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@JamesEpplerI love good movies, and this past year had a number of them. My full list of those can be found
here. And because I love great movies, my vitriol for bad ones is thick. I'm even offended by some of them. We'll soon learn what the voters for the Razzies think was among the worst from 2011, but here are a few suggestions:
1. "Sucker Punch"
This disaster wasn't just a misfire in terms of theme, tone, or coherency. "Sucker Punch" was flat-out demeaning for its female cast members. I'm not buying the line that women dressed in lingerie, stripping, getting beat up, and occasionally shooting guns is somehow "empowering." Worse, these women can only get revenge on their male attackers in their imaginations. What a mess.
2. "The Hangover part 2"
Did director Todd Philips really think we wouldn't notice that he gave us a sequel that was nearly identical to the original? Talk about a money-grab - this was a con-job of gargantuan proportions. And sadly, it worked.
3. "Your Highness"
Here's another movie with talented comedians mailing it in. Danny McBride and Jody Hill turn in hilarious work on "Eastbound and Down" on HBO. This movie feels like that spent a weekend getting stoned and playing "Dungeons and Dragons" while they wrote.
4. "Battle: LA"
Have you ever had to sit and watch someone play a video game? You wish you could play, but the person just won't give up the controls. That's what this movie felt like, along with insipid dialogue. My head still hurts.
5. "Larry Crowne"
Here's proof that putting two likeable superstars in a movie doesn't make the film itself likeable. Tom Hanks co-wrote this marsh-mellow movie, playing a nice guy who meets nice people and does nice things. Julia Roberts is the ice queen who gets her heart melted. The whole thing is insincere and kind of gross in a way. People aren't like this. The end credits finds Roberts and Hanks coasting on a motorcycle, waving to us. It's a metaphor for the movie.
I guess I should mention the single most painful movie experience of the year for me was Adam Sandler's "Jack and Jill." It will receive numerous Razzie nominations to be sure, but for some reason, I didn't even want to honor it by putting it on a worst of the year list. I'd just like to forget it. A lobotomy might be nice.
So what did you like or dislike this past year?
