[Johnd]

Variety just published various critics picks for “the worst films of the year, but also to name the acclaimed, serious-minded prestige film of 2015 that left them cold”. I’ve got comments on some of their picks.

Our Least Favorite Films of 2015: Variety Critics Name Their Worst | Variety

Some guy named Justin Chang for the worst said, “No Escape,” an utterly vile piece of Third World exploitation that might as well have been titled “White Lives Matter. I cry foul here for dumping on the movie solely for his social justice reasons. Anyway, there was plenty of brown people killing plenty of white people (and brown) which generally happens in a movie depicting a coup in an (unnamed) Asian country full of brown people. Also this was a pretty entertaining movie if you go to the movies to be… you know, entertained. Not great cinema but entertaining.

Guy Lodge’s worst I didn’t see but he uses his space to mention a couple I did. I agree “Hector and the Search for Happiness” was not good. Simon Pegg is a one trick poney and just too boring to carry a movie. I also agree that “Gone Girl” was very good.

Ella Taylor’s worst is “Truth” but for all the wrong reasons. They were just lying. Full stop.

Andrew Barker’s empty prestige (what does that mean) candidate is “The Revenant” because of its “insistence on substituting actual physical suffering for serious philosophical inquiry left this viewer as cold as the freezing rivers Leonardo DiCaprio so boldly hurls himself into”. I intended to see this movie but now it’s a guarantee as I know it’s devoid of serious philosophical inquiry. Andrew is pretty much showing why a good rule of thumb is to avoid movies with very high critic ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

Denis Harvey’s empty prestige (what does that mean) candidate is “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”. He’s got a host of complicated reasons. Me…..I just thought it stunk. Too much serious philosophical inquiry, not enough entertaining.

Ella Taylor’s empty prestige (what does that mean) candidate is “The Hunting Ground” for, remarkably, all the right reasons. Short version – it’s a lie.

There you have it. What do you think?

[rubicon]

Movie critics are overpaid