I don’t seek out bad films, I try to avoid them…Adam Sandler's Blended, Nicholas Spark’s The Best of Me…everything Michael Bay’s directed/produced this year (Transformers: Age of Extinction, Purge: Anarchy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ouija); all of their Rotten Tomatoes scores fall below 60%, the majority below 20%. These are red-flag films, ones which may have easily placed in the bottom of the barrel, yet didn't because I avoided seeing. Why waste time and money on critically panned films, especially when their director/producer’s past filmography leaves little hope (my post for 2013’s worst films included both Nicholas Spark’s Safe Haven and The Purge).
Of course critical panning does not inevitably mean automatic dislike; I enjoyed both Exodus: Gods and Kings and Dracula Untold, despite being in the 20 percentile range on Rotten Tomatoes. I bring this up to acknowledge how one cannot truly judge a film without seeing it first. There’s as much a chance of enjoying Blended or hell, even Transformers: Age of Extinction as there is with hating them. Nonetheless, straining to watch every red-flag film available in blind hopes of actually enjoying one is something I wish to avoid wasting time, money and brain cells on. To compromise, I select my films based upon a mix of the film’s critical recommendation, background (its director, production, etc…) and personal tastes (does the film’s subject look intriguing enough to see). Exodus for example, interested me with its trailers while also being made by a respected director (Ridley Scott); I ended up lucking out with an enjoyable film despite its cautionary ratings.
Such precautions aren't fail-safe however, sometimes due to a date night, other times thanks to deceiving trailers (Hercules comes to mind). The most prominent examples happen not when a film is critically panned, but rather solidly backed by critics and friends alike. My tastes don’t always agree with the masses, this list exemplifying such statement with half the films on it receiving overall positive reviews. The most infamous example here is Boyhood, which I wrote a scathing review on despite the film receiving near unanimous acclaim from critics and audience alike. Keep note however, I do not actively seek out red-flag films; I saw far more acclaimed 2014 films while avoiding a good chunk of possible stinkers, ones which could have placed on this list. With that in mind, it’s time to move on to some Q&A.
Questions and Answers:
Question: What does this list pertain to?
Answer: These are the 10 worst films I saw from 2014. I consider the month of January (2015) a part of the 2014 season; as such any stinkers released then are eligible.
Question: Did you manage to review every film on this list?
Answer: I tried to review every bad film I saw; unfortunately there was one I missed reviewing, a film I recently saw called Obvious Child. To sum it up, Obvious Child is a comedy-drama about a comedian having an abortion. The film is quite tasteless in humor, lacking in wit, abundant in clichés, and tediously slow-moving for its surprisingly short run-time. In short, it’s a female-leading, Adam Sandler-like comedy dealing with abortion…not the best combination.
Question: So did you write reviews for the rest of the films?
Answer: Yes I did! There’s a link in each film title to either a quick or full review.
Question: Just looked at your list; how can you possibly think Boyhood is worse than Taken 3!?
Answer: The films I review are based in their respective genre! Taken 3 is an action popcorn film, while Boyhood is a coming-of-age drama. Boyhood may rank worse than Taken 3, but it doesn't mean I consider it an overall inferior film; rather, it means I consider Boyhood an inferior serious drama (compared to other coming-of-age dramas) than Taken 3 is a silly action flick (when compared to other popcorn films).
Question: You hated my favorite film of the year! Are you saying I’m wrong!?
Answer: To quote myself from last year: “These are my opinions. You may agree or disagree with them, but they’re not meant to symbolize some sort of ultimate decision or universal agreement. That being said, I do not hold contempt for others who like or even love the films on this list. Your opinion is as much valid as mine; if my number one hated film happens to be your favorite, it doesn't mean one of us is in the wrong. We may disagree with one another’s reasoning, but that doesn't make either of our opinions any less valid.”
NOW ONTO THE WORST!!!
#8: Obvious Child
