Looking across a healthy sampling of worst movie of the year lists leaves filmgoers with the impression this was one lousy year for movies.
Comparing lists from RiffTrax, Hitflix, Richard Roper (Chicago Sun-Times), Moviefone, and Yahoo reveals that there is no overlap in selection of cinematic flops for 2014. The worst three flicks on five lists nets a total of 15 must to avoids or fodder for professional lampooners.
Rifftrax, which collects votes from its fans (including the Daily Dot’s Aja Romano, full disclosure) has the most credibility as it represents a diverse set of opinions. Its worst three are:
3) Dumb and Dumber To
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels prove that most sequels should be left unmade.
2) Transformers: Age of Extinction
Director Michael Bay should have quit this series while he was ahead. Yes, another Transformers movie is in the works.
1) Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles
Who could imagine Corey Feldman’s irritating voice would ever be missed? This dud received a whopping 32,140 votes beating out No. 2 by 6,000 tallies.
From the rest of the group, here are the worst of the worst:
Hitflix
Transcendence
Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman together should yield a masterpiece. Here, not so much.
Richard Roper, Chicago Sun-Times
Before I Go to Sleep
Nicole Kidman needs to find a new agent. Golden Globe winner Colin Firth seems willing, of late, to do anything for a paycheck.
Moviefone
The Pyramid
Warning: take that trip to Egypt off your 2105 travel plans.
Yahoo
This Is Where I Leave You
Whoever thought a movie about sitting shiva was a good idea needs to have his head examined. Debbie Downer.
All told, it was a bad year for such generally reliable box office stars as Adam Sandler, Colin Farrell, and Cameron Diaz, each of whom was featured in one or more of these disasters. For Rifftrax, the offspring of MST3K, this bad news is good news. With lots of new ammo, Mike Nelson and his buddies Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett will find that 2015 should be a very punny year.
Screengrab via Paramount Movies/YouTube