the worst

BB did something like this recently, but I would like to think this is a slightly different take. RottenTomatoes.com recently created a list of the one hundred worst movies that they have ranked. These are generally movies from the last eight to ten years and the rankings are based on tallies from movie reviewers, so this is not by any means a definitive list.

I have not seen most of the movies in the list, but I have included my opinions of some that I have seen below.

Elektra (89 of 100)
We actually got Elektra because Golden wanted to see it. I was hesitant because I knew the word on the street was that it was pretty bad. Actually, it was quite entertaining if somewhat shallow. I might be saying that because I never read the Elektra comic books, though, so I didn't have expectations.

Darkness Falls (87 of 100)
Darkness Falls wasn't absolutely horrible, but it was incredibly predictable. The main appeal to me of horror movies is not the scariness involved, but the fact that I have to try to figure out what is going on. Predictable horror movies take that appeal away.

The final scene where the main character must face down the object of his lifelong fear is rather cool. It's just easy to tell what is going to happen.

The New Guy (69 of 100)
The New Guy was genuinely bad. It was everything that is bad about a typical teen movie. The concept of the movie, that a nerd could learn how to be cool and start a new life at a new high school, had promise, but the actual story was dumb, dumb, dumb.

I will say that I have probably seen dumber kiddie-teen movies. I can't think of any right now, but I must have.

Ultraviolet (63 of 100)
I went into Ultraviolet expecting it to be unrealistic. I don't think it ever had the pretense of being a serious movie. Since I got the idea that the movie was not taking itself seriously I didn't take it seriously and just enjoyed the ridiculously unrealistic fight scenes. I think it is easier to enjoy a bad movie when it seemingly acknowledges its badness rather than tries to take itself too seriously.

Stay Alive (60 of 100)
Formulaic. Could tell when everyone was going to die. Didn't make complete sense. Very cheesy. I would have watched it anyway had I had it to do over again, though, because I enjoyed the idea of people getting sucked into a video game world. It didn't hurt that I thought that the video game world they were sucked into was cool.

Envy (54 of 100)
Envy was another of Golden's picks that I was leery about. My concern was that I would see too much of myself in Ben Stiller's character. When I actually watched the movie I found that my concerns were unfounded. The humor in the movie was not the least bit subtle, but it probably doesn't deserve to be on a "Worst" list. Instead, put it on a "Stereotypical Ben Stiller or Jack Black Movie" list.

The Fog (42 of 100)
I had a hard time caring enough about The Fog to follow it. I do not plan on watching the original, though I hear it is a little more interesting than this one.

Fear Dot Com (23 of 100)
I knew better than to watch this insipid movie. The main appeal of Fear Dot Com was the haunting cover art on the DVD case. This is an unbelievably stupid reason to watch a movie under normal circumstances. When the DVD is mailed to me without a case it borders on lunacy. The movie made absolutely no sense, so I learned my lesson for at least a couple of months.

Battlefield Earth (14 of 100)
I know this is a brainless science fiction movie strongly influenced by L. Ron Hubbard's beliefs, but it is first and foremost a brainless science fiction movie. I will not be watching it again, but I do not regret making the choice to rent it when I did. It was widely canned and derided, so I don't feel like my watching it somehow helped Scientology in any way.

The Master of Disguise (9 of 100)
When even the commercial for a "comedy" doesn't contain anything particularly funny that is a bad sign. As we were leaving the theater (yes, we saw this in a theater) I heard someone say that it was the worst movie he had ever seen. I wouldn't say that. I would say that it was the worst comedy I had ever seen. That still says a lot.

Alone in the Dark (2 of 100)
I did not realize that Alone in the Dark was going to be such a bad movie. I did not investigate the movie, though, so had I realized that Tara Reid was cast as a scientist, this may have tipped me off. I have been waffling between whether I have seen worse movies or not. There are movies that were more unpleasant to watch, but those were still nearly all higher quality than this movie. Regardless, this movie does deserve to be where it is on the list.

I won't say what movie was ranked at number one, but you can find it here. I haven't seen that movie and I don't really intend to.

I have a few thoughts about this list (meaning the complete list and not the one above). There were a few actors who showed up quite a bit on the list. For example Tim Allen, Freddie Prinze, and Cuba Gooding Jr. are prominently featured. The first two I understand, but I would have thought that Mr. Gooding Jr. would be able to get better roles.

Also, I have been watching The Day After Tomorrow as I have been typing this. Politics aside, that movie belongs on the list as much as several of the ones above. The only thing saving it is the spectacular special effects. At least that is the one thing that supporters of the movie keep pointing to. It is possible that the movie is intended to be campy, but the campiness feels unintentional to me.

What about you? Do you see movies on the list that you agree or disagree with? Are there movies you think should be on the list, especially from the last ten years?