What do you think are the worst five movies of all time?
Here's my list:
5. PopeyeHere's my list:
4. My Cousin Vinny
3. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
2. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
1. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
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Worst 5 Movies of All Time
- Thread starter Reaver
- Start date
4. My Cousin Vinny
3. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
2. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
1. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Benjamin Clayborne
Auror
I've only ever seen two movies in the theater that I consider to be truly awful: Wing Commander and Godzilla (1997). Those were the only two times I actually started shouting at the screen because the characters were so stupid.
- Thread starter
- #3
If this were a top ten list I'd have added those as well as the remake of House of Wax featuring Parris Hilton. It's one of those rare films where you hope everyone dies.
Ravana
Istar
I can safely say I've never seen any of these–and have no intention of doing so. Well, I saw parts of Popeye and Godzilla. Part was enough. Similarly, I saw part of the War of the Worlds remake… and that was more than enough. Same with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the 2005 movie, not the 1971 musical Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory… which I liked).
I could put the new Dark Shadows movie on the list, if having only seen trailers counts–and those were damn well more than I ever want to see of that piece of tripe. Hmm… Depp makes it into two of my most despised remakes. Believe it or not, I actually like him as an actor–or at least have, in a couple cases. It's Tim Burton I blame; Depp just has the poor taste to continue working with him.
Worst movies I've actually seen all of? I rarely see movies in theaters any more, and have a pretty good notion of what I don't want to see, so I can't actually recall the "worst" I've paid to see. The ones I catch on TV, I usually turn off; the following are ones I have watched to the end. There were several I saw on MST3K, none of which I remember the names of; suffice it to say they all deserved the treatment. Apart from those:
- Plan 9 from Outer Space: Yeah, okay, that one's obvious. It really is terrible. On the other hand, since everybody already knows this, the only people who watch it do so for the comedy value–in which case it becomes a lot better. In fact, it doesn't even make IMDb's "Bottom 100" list, no doubt due to the fact that everybody already knows it's bad.
- Moontrap (1989): Also doesn't make IMDb's "Bottom 100"–I can only assume due to anonymity. The only reason I watched this to the end was morbid curiosity: I wanted to see just how much farther its death-spiral could go before it hit bottom. Answer? All the way to the credits. Honestly, this is far and away a worse movie than Plan 9 is, if for no other reason than that no one expected much of Ed Wood to begin with, so they went in knowing it wasn't going to be "good." But if you're in to cringingly bad, this one's for you. Number one proof Walter Koenig was meant to play only support roles.
- The Black Hole (1979): The only positive thing I can say about this is that Moontrap is worse. Disney does 2001… epic fail. How this one avoided IMDb's list escapes me. Probably because it mercifully escaped the memories of those who saw it. Proof that you need more than a kickin' cast (Schell, Perkins, Borgnine, McDowell, among others) to make something work.
- Excalibur (1981): I know there are people out there who love this movie. I just don't know why.
- Dune (1984): Usually, I like David Lynch's work. This was a bloody disaster. And would have remained one even if Lynch had been allowed to do the final cut, since most of my objections have to do with content, not editing. Read the book. Definitely read the book. (At worst, watch Syfy's miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune… which was a good version. Book's still better.)
The lesson here may be that the easiest movie to make poorly is a SF one… only qualifier I could put on that is that I don't watch much other than SF/fantasy, war and comedies, so there are thousands of potential candidates I've ruled out in advance.
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P.S. For those who want to take my preferences with a grain of salt… I'm apparently one of only a half dozen people on the planet who liked Ishtar. Enough that I've watched it more than once. I think it's hysterical. Approaching it as a comedy no doubt helps considerably.
I could put the new Dark Shadows movie on the list, if having only seen trailers counts–and those were damn well more than I ever want to see of that piece of tripe. Hmm… Depp makes it into two of my most despised remakes. Believe it or not, I actually like him as an actor–or at least have, in a couple cases. It's Tim Burton I blame; Depp just has the poor taste to continue working with him.
Worst movies I've actually seen all of? I rarely see movies in theaters any more, and have a pretty good notion of what I don't want to see, so I can't actually recall the "worst" I've paid to see. The ones I catch on TV, I usually turn off; the following are ones I have watched to the end. There were several I saw on MST3K, none of which I remember the names of; suffice it to say they all deserved the treatment. Apart from those:
- Plan 9 from Outer Space: Yeah, okay, that one's obvious. It really is terrible. On the other hand, since everybody already knows this, the only people who watch it do so for the comedy value–in which case it becomes a lot better. In fact, it doesn't even make IMDb's "Bottom 100" list, no doubt due to the fact that everybody already knows it's bad.
- Moontrap (1989): Also doesn't make IMDb's "Bottom 100"–I can only assume due to anonymity. The only reason I watched this to the end was morbid curiosity: I wanted to see just how much farther its death-spiral could go before it hit bottom. Answer? All the way to the credits. Honestly, this is far and away a worse movie than Plan 9 is, if for no other reason than that no one expected much of Ed Wood to begin with, so they went in knowing it wasn't going to be "good." But if you're in to cringingly bad, this one's for you. Number one proof Walter Koenig was meant to play only support roles.
- The Black Hole (1979): The only positive thing I can say about this is that Moontrap is worse. Disney does 2001… epic fail. How this one avoided IMDb's list escapes me. Probably because it mercifully escaped the memories of those who saw it. Proof that you need more than a kickin' cast (Schell, Perkins, Borgnine, McDowell, among others) to make something work.
- Excalibur (1981): I know there are people out there who love this movie. I just don't know why.
- Dune (1984): Usually, I like David Lynch's work. This was a bloody disaster. And would have remained one even if Lynch had been allowed to do the final cut, since most of my objections have to do with content, not editing. Read the book. Definitely read the book. (At worst, watch Syfy's miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune… which was a good version. Book's still better.)
The lesson here may be that the easiest movie to make poorly is a SF one… only qualifier I could put on that is that I don't watch much other than SF/fantasy, war and comedies, so there are thousands of potential candidates I've ruled out in advance.
-
P.S. For those who want to take my preferences with a grain of salt… I'm apparently one of only a half dozen people on the planet who liked Ishtar. Enough that I've watched it more than once. I think it's hysterical. Approaching it as a comedy no doubt helps considerably.
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Benjamin Clayborne
Auror
Not that it's a bad movie, but I once took a girl to see The English Patient. /facepalm
Shockley
Maester
First off, My Cousin Vinny is fantastic. It's campy and cheesy and stupid, but I love it more than just about any other movie. If it's on tv, I am watching it.
So my list, going from least worst to worst. I'm going to avoid the so-bad-it's-good movies.
5. Hunter Prey. It's recent so I doubt I'll remember it in five years, but it's unwatchable.
4. Superman III. Superman versus Richard Pryor.
3. Dungeons and Dragons. Just watch this movie and tell me I'm wrong.
2. Eraserhead: Not that Eraserhead is that bad. I'm a movie snob and I run with movie snobs, and they all love it. They worship this film. It's mediocre, at best.
1. Epic Movie. God. Damn. this. movie.
So my list, going from least worst to worst. I'm going to avoid the so-bad-it's-good movies.
5. Hunter Prey. It's recent so I doubt I'll remember it in five years, but it's unwatchable.
4. Superman III. Superman versus Richard Pryor.
3. Dungeons and Dragons. Just watch this movie and tell me I'm wrong.
2. Eraserhead: Not that Eraserhead is that bad. I'm a movie snob and I run with movie snobs, and they all love it. They worship this film. It's mediocre, at best.
1. Epic Movie. God. Damn. this. movie.
@Shockley: I agree that all of those sucked, except I did kind of like Eraserhead. Certainly had some imagery that stuck with me long afterward!
Shockley
Maester
As I hope I made clear, I'm just bitter towards David Lynch and what I see as undeserved fame. A more critical pick would be something along the lines of Jumper or House of the Dead.
chinookpilot77
Dreamer
True, but she did die a horrible death.
PlotHolio
Sage
1. Step Brothers (I watched it with my friend and I had to leave half-way through.)
2. Epic Movie (It wasn't even so bad it was good. It was just... bad...)
3. Bewitched (Will Ferrell is an <synonym for mule> through this entire movie, and I couldn't stand him.)
4. Manos, The Hands of Fate (It was on Mystery Science Theater, but it was very depressing to watch instead of funny.)
5. Dungeons and Dragons (Do you even have to ask?)
2. Epic Movie (It wasn't even so bad it was good. It was just... bad...)
3. Bewitched (Will Ferrell is an <synonym for mule> through this entire movie, and I couldn't stand him.)
4. Manos, The Hands of Fate (It was on Mystery Science Theater, but it was very depressing to watch instead of funny.)
5. Dungeons and Dragons (Do you even have to ask?)
This brings to mind a very, very terrible movie calles Bubba Ho-Tep. In it, an old man who believes he's Elvis teams up with another old man who believes he's Nixon to fight an evil egiptian mummy who haunts the old people's home and sucks the life force out of the retiree's bottoms. Also, the mummy is dressed as a pirate.
Bubba Ho-Tep is a good movie A nice adaptation of Joe Lansdale's story.
A nice adaptation of Joe Lansdale's story.
The story is a novella. It is well-written. I think Lansdale was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for it, though I don't think he won (he's won it quite a few times for other stories).
teacup
Auror
Avatar: The Last Airbender - I absolutely loved the cartoon but the movie was just terrible, I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
Son Of The Mask - A sequel to a Jim Carrey movie without Jim Carrey. It was hardly even watchable.
I can't think of any others that were terrible. Probably just the spoofs like meet the spartans and epic movie.
Son Of The Mask - A sequel to a Jim Carrey movie without Jim Carrey. It was hardly even watchable.
I can't think of any others that were terrible. Probably just the spoofs like meet the spartans and epic movie.
There are three movies that I have started and refused to finish.
Me, Myself, and Irene
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, part 1
The Thing (Carpenter version) (I was 8, too much for me that it was)
I wouldn't call any of those 'terrible' though. There are much worse movies out there.
Me, Myself, and Irene
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, part 1
The Thing (Carpenter version) (I was 8, too much for me that it was)
I wouldn't call any of those 'terrible' though. There are much worse movies out there.
Ireth
Myth Weaver
I'm curious, Meyer, what did you find "unfinishable" about The Hobbit?
Constraining myself only to fantasy, I'd have to say the worst were:
5. The 2003 The Hulk movie (superhero movies are fantasy... ish). The comic panel layout made it impossible to keep up with what was going on, and it just wasn't that good. First film I nearly walked out of the cinema for; if I'd actually paid for it, I would have, but my parents had and I was with my siblings at the time.
4. Guinevere. It's on Netflix, I was bored. It inspired me to write a blog post about really bad fantasy movies. It tries so hard to be feminist and it comes through so transparently, but really, the male characters are presented rather misandrously, while the female characters have only marginally more depth and the plot is really hard to follow. Also the dialogue is so incredible stilted. You know that advice about dialogue where if you want it to sound natural, characters ignore one another, talk across one another, try to turn conversation towards their own agendas and so on, rather than having dialogue serve the plot only, and not character development etc? This film does the opposite. Every line is intended to lead the plot forward and educate the audience with no consideration for what the characters want to achieve or how they would really react to a particular piece of information.
3. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and knew someone who had nobody else to see it with. I'd have regretted it if it didn't make my blog some content (I did a post about bad vampire movies). It was slow, dull, featured a huge cast of characters named once, had a massive fight scene which looked cool but actually never even happened, and was resolved with not one but two bouts of deus ex machina.
2. 10,000BC. Awful awful awful film. The creators lack any understanding of geography, history or human civilisation. Characters are flat, rule of cool trumps everything at the cost of logic, historical research, plot and characterisation. Story was standard "rescue the princess" nonsense with a bit of ancient Egyptian pseudohistory mixed in. Oh and a sabre-toothed tiger which acted against biological impulse.
1. Bloodrayne. It's a Uwe Boll film. Enough said. It also made my worst vampire movies blog post, as the worst of the lot. The notes I made while watching it were extensive, because there was a lot wrong with it; only about a third of this made it to my blog post, which was longer than I wanted it to be.
5. The 2003 The Hulk movie (superhero movies are fantasy... ish). The comic panel layout made it impossible to keep up with what was going on, and it just wasn't that good. First film I nearly walked out of the cinema for; if I'd actually paid for it, I would have, but my parents had and I was with my siblings at the time.
4. Guinevere. It's on Netflix, I was bored. It inspired me to write a blog post about really bad fantasy movies. It tries so hard to be feminist and it comes through so transparently, but really, the male characters are presented rather misandrously, while the female characters have only marginally more depth and the plot is really hard to follow. Also the dialogue is so incredible stilted. You know that advice about dialogue where if you want it to sound natural, characters ignore one another, talk across one another, try to turn conversation towards their own agendas and so on, rather than having dialogue serve the plot only, and not character development etc? This film does the opposite. Every line is intended to lead the plot forward and educate the audience with no consideration for what the characters want to achieve or how they would really react to a particular piece of information.
3. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and knew someone who had nobody else to see it with. I'd have regretted it if it didn't make my blog some content (I did a post about bad vampire movies). It was slow, dull, featured a huge cast of characters named once, had a massive fight scene which looked cool but actually never even happened, and was resolved with not one but two bouts of deus ex machina.
2. 10,000BC. Awful awful awful film. The creators lack any understanding of geography, history or human civilisation. Characters are flat, rule of cool trumps everything at the cost of logic, historical research, plot and characterisation. Story was standard "rescue the princess" nonsense with a bit of ancient Egyptian pseudohistory mixed in. Oh and a sabre-toothed tiger which acted against biological impulse.
1. Bloodrayne. It's a Uwe Boll film. Enough said. It also made my worst vampire movies blog post, as the worst of the lot. The notes I made while watching it were extensive, because there was a lot wrong with it; only about a third of this made it to my blog post, which was longer than I wanted it to be.
