Top 10 Disappointing Films Of 2015

2015 offered some terrific films for audiences – THE MARTIAN, CREED, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, BROOKLYN and STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS to name a few. They were huge crowd-pleasers and very successful at the box office. But not every movie connected with audiences this past year, as much as we wanted them to.

WAMG takes a look at the past 12 months and the movies that we really wanted to love, but just couldn’t. Here we go with our Top 10 list of the Most Disappointing Films of 2015.

Dishonorable Mention: SEVENTH SON

It’s hard to decipher exactly what Jeff Bridges is saying under his accent that sounds like a cross between Gandalf and Bane from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. And that is only one of the many problems with this film. SEVENTH SON is nothing but hallow, visual clutter that is cobbled together to form something that struggles to appeal to the D&D or THE LORD OF THE RINGS crowd; both of which are smarter than this nonsense.

10. Tomorrowland

A dated Disneyland fixture never seemed like much of a premise for a science fiction/fantasy adventure anyway but TOMORROWLAND figures out what it wants to be about or what kind of story it is really telling. There are plenty of expensive effects but little point to this mixed-up mess.

9. Fifty Shades of Grey

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY is a dumb, escapist, sex fantasy that will rarely get your blood going. The results are far from steamy, if not maybe a little too vanilla given the subject. Isn’t this stuff supposed to be racy? The only thing about the dull and lifeless Mr. Grey that will leave any impression is the sight of his washboard abs. Aside from that, he will most likely put you to sleep – along with the film as a whole.

8. Pan

It wasn’t about the A-list cast or the release date – audiences just weren’t interested in another incarnation of the Peter Pan story. No matter how you spin it, PAN was supposed to woo moviegoers with an origin story on the ”Boy Who Could Fly” but how many times is Hollywood going to rehash the same story? We’ve seen the classic PETER PAN (1953), HOOK (1991), RETURN OT NEVERLAND (2002), PETER PAN (2003), FINDING NEVERLAND ( 2004) and various animated direct-to-DVD films starring Tinker Bell that Disney began in 2008. Who doesn’t love J. M. Barrie’s story of Peter, Wendy, Tiger-Lily and Captain Hook, but we think it’s time to move onto other theatrical adventures.

7. The Longest Ride

In yet another movie romance based on Nicholas Sparks’ novel, a rodeo bull-rider and a college student hoping to run a New York art gallery meet cute, and despite having nothing in common, fall in love – naturally. However, THE LONGEST RIDE is not satisfied with that unlikely premise, but piles on a bunch other far-fetched plot devises, including a love story set in World War II. If the film had stuck with the WWII romance, it might have had some charm. Instead, it sinks under a huge mountain of assorted gimmicks and coincidences..

6. Ted 2

TED was a one trick pony when it hits theaters in 2012. Funny, clever, and raunchy – all from the mind of Seth MacFarlane – the movie became Universal’s highest-grossing film of the year. We kind of liked the idea of a sequel, to see what happened to John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and his beloved teddy bear, but when TED 2 hit theaters in June, minus the wonderful Mila Kunis, most of the gags and one-liners didn’t payoff. All our entertainment dollar got us was a talking CGI stuffed bear and movie that wasn’t really funny.

5. Aloha

Oh, what has become of Cameron Crowe? The man behind some of the best romantic comedies of the late 80’s and 1990’s (SAY ANYTHING, JERRY MAGUIRE) continues his downward spiral with this lifeless mess that wastes an astounding all-star cast. What was intended as a movie valentine to our fiftieth state is bogged down with subplots involving lost loves, distrusting locals, military con-men, mystical island legends, and a space satellite system scheme from an off-kilter media mogul played by Bill Murray. What little press this flick garnered concerned the head-scratching casting of the usually entrancing Emma Stone as a character who is half native Hawaiian. Sad to say, but this may have been the least of ALOHA’s problems. Not that’s a real poo-poo platter!

4. By the Sea

Those who would like to see more women directors would love to see Angelina Jolie Pitt succeed in her ambition and become a polished director. But, as her latest effort shows, she is still not there, despite her considerable film-making resources. Both slow and strange, Jolie Pitt’s latest directorial effort BY THE SEA sports pretty photography and pretty people (herself and husband Brad Pitt) but, unfortunately, the film is both dull and somewhat creepy. Maybe next time she’ll succeed but not with this film.

3. Grandma

Misleadingly promoted as a fun intergenerational comedy, GRANDMA was an ugly and disturbing look at a cranky old lesbian poet and her granddaughter who spend a day driving around trying to find ways to raise money to pay for the young girl’s abortion. This quest includes selling her precious dog-eared, wine-stained stack of first editions  ‘60s feminist literature. It’s a serious subject that could have been handled with far more maturity and insight than the writers of GRANDMA writers were capable of. Tomlin’s Grandma was the most abrasive and unpleasant on-screen character in recent memory.

2. Love the Coopers

This year’s cinematic lump of coal came in the form of LOVE THE COOPERS, a precious and irritating film that saw a large family trying to cover up their noisy dysfunction during the holiday season. Diane Keaton and John Goodman starred as the heads of the Cooper clan whose obnoxious members (including Ed Helms, Marissa Tomei, and a farting June Squibb)are wrestling with unemployment, divorce, hormones and general disappointment. In lieu of any insightful observations about how Christmas can actually bring people together, the film tried to evoke a little Christmas spirit by with weird scenes of the Coopers spilling their guts to people they hardly know. The subplot in which Grandpa Cooper (Alan Arkin) lusts after a suicidal waitress (Amanda Seyfried) was just creepy, but the biggest disappointment was the waste of such a large, photogenic cast. Watching LOVE THE COOPERS was like getting a Christmas card from a family you can’t stand.

1. The Fantastic Four

So, everything from Marvel Comics is box office gold? Well, when Marvel’s own studio handles it, yes usually. This reboot was a rushed (to keep the movie rights), poorly conceived clunker that actually made audiences nostalgic over Tim Story’s modest pair of flicks from the past 11 years (and makes the Roger Corman produced 90’s low-budget trifle seem charming). Giving “the world’s greatest comics magazine” to CHRONICLE’s Josh Trank looked like a sure thing. Then his team gave comics and film fans a lethargic, dark, dreary origin story that ended with a truncated dismal battle finale with a boring revamp of Doctor Doom. Get the rights back, Marvel, and show us a foursome that’s truly fantastic.

Check out the staff’s individual lists:

Jim

Biggest Disappointment: TOMORROWLAND

1. THE FANTASTIC FOUR
2. ALOHA
3. LOVE THE COOPERS
4. SAINT  LAURENT
5. THE LONGEST RIDE
6. WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS
7. STONEWALL
8. BY THE SEA
9. BLACKHAT
10. PAPER TOWNS 

Michelle

Biggest Disappointment: THE FANTASTIC FOUR

1. TED 2
2. LOVE THE COOPERS
3. OUR BRAND IS CRISIS
4. ALOHA
5. ENTOURAGE
6. BY THE SEA
7. THE LAST WITCH HUNTER
8. MORTDECAI
9. STEVE JOBS
10. PAN

Michael

1. SEVENTH SON
2. TERMINATOR GENISYS
3. THE FANTASTIC FOUR
4. CHAPPIE
5. JURASSIC WORLD
6. THE GALLOWS
7. FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
8. ANT-MAN
9. BONE TOMAHAWK
10. A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE

Cate

Biggest Disappointment: STEVE JOBS

1. THE FANTASTIC FOUR
2. PAN
3. SERENA
4. HOT PURSUIT
5. THE LONGEST RIDE
6. TOMORROWLAND
7. BLACK OR WHITE
8. TED 2
9. WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS
10. BY THE SEA

Tom

Biggest Disappointment:  STONEWALL

1. ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL
2. WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS
3. LOVE THE COOPERS
4. GRANDMA
5. SELF/LESS
6. 50 SHADES OF GREY
7. AMERICAN ULTRA
8. FANTASTIC FOUR
9. TOMORROWLAND
10. THE LAZARUS EFFECT