All screenplays on the simplyscripts.com and simplyscripts.net domain are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. This screenplaymay not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
Many films I haven't seen because I know they would have been shit, so they aren't on the "worst" list.
I hear, ya, Tommy. I'm actually old enough to know what I like and don't like, so I'm pretty good at avoiding films I’ll hate. Although Wendy and Lucy, Disgrace and What Just Happened? didn't live up to my expectations in 09.
As for the Oscars, I’ve got a feeling that the movie Nine is going to figure very strongly. On paper it has all the necessary elements required for a film to take out Best Picture. Here’s a look at some of films that are predicted to be in the mix come Oscar time:
1. Antichrist -- Bold, unique, captivating. 2. The Wrestler (wide release in 2009, dunno if this one counts) 3. Drag Me To Hell -- The perfect Friday night movie. 4. Thirst -- A beautiful and mature horror film. 5. The Brothers Bloom -- Extremely uneven but when good, great. 6. Taken (2009 release in Canada) -- At least there was one real action movie this year. 7. Coraline -- Fun, different, and great to look at! 8. Whatever Works -- A fairly uninspired effort from Woody Allen is still better than most filmmakers can do; I'm not sure if I'm happy or unhappy that this was my favourite comedy of the year. 9. Inglourious Basterds -- All style and no substance never seems to work...unless Tarantino does it. How does he do that? 10. Knowing -- Extremely uneven, occasionally awful, this was still a real sci-fi film with unique, thought-inspiring ideas, and for trying to be a good, real movie, I applaud it.
Worst:
10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- Points for cinematography and overall look. Sooooo borrrrrringgg..... 9. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li -- The least boring of my ten worst, if only because of some reasonably well-staged and well-shot kung fu. 8. 9 -- Great concept, looked great, total lack of storytelling ability on director's part. Also, music sucked. 7. Star Trek (or, as I prefer to call it, Generic Space Action Film) -- JJ Abrams called this "Star Trek for people who don't watch Star Trek". In fact, it isn't Star Trek at all. As cookie-cutter space action flicks go, this wasn't bad, and at least moves at a quick pace. As films go, at least its by-the-numbers plot is well-structured, and there is a vague attempt at some kind of character arc for Spock (his arc appears to be to realize that logic is wrong and America Is Great, but at least it's an arc). As Star Trek films go, it is a repulsive, moronic, despicable embarrassment to a franchise which has always worked to uphold the highest standard in thought-provoking, intelligent, morality-based storytelling.
Sorry -- I won't complain about that one any further. Nimoy, Urban, Pine, Greenwood and Bana all turned in quite enjoyable performances even if their lines sucked.
The rest are in no particular order because in my opinion all of them have absolutely nothing whatsoever to offer a viewer.
Dance Flick Twilight Saga: New Moon I Love You, Beth Cooper Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Fast & Furious Dragonball: Evolution
7. a franchise which has always worked to uphold the highest standard in thought-provoking, intelligent, morality-based storytelling.
hahahaha. Sorry, it's just that when I think of Star Trek--at least the one I remember watching on TV and the films--I never think of "highest standard" in any shape or form.
Okay, now that 2010 is underway - I've already been to the cinema once this year, to see Nine yesterday - I can look back at the Best/Worst of 2009. I've got a few extra categories I wanted to suggest for everyone, but I'll just fill them in for myself!
I. THE BEST AND WORST
BEST:
1. The Hurt Locker - film of the year for me. Intense, gripping, simple but hugely effective.
2. Up - I say this with every new film they release, but this is the best Pixar yet. Touching and funny, beautifully animated.
3. Moon - I didn't fully appreciate how much I liked this until a while after I'd seen it. Simple, engaging sci-fi, more about real emotion than jazzy CGI.
4. Star Trek - for sheer cheekiness, if nothing else. It's just enough to reboot the franchise; you have to erase the rest of Star Trek history as well?! Sharp and action-packed.
5. Public Enemies - it's not Mann's best film, but it's still darn good. A really strong performance from Johnny Depp, a great evocation of the period, and an emotional but satisfying finale. Under-rated.
WORST:
3. The Taking of Pelham 123 - Confused, miscast, clunky thriller that stumbles through a fairly straightforward plot before lumbering into an anticlimactic final sequence. Pointless and mediocre, really.
2. Bruno - SO disappointing. Not only was it not as good as Borat, but it made you wonder if Borat was actually at all decent in the first place (by the way, I rewatched it on DVD, and it is). It's impossible to tell what was authentic and what was staged. The whole thing feels like a big in-joke that you're supposed to just accept without question. Sorry, Sacha - I didn't.
1. He's Just Not That Into You - not actually that bad, but not very good, either. Lots of talented people, very few good performances. A dull plot, but what else would you expect from an adaptation of a self-help manual?! I just wasn't that into it.
(My girlfriend is here next to me as I type this, and she insists I mention her Best and Worst.
BEST:Up WORST:District 9 - "such a man film! But the baby prawn was cute")
SPECIAL MENTIONS:
- Avatar: technically stunning, and with a plot that's still affecting despite being well-known. A landmark, despite its flaws. - I Love You, Man: comedy of the year, for me. I laughed at almost anything Paul Rudd said. I know it's probably not as a good as I think it is, but I don't care. - Watchmen: I actually felt this was given a too-harsh reception. It's stylish and well-made, and a better adaptation of the source material than I thought it would be. The opening credit sequence is one of the best of the year.
II. THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:Bruno. No question.
III. THE ONE I WISH I'D WRITTEN:[500] Days of Summer as I mentioned in the review thread, I thought this was so well-written, structurally if nothing else.
IV. FILM MOMENTS / SEQUENCES OF THE YEAR
One of these five:
- Dillinger in the Biograph, from Public Enemies: the gangster watches a Clark Gable gangster film as the cops form up outside. We know what's about to happen, he probably knows what's about to happen...but to him, it's still all one big game. - the final battle sequence in Avatar: it takes nearly three hours to get there, but it's worth the wait. Bone-shaking action that ends with a excellently-orchestrated final showdown between Sully and Quaritch. One of the best final showdown sequences since...Terminator, funnily enough. - the opening credit sequence from Watchmen: as I've mentioned before, this is probably the best bit of the film. A complete history of the 'heroes' in this world in a few wonderful minutes, all with Bob Dylan playing in the background. - Carl-Ellie's life montage from Up: similar to the previous one, this. Years of history condensed into a few minutes, managing to tell us everything we need to know. Really, really sad, and once again probably the high-point of the film. - the closing credits in The Hangover: when was the last time almost the entire audience stayed to watch the closing credits, AND laughed throughout? A really good idea, and one I was genuinely impressed by; I can't remember seeing that before. Perhaps the closing song of School of Rock would be a good comparison; an inventive use of the most neglected bit of a film.
V. PERFORMANCE(S) OF THE YEAR
- Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillaird in Public Enemies - Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker - Sam Rockwell in Moon (- Special Mentions for: Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes, Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover)
VI. FILMS I WISH I'D SEEN
- The Invention of Lying - Inglourious Basterds - In the Loop
BEST 1. Star Trek 2. Inglorious Basterds 3. Moon 4. Up 5. Drag Me to Hell 6. (500) Days of Summer 7. District 9 8. Zombieland 9. Fantastic Mr. Fox 10. Trick R Treat Honorable Mentions: Watchmen, The Hangover, Whip It, The Brothers Bloom, Paranormal Activity,
Disappointing (Not really that bad, just really underwhelming) 1. Bruno 2. The Invention of Lying 3. Funny People 4. Jennifer's Body 5. Terminator Salvation 6. Fanboys 7. The Lovely Bones 8. Observe and Report
Worst 1. Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day 2. The Haunting in Connecticut 3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine 4. Miss Match 5. Halloween 2 6. G.I. Joe 7. Transformers: Revenge of the Falle 8. Twilight: New Moon 9. Dragonball: Evolution 10. Friday the 13th
Favorite Scenes/Moments:
1. The opening interrogation scene in Inglorious Basterds 2. Sam Bell finding the video diaries in Moon. 3. The Seance scene from Drag Me to Hell. 4. James finding the body bomb in The Hurt Locker 5. The entire "Mystery Guest" sequence in Zombieland.
Worst Scenes/Moments 1. Every single moment from Boondock Saints 2. 2. The Paris Battle in G.I. Joe. It's basically Team America without the humor or irony. 3. "You pooped yourself" scene from Miss March. 4. The White Horse scenes from Halloween 2. 5. Building Fire from Jennifer's Body.
Best Performances 1. Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds 2. Sam Rockwell, Moon 3. Zoe Saldana, Avatar
Worst Performances 1. Megan Fox, Jennifer's Body 2. Zach Cregger/Trevor Moore, Miss March 3. Moon Bloodgood, Terminator Salvation
Everything Must End...
The Final Episode of The Lunchroom Coming Summer 2010
Best 1) Where The Wild Things Are 2) An Education 3) The Hurt Locker 4) Adventureland 5) Coraline 6) Up 7) Up In The Air In The Loop 9) (500) Days Of Summer 10) District 9
Worst 1) Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
I didn't watch any other movies I particularly hated. (I avoid crap cinema)
Most Fun 1) Zombieland 2) The Hangover
"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat" - Lily Tomlin