Added by MaxL on 31 Dec 2012 08:53

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My Top 10 Least Favourite Movies of 2012

Sort by: Showing 10 items

Decade: Rating: List Type:

615

6.1

6.4

Savages

I didn't expect to put an Oliver Stone movie on the list, but I don't think I've cared less about what's going on in any other movie this year than I did during this one. A lot of the dialogue just went in one ear and out the other, so I didn't really understand the characters' motivations. And I just didn't care about the characters themselves, so the whole movie was so flat that even the violence was underwhelming. And it's all topped off by terrible jokes and an absolutely rage-inducing twist ending. Easily my most boring cinema-going experience of the year.

MaxL's rating:

228

4.9

The Cold Light of Day

In many ways, this is the hardest movie on this list to talk about, since there's not really anything horrendously awful about it: it's just unbelievably lifeless and uninteresting. It's all pretty much just one chase scene after another, which gets tiresome really quickly because there isn't a good story backing it up. The story, when it does stop to explain it, is impossible to follow or care about. The action itself looks really amateurish at times, too, especially the fight following the first chase. It's all just dull and unremarkable. One of the least exciting action thrillers I've seen in quite a while.

MaxL's rating:

556

5.7

5.1

Cosmopolis (2012)

Another major disappointment from someone whom I know is a good director – in this case, David Cronenberg. Maybe it's a faithful adaptation of the novel it's based on, but to me, it just seems like one of those annoyingly style-fuelled art house films. Almost the entirety of the movie is philosophical dialogue. Now, I'm not inherently against dialogue-fuelled movies (hell, my favourite movie of all time is 12 Angry Men!), but this movie's dialogue is not the least bit interesting. Maybe it's supposed to be satirical, but it's instantly forgettable. As a result, the movie as a whole just drags endlessly.

MaxL's rating:

723

4.5

4.3

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)

At least this sequel has better special effects than its predecessor: instead of early PS2 graphics, now they look like PS3 graphics! There's also a spectacularly awesome sequence where the Ghost Rider takes control of a crane. But the biggest problem with this movie, aside from it being drab, is that it has the overall feel of a direct-to-DVD movie, especially in how it's shot and edited. I actually can't believe this got a theatrical release! On the whole, it's still better than the original, though. They're both terrible movies, but I'd say the sequel is the lesser of two evils.

MaxL's rating:

159

6.3

W.E. (2012)

This is worse than a horrendously bad film: it's a frustratingly flawed one. The story focuses on King Edward VIII's abdication for the woman he loved; it could have been a straightforward historical drama and served as a companion piece to The King's Speech. But instead, it makes a bullshit attempt to parallel the story to a modern-day fictional character! Oh, go away! Also, why didn't they just get an American actress to play Wallis Simpson? Andrea Riseborough's accent is impossible to take seriously! Basically, this movie had a lot of potential, but failed spectacularly to live up to it.

MaxL's rating:

224

5.9

6.4

Act of Valor (2012)

Instead of actors, this movie's cast is real Navy SEALs. …Need I say more? Maybe the idea was to make this war movie seem more authentic, but the fact is that none of them can act. That might be forgivable if the movie itself were of good quality, but it's not. The characters are all dull as well as poorly acted, and the set pieces feel almost like video game levels. But the major problem is how astonishingly boring the movie is – and I mean boring! It's so boring that it's downright depressing. Its only saving grace is that it is mercifully forgettable.

MaxL's rating:

881

5.6

5.8

Battleship (2012)

I honestly can't believe we actually have directors trying to imitate Michael Bay now! That has got to be a new cinematic low! Still, at least this movie actually has a plot and sticks to it, unlike the works of Michael Bay himself. I clearly remember the characters' goal is to prevent the war with this alien race from ever happening. The first two thirds, just like Act of Valour, are insufferably boring. But the last act had me thinking this could have been simple dumb fun – if it weren't trying to be a Michael Bay imitator! (Seriously, that's just really sad!)

MaxL's rating:

223

5.2

5.9

A Thousand Words (2012)

I don't think this is quite as bad as the 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes would imply, but it's still one of the most annoying comedies I've seen in quite a while. The premise would take too long to explain, but basically Eddie Murphy's character can't speak. So every single scene is just painful to watch because you know what he's going to do, you know how it's going to backfire on him. In fact, there's one particular scene that very nearly made me shut the movie off! And I hate the movie all the more for trying to get emotional towards the end.

MaxL's rating:

774

6.3

This Means War (2012)

Probably the most worthless movie of the year. It's a romantic comedy that's not the least bit funny (Reese Witherspoon's best friend is especially annoying) and sure as shit isn't romantic! Our two leads are just fighting over this woman like she's a prize to be won. It's objectification of women at its most disgraceful. It tries to be a spy action movie on the side, and that aspect sucks too. Basically, this movie is degrading and rotten to its core. I guess the only thing keeping it from the number one spot is that it's directed by McG, so what did you expect?

MaxL's rating:

308

3.7

4.2

The Devil Inside (2012)

Oh, God! This, of course, is the one I was talking about before: the only one that truly left a scar. No amount of bad reviews and low ratings could have prepared me for this! This one was pure, utter torture to sit through, with an aggravating first half, a downright boring second half, and the absolute worst abuse of the "found footage" gimmick I've ever seen. In fact, several times while watching the movie, I had to pause it and collect myself! If that's not enough to call it the worst movie of the year, I don't know what is! It's not just the worst movie of the year: it's the worst horror movie I've seen since The Fourth Kind!

MaxL's rating:

Voters of this movie list - View all

Well, it's the last day of 2012, so it's time to look back on my personal experience with cinema throughout the year, picking out my favourite and least favourite movies. This is the first of that pair of lists: my least favourite ones.
Now, something I want to clarify before we start is what exactly qualifies as a release for this year. Well, my criterion is simple: the movie just has to have been released to the general public in 2012. So if a film premiered at film festivals and the like in an earlier year but wasn't officially released until 2012, that still counts. Likewise, if a film has only seen the light of day at film festivals so far this year, it doesn't count. Besides, I won't have seen it anyway!
Speaking of which, keep in mind that I didn't see absolutely everything that came out this year, in some cases because I wasn't able to. Part of the problem is that, due to my living conditions, I don't have easy access to a cinema. It's not much of a problem for movies released early in the year, because I can rent them when they come out on DVD. But for films released in, say, August onwards, if I miss them in the cinema, that's it.
Something else I want to point out is that, at least out of the films I saw, I didn't think any movie this year was either spectacularly good or spectacularly bad (except for one). It's not like last year: none of this year's movies met the soaring high standards set by Source Code and The Artist. And there were a lot of movies that I really disliked, but there was only one that offended me so much that it shook me to my core and left a scar, like Transformers 3 and Sucker Punch did. All the other bad movies I saw this year were just kind of forgettable.
So, without further ado, let's start talking about them.

Before I get into my top ten least favourite movies of the year, let me just briefly call out a few possible contenders that I didn't see. After all, this year boasted quite a few movies that I'm pretty sure would have been in the running had I seen them. For example, I didn't see the remakes of Total Recall and Red Dawn, or Madagascar 3, That's My Boy, The Apparition, House at the End of the Street, Paranormal Activity 4, The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure or, as you can probably guess, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, just to name a few. If a movie gets bad reviews, I usually end up checking it out just to see if it'll make my list, but One for the Money was the only movie this year that I avoided at all costs for very personal reasons: I can't stand Katherine Heigl.
Also, there's something about cinema in general this year that really got on my nerves. This seemed to be a year of abundant alternate titles! For example, The Avengers is called Marvel Avengers Assemble (or just Avengers Assemble) here in the British Isles, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! is called The Pirates! Band of Misfits in the US and some other circles, The Samaritan (with Samuel L Jackson) is called Fury here, Get the Gringo (with Mel Gibson) became How I Spent My Summer Vacation, The Raid: Redemption became just The Raid… To quote the Angry Video Game Nerd, that really brings my piss to a boil! Alternate titles cause nothing but confusion! Just keep 'em the same!

Well, I'd say you and I both reckon I've rambled long enough! Let's get to the actual list!
And, as with all my lists, I'd recommend you view it in reverse order.

Runners-up:
Gone
Hard Boiled Sweets
Mirror Mirror
Piranha 3DD
The Raven
Think Like a Man