Bad Movies By Good Directors

[pennywise37]

really? i guess that one got buried apparently now Vertigo (1958) i do love that film but it's not my favorite of his though North By Northwest is (1959) burn while reading has so much bad acting it was painful, Frances McDormand wasn't terrible in it but Clooney and Pitt were i think. i don't hate that one as much as i hated No country for old men (2007). honestly i think those guys are talented that's not a question but i do think they are vastly overrated though

[zelmo73]

Godfather Part III (1990) might be considered an easy target, but even if Winona Ryder had stayed in the movie instead of Sofia Coppola having only 2 weeks to prep for that role as Ryder's replacement, the movie itself still would have been terrible; Sofia Coppola took the brunt of that movie's criticism in 1990 because she was clearly not fit to be given such a prominent role in that movie. It was just all around bad, the acting was just forced and ho-hum at times, the movie was about one hour too long, and I personally thought it was hilarious that Talia Shire was reduced to reprising her Adrian Balboa acting schtick to salvage something out of her role as Connie Corleone, because that was who she reminded me of. Francis Ford Coppola really batted a no-hitter with this one, which is regrettable because this was supposed to be the end to a fantastic trilogy, not leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Another film that I couldn't get behind was John Carpenter's Vampires (1998). Which is funny because I tried to like this movie; all my friends and the edgy movie gurus of the late '90s who lived and breathed every word that puked out of Quentin Tarantino's mouth -- you know the ones that thought that The Doom Generation (1995) was some kind of masterpiece -- would say nothing but good things about Vampires, but as a kid that was raised on The Thing (1982), Halloween (1978), and Christine (1983) among others, I hold John Carpenter to a much higher standard than the hot mess that was Vampires. The movie had a terrible plot, terrible writing for all the really good actors that must have been hard-up for money in the late '90s to have agreed to participate in this hot garbage pile; even the overall premise of biker vampire hunters just seemed like something that John Carpenter dreamed up while drunk and stoned one night. James Woods should have shined in a crap role like this, but he was arguably the worst part of the movie because his character was just so unlikeable and made no sense half the time. It's bad when you find yourself cheering on Thomas Ian Griffith from The Karate Kid Part III (1989) who was supposed to be the bad guy as the head vampire while simultaneously hoping that bad things happened to James Woods' character. This was the movie that ended my interest in anything *new* that was John Carpenter related, which is sad because I thought that Escape From L.A. (1996) was clever and entertaining despite being bad.

[pennywise37]

i like Godfather part 3 (1990) not love like it's an okay film but i don't think the directors daughter is what hurt the film despite what people may think, she was okay in some of the film and she was well not so good in other parts. but yes it is the weakest one of them all.

The Doom Generation (1995)  one word well okay more than one piece of Sh*t WOW was this movie beyond bad it's so bad that it makes Troll 2 look good.
course it is a better film by far than Troll 2 course most films are regardless how bad they are.  with Vampires (1998) that has a very good reason why that was a mess and honestly it started out pretty out strong than fell apart, if i recall it wasn't even Carpenter's fault at all not this time anyways it i believe was the studio i think. there were issues behind the scenes so what we got was a hot mess on what was based off a book that is really a great read i hear.  or was it based off a comic? i forget honestly. but it's a masterpiece compared to it's (2002) sequel that one is really bad and i like Jon Bon Jovi as an actor and he was fine in the role but it was the script not the acting on that one.

The Karate Kid Part 3 (1989) i enjoy i forget which one that even is to be honest, honestly i like all 4 of them the 4th one has it's moments but it's not a fantastic film it's a decent one.  it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be to be fair

[zombie no.one]

burn while reading has so much bad acting it was painful, Frances McDormand wasn't terrible in it but Clooney and Pitt were i think.

well I guess I really am polarized here, because it is literally the only film with George Clooney I've ever seen where I actually like his performance. I usually find him to be a bit of a smarmy airhead (I guess he is in this film too, but here it seems intentional). and it's also the only film apart from SE7EN where I actually enjoy Brad Pitt's performance as well.. he does seem a bit out of his depth but there's something laughably ridiculous and dorky about his character imo

btw it's BURN AFTER READING, I've seen you say 'While' in 2 different threads now - sorry to be pedantic  

[pennywise37]

oh okay, yeah i thought Clooney was simply dreadful in that and i'm not mad that you corrected me, i last saw the film in (2008) when it 1st came out
and i haven't seen it since, i guess the film is that forgettable to me that i never can remember it's actual title. i'm glad you liked it don't get me wrong

it just didn't do anything for me that's all though i did really have a good laugh when Clooney opened that door at the end  that easily was the best part of the entire movie for me. it made me think of that one scene in Pulp Fiction (1994) where i could not stop laughing as wel.

another film i thought was utter dreck was Stuart Gordon's Dagon (2001) i'm not even sure on the spelling i watched it years ago with high hopes case i had been dying to see it for years and i hated it. i love Gordon don't get me wrong but i consider it one of his worst films yet there's another one that many seem to love go figure.

[zombie no.one]

i guess the film is that forgettable to me that i never can remember it's actual title. i'm glad you liked it don't get me wrong

it just didn't do anything for me that's all

all good...   you're not alone in disliking it, tons of coen bros fans don't like it either (going by the imdb reviews).

[Gabriel Knight]

Godfather Part III (1990) might be considered an easy target, but even if Winona Ryder had stayed in the movie instead of Sofia Coppola having only 2 weeks to prep for that role as Ryder's replacement, the movie itself still would have been terrible; Sofia Coppola took the brunt of that movie's criticism in 1990 because she was clearly not fit to be given such a prominent role in that movie. It was just all around bad, the acting was just forced and ho-hum at times, the movie was about one hour too long, and I personally thought it was hilarious that Talia Shire was reduced to reprising her Adrian Balboa acting schtick to salvage something out of her role as Connie Corleone, because that was who she reminded me of. Francis Ford Coppola really batted a no-hitter with this one, which is regrettable because this was supposed to be the end to a fantastic trilogy, not leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth.

Another film that I couldn't get behind was John Carpenter's Vampires (1998). Which is funny because I tried to like this movie; all my friends and the edgy movie gurus of the late '90s who lived and breathed every word that puked out of Quentin Tarantino's mouth -- you know the ones that thought that The Doom Generation (1995) was some kind of masterpiece -- would say nothing but good things about Vampires, but as a kid that was raised on The Thing (1982), Halloween (1978), and Christine (1983) among others, I hold John Carpenter to a much higher standard than the hot mess that was Vampires. The movie had a terrible plot, terrible writing for all the really good actors that must have been hard-up for money in the late '90s to have agreed to participate in this hot garbage pile; even the overall premise of biker vampire hunters just seemed like something that John Carpenter dreamed up while drunk and stoned one night. James Woods should have shined in a crap role like this, but he was arguably the worst part of the movie because his character was just so unlikeable and made no sense half the time. It's bad when you find yourself cheering on Thomas Ian Griffith from The Karate Kid Part III (1989) who was supposed to be the bad guy as the head vampire while simultaneously hoping that bad things happened to James Woods' character. This was the movie that ended my interest in anything *new* that was John Carpenter related, which is sad because I thought that Escape From L.A. (1996) was clever and entertaining despite being bad.

Hey, I thought VAMPIRES was really cool! I mean, it's cheesy, but come on, it's a vampires movie, what can you expect? The idea was to mix a western with modern bloodsuckers, and I think it turned out extremely entertaining. The theme song is very catchy also.

[Trevor]

Heaven's Gate: liked Thunderbolt & Lightfoot and The Deer Hunter but not Heaven's Gate.

[pennywise37]

vampires started out pretty strong actually but about halfway or so it fell apart or maybe it was sooner than that i'm really not sure, i love a good vampire flix but Vampires (1998) wasn't one of the good ones sadly.  i think part of the reason it fell apart also had to do with James Woods i think?

i have not seen Heaven's gate (1980) to be fair so i can't say how good or how bad it was

[kornula]

Robert Altman gave us;  Brewster McCloud, MASH, The Player and ...

POPEYE.

I had not seen it since I first saw it in the theater in 1980 with my mother. I remember having to literally nudge her awake half way through. She went right back to sleep.  For some reason, I could not escape the horror like she did. 

I saw it again a month ago.  It was equally as bad as I remember.

[pennywise37]

i loved it as a kid but i dunno about now but than i'm a huge Robin Williams fan as well and i think even he hated the film as well.

[Allhallowsday]

Not a bad movie, but Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon could have been much better with some tweaks. Most notably not casting Ryan O'Neal in the lead. For context this was only a few years removed from A Clockwork Orange, which in my opinion is Kubrick's best film. Malcolm McDowell wanted to work with Kubrick again and would have been perfect in that role.

How you choose Ryan O'Neal over Malcolm McDowell is beyond me.

Because RYAN O'NEAL was perfect for that part of a self-serving wannabe.   
MALCOLM McDOWELL?  Wah-rong. 

[dcj2112]

Not a bad movie, but Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon could have been much better with some tweaks. Most notably not casting Ryan O'Neal in the lead. For context this was only a few years removed from A Clockwork Orange, which in my opinion is Kubrick's best film. Malcolm McDowell wanted to work with Kubrick again and would have been perfect in that role.

How you choose Ryan O'Neal over Malcolm McDowell is beyond me.

Because RYAN O'NEAL was perfect for that part of a self-serving wannabe.   
MALCOLM McDOWELL?  Wah-rong. 

A certain clip from Tough Guys Don't Dance proves any attempt to defend Ryan O'Neal's acting is Wah-rong.

[claws]

Martin Brest.

1. Scent of a Woman (1992)
2. Midnight Run (1988)
3. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
4. Meet Joe Black (1998)
5. Going in Style (1979)
6. Hot Tomorrows (1977)


7. Gigli (2003)

[dcj2112]

Martin Brest.

1. Scent of a Woman (1992)
2. Midnight Run (1988)
3. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
4. Meet Joe Black (1998)
5. Going in Style (1979)
6. Hot Tomorrows (1977)


7. Gigli (2003)

And he hasn't directed a movie since!

Anyone know what's up with that beyond just Gigli? I thought I remembered reading he went through a messy divorce or some other scandal but a quick Google search and Wiki browse shows nothing.

As bad as that movie's reputation is, some directors have bounced back from bad stuff. I can't say they've bounced back from worse because I've still yet to see it...and it's reputation is putrid.

Speaking of Brest I've heard he was a real jerk to work with. I believe it was Eli Roth who told a story about him on Howard Stern. Back when Roth was a nobody he worked as an extra on Meet Joe Black. The extras were standing around and Brest fired Roth in front of everyone for no reason. Roth interpreted it as just a way to flaunt his power. Also, after shooting scenes he would smugly say to his crew, "That's the Oscar shot" which just sounds so douchey.

Scent of a Woman was awesome though