn't have anywhere near the storytelling prowess that De Palma's other work has, let alone any other respectable filmmaker. I wasn't interested in the characters or the story, not only because the elements above made it very difficult for me to care, but because there wasn't much at all that I found interesting in the story.

 

I'm curious to know - not trying to patronize - what did you like about the movie?

[Jason Debus]

Hi Troy,

 

I appreciate the intelligent response. These things are largely a matter of taste that's why I was curious. The criticisms I've heard about the movie in the past have centered around Romijn's acting and credibility so perhaps you have a point.

 

There's quite a few reasons I think Femme Fatale is great. Consider the first half hour of the movie where there is hardly any dialouge. Where you see a gratuitous lesbian makeout scene I see an intriguing diamond heist where nothing is as it seems. Also it's at a great location; the Cannes Film Festival which makes it a lot of fun for those of us who love the movies. De Palma's camera movements as he follows Romijn's progress through the festival is in my mind quite brilliant, especially some of the shots of her with the still camera (intro of a theme), as well as the 'theft' of the diamonds. We also get some of the 'mission impossible' type stuff with the thieves. De Palma pulls a fast one on us right in front of our eyes with the diamond theft. Only later in the movie do we discover that we had it wrong. To me it's sexy and exciting without being overly gratuitous.

 

Later we are introduced to Antonio Banderas' character who is taking pictures (reinforcing the voyeur theme) from his apartment balcony. The work of art he is producing and the final piece of it that falls into place at the end I felt was beautiful and sublime. I also liked his character, a paparazzi who has several tricks to get the shots he needs. For example I thought his gay character shtick was hilarious.

 

The strip tease scene gets a little steamy. Like you said this IS Femme Fatale, it's part and parcel of an 'erotic thriller'. I found it juicy while still marveling at De Palma's split diaopter compositions.

 

As far as the ending, I can only guess that perhaps you felt the film cheated or you didn't buy it. In my opinion the ending reaches a kind of magic that few films achieve. We are given cinematic clues earlier in the movie telling us that everything is not as it seems, such as the overflowing bathtub and aquarium. The way the doppleganger idea is introduced and played I thought was pitch perfect. De Palma shows his Hitchcock influence in a big way without being an exact ripoff like Body Double. It's twisty turny, dreamy cinema which I love.

 

To me erotic thrillers don't get much better than this.

 

EDIT: Check out rotten tomatoes page on this movie. Reviews are straight down the middle, some giving it high praise while others say it's De Palma's worst movie. I guess it's just one of those polarizing movies.

 

ROTTEN TOMATOES, Femme Fatale

[James Steven Beverly]

Hi Jason,

 

I saw it in the theater so it's been a while, but from memory:

 

- Rebecca Romijn is a horrible actress. I vaguely remember one scene where she was crying or something, and I couldn't help but to laugh, it was so hard to swallow the performance. Antonio Banderas isn't usually bad but in this movie I didn't like him much at all.

- *Way* too much gratuitous sex. It seems like every movie made today just has to include some of this, and it's really annoying - poor substitute for a story, plot, theme, etc. Just a way to boost the male audience. I realize it's "Femme Fatale," but in my opinion there are so many other creative ways to emphasize this aspect without resorting to lesbian make-outs, etc. In this instance that only served to titillate the audience, which more or less ruins my chance of taking the movie seriously.

- In my opinion it didn't have anywhere near the storytelling prowess that De Palma's other work has, let alone any other respectable filmmaker. I wasn't interested in the characters or the story, not only because the elements above made it very difficult for me to care, but because there wasn't much at all that I found interesting in the story.

 

I'm curious to know - not trying to patronize - what did you like about the movie?

 

This movie had Rebecca Romijn, lesbian make-out scenes AND lot's of gratuitous sex and you DIDN"T like it???!!!! :blink: BTW there is no such thing as Way too much gratuitous sex unless we're talking "Brokeback Mountain" B)

[Troy Warr]

I appreciate the intelligent response. These things are largely a matter of taste that's why I was curious.

 

Thanks Jason, I can appreciate your POV. I think the underlying consensus may be that the film at least has a few major flaws - and it's a matter of personal taste whether those can be overlooked, or whether that ruins the experience. Would you agree on that?

 

I can see where you find some intrigue and interest, as there were a few isolated parts in which I did find some merit; De Palma was still in charge, and while I personally felt that the movie was overwhelmingly bad, he did put a clever touch in at least occasionally. I think I probably criticize the movie more harshly because I expected so much more from De Palma. But, who knows... maybe the bad decisions weren't even his, but the money men's. Maybe he did the best he could with what he had.

 

The rotten tomatoes link was interesting, and definitely supports your point about it being polarizing. I don't have any inherent hate for the erotic thriller genre, but I guess my main point is that "erotic" doesn't have to mean nudity, make-outs and stripteases all over the place. It's a psychological/emotional thing, and in my opinion, much more crafty, artistic, and effective when you can achieve it by other, more subtle means. You especially have to be into the mood of the scene and into the characters for it to work well, which I wasn't, and was why it just didn't work for me.

 

This movie had Rebecca Romijn, lesbian make-out scenes AND lot's of gratuitous sex and you DIDN"T like it???!!!! :blink: BTW there is no such thing as Way too much gratuitous sex unless we're talking "Brokeback Mountain" B)

 

Hahaha... thanks James. To be fair, I think that part of the reason for that has to be the fact that I saw "Femme Fatale" with my girlfriend, who was burning a hole in the side of my head with her glare during the scenes that you mentioned. :P

[James Steven Beverly]

Hahaha... thanks James. To be fair, I think that part of the reason for that has to be the fact that I saw "Femme Fatale" with my girlfriend, who was burning a hole in the side of my head with her glare during the scenes that you mentioned. :P

 

Well that'll definately break the film on any little movie one might be creating in one's brain at the time. Women can be SO unreasonable. I hope you burned a glare hole in the side of her head during the scenes that Ol' Antonio was on screen, after all what's good for the goose is good for the lady who is going to spend the next 3 days going "So THAT'S what you REALLY want, to sit there watching 2 girls kissing! Your sick!!!". B)

[Rick Seefried]

I'll second Elephant. Not the worst I have seen, but definately overhyped. It demonstrated why there is such a thing as editing. Just because your steadicam operator is really good doesnt mean you can run a scene for 20 mintues without cutting!

[Patrick Cooper]

The worst movie I saw at the cinema was 'Intersection' with Richard Gere and Sharon Stone. That movie was dull, dull, dull. Even though I went to a day session to see the film, I was fighting so hard to keep awake and not drop off to sleep. Though I do admit, there was one great element in that film and that was the car crash - that particular scene was very well filmed and edited - even so I wouldn't watch the film again for that.

 

Ive seen a number of bad films on video such as 'The Stuff' which was a rip off of 'The Blob' and 'Ator the Fighting Eagle' which was a rip off of 'Conan the Barbarian.' There was also 'The Newlydeads' which was clearly shot on video.

 

By the way, 'Conan the Barbarian' is a great film!

[James Steven Beverly]

By the way, 'Conan the Barbarian' is a great film!

 

I couldn't agree with you more!!!! B)

[Paul Nordin]

I don't know how this one got missed, but in my humble opinion (and I've seen just about all the other movies listed by others...and pretty much concur with the baddness of them all (Starship Troopers excepted. I enjoyed that one), nothing done by Ed Wood compares to the utter egregiousness of "Bloodrayne".

Uwe Boll must have totally pissed off his entire acting corpse...er I mean corp, before the first roll was exposed.

[James Steven Beverly]

I don't know how this one got missed, but in my humble opinion (and I've seen just about all the other movies listed by others...and pretty much concur with the baddness of them all (Starship Troopers excepted. I enjoyed that one), nothing done by Ed Wood compares to the utter egregiousness of "Bloodrayne".

Uwe Boll must have totally pissed off his entire acting corpse...er I mean corp, before the first roll was exposed.

 

Yeah but the chick in that looked good AND there was NUDITY! But I gotta admit when it come to badddassss chick vampires, she's no Kate Beckensale. B)