It's pretty hard to say for true because I tend to forget something that is that unpleasant.  But I will offer this: The movies today are FAR WORSE than they used to be in terms of plot, acting, direction, and editing. 

I've reviewed probably over 1,000 movies to date and seen probably 3 or 4 times that many which weren't worth telling about.  So I think the ratio is 3 or 4 to 1. If you watch five movies, you will probably see 1 good one by my arithmetic. ;>

Older ones from the 1960s and back will be better than new ones.

I started watching "Saving Silverman" the other day and couldn't finish it. Some people enjoy that "Porky's" type of humor but it's just too stupid for me.

--Bob

Idiocracy... quite possibly the MOST idiot movie of all time. THe premise, idiot people take over the world by pure population, consumerism convinces people that WATER is bad for your and energy drinks good, time traveling solider luke wilson saves the world . . for all the good it will do with so many people who can't even from one coherent thought that does not pertain to sex.

Anna,

I'm not sure how many movies I've seen/reviewed in my age-of-reasoning life; I have been going to the movies or watched them on TV since I was a kid, and I've been a film reviewer since I was 17, so I imagine I've seen at least several hundred.

I'm perhaps a bit more forgiving of modern movies than some of my esteemed colleagues here and elsewhere, but I do think that really great movies are somewhat the exception rather than the rule. This is true of today's crop of movies as it is of the Golden Age of Hollywood, at least from my perspective.

The absolutely worst movie I've watched at the movies is John Derek's Bolero, a silly pseudo-erotic film made in 1984 featuring the writer-director's wife Bo.  Not only is it dumb (12 Monkeys seems almost like Shakespeare in comparison), but it's not interesting even in the erotic aspects. 

On TV I've watched many bad flicks, but right now Bolero is the most dreadful bit of cinematic dross that I can bring myself to mention here.

I liked Twelve Monkeys - seen it multiple times :-D  Guess we all have our opinions.  I'm guessing most people HAVE heard of Twelve Monkeys - I'm shocked you haven't.

Ok so movies that were a waste to me -

• Napolean Dynomite - I didn't get it and wouldn't finish it!  But to be honest I watched it a second time with a friend when we were in a giggly mood and I did find it sort of funny that time.  However, I will never agree that it is hilarious like my friends tell me it is.
• Skeleton Key - I reviewed this one on here already but basically I thought it was not thrilling at all and a total waste of time.
• Lifetime - While I've seen some lifetime movies that drew me in, I've seen quite a few that I couldn't get past 30 mins before flipping the channel.
• Waiting - People tell me that you have to be a waiter to understand this and find it funny - I disagree.  This movie was DUMB and I usually laugh at a lot of DUMB movies so for people to tell me that if I was a waitress I'd laugh, I can't believe that. Besides, my husband has never worked in an office, yet he finds "Office Space" to be hilarious.  A good movie should be funny to everyone, not just those who can relate.

I'm not so picky about movies overall and there are not many that I won't finish.  A lot of movies get 3 stars from me but it's very rare I'd go as far as 1 star or saying "don't watch this".  I can usually find some good in every film I watch.

BTW You'll probably be surprised to see that Twelve Monkey's has the following stats on IMDB:

User Rating: 8.1/10 (125,072 votes)
Top 250: #186

Actually, I loved 12 Monkeys!  But then, I'm a very strange man.  Just ask the kids.  They'll tell ya!  That movie is pretty highly rated by critics and it rated 87% on Rottentomatoes.com tomato meter.  But, that's why they have a lot of different kind of movies, because there are different people out there! (and man, I'm as different as they come!).  For me, the worst movie ever, and I'm talking the dregs of moviedom, was a little classic starring Chris Elliot called, Cabin Boy. the only good thing about it was a 2 minute cameo by David Letterman and I bet if you ask him,  of the two, the better experience was the time he hosted the Oscars.  Pretty much unwatchable.

I actually liked Twelve Monkeys as well! 

IMO the worst movie is Catwoman with Halle Berry.  I am in good company though as  the Razzies agree with me.  They honored Catwoman with the Worst Film, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actress awards.

I've really enjoyed reading these posts.  Some of this stuff was really funny.  I must say that I am fond of a lot of movies including a lot of the new ones but one thing that I never pay attention to is how a movie is rated by the critics or user ratings.  My understanding is that the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" was widely acclaimed but, as far as I'm concerned, it just cannot compare with the original.  But, that's what makes movies entertaining.  It would be a pretty boring arena if everybody liked the same thing and they just kept on making the same thing. 

Thanks for all your input, everybody -- I respected and enjoyed it all!

 

 

I can't believe I am saying this about a Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover movie, I have always enjoyed both of them some much, but in Good Fences, they are not good together.  I don't even remember why I didn't like it, I just know that I didn't. 

Hands down Punch Drunk Love.  Both my hubby and I looked at each other and said we were stupider for watching that.  I have no idea what it was even about.  That was a wast of Adam Sandler right there.

Second pick would be just about any of the Spoof movies.  Scary Movie wasn't horrible, but the rest have all gone down hill from there.

I found The Royal Tennenbaums and Lost in Translation to be two movies that were bad enough, and made more horrible by the critical praise they were showered with. I really, really hated Atonement, and thought it was a huge waste of time.

"...bad enough, and made more horrible by the critical praise they were showered with."

Now you have stimulated my imagination. 

Sam Mendes directed a piece of dreck, American Booty, that won Academy Awards, then a waste of Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in that gangster movie Rode to Perdition.

The latter I could tolerate but the former I hate with all my passion.

lilsquibb said…
Hands down Punch Drunk Love...

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Wow, you're right... Punch Drunk Love was a truly awful movie. In fact, most Adam Sandler movies are pretty awful, with the exceptions of The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates. Those were watchable.

I also couldn't figure out the critical acclaim for Lost in Translation. One of the all-time classic stinkers was The Clansman, starring Richard Burton and OJ Simpson. I saw it and it was amateurish and just plain terrible.

I never really understood the hoopla over many of Stanley Kubrick's films, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although there are many pretty visuals and some interesting scenes, the overall film leaves a strong "Huh?" in my brain.

--Bob

I watched some caveman movie in college. Can't recall the name of the film. It involved a lot of pointing and grunting. Think Ringo Star was in it. I was so bored I could hardly stand it. The guy who took me laughed through the whole grunting mess. So I guess it was funny to some people.  

The other worst film I ever saw [actually it was so bad we didn't finish it] was an early 1990s movie called The Pickle.  An employee of the video store recommended it.  It was 100% awful! 
Not quite as bad but still deserves a spot on this thread is Napoleon Dynamite. Somehow for reasons I can't explain, I watched it all.  I kept thinking it was going to get better because I'd heard how good it was.  My husband and I sat there with our mouths open waiting for something to be funny. It never happened. 

bkovacs said…

lilsquibb said…
Hands down Punch Drunk Love...

---

Wow, you're right... Punch Drunk Love was a truly awful movie. In fact, most Adam Sandler movies are pretty awful, with the exceptions of The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates. Those were watchable.
--Bob

---

Now see I really like Adam Sandler movies.  I would say there are probably only a few that I haven't seen at this point.  But that one... oh they just shouldn't have.

I rarely walk out of a movie but South Park was too politically incorrect (sorry I had to say the pc words) for me to stay and watch it.

CyndiA said…
I watched some caveman movie in college. Can't recall the name of the film. It involved a lot of pointing and grunting.

---

Sounds like Quest for Fire.  If that's the one, I thought it was awful too. Another movie I hate is Children of the Corn. It's about a Midwestern town where the children killed all the adults and then waited around for unsuspecting travelers to enter the town. I think they kiled all them with a big machete. Not sure why I wacthed it but there were lots of similar ''splatter films'' when I was in college.

Another piece of crap that jumped into my mind based on your question is 2002's ONE HOUR PHOTO.  Almost anything starring Robin Williams can qualify as the worst movie I've ever seen. :>

The television remake of The Shining was not my cup of arsenic...erm...tea, either.  It was not as bad as Bolero or even Children of the Corn, but I do regret watching the whole thing when it aired on ABC several years ago.

CyndiA said…
I watched some caveman movie in college. Can't recall the name of the film. It involved a lot of pointing and grunting. Think Ringo Star was in it. I was so bored I could hardly stand it. The guy who took me laughed through the whole grunting mess. So I guess it was funny to some people.  

---

That would be "Caveman" (1981) with Ringo Star, Barbara Bach, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long, John Matuszak, and Richard Moll.

(-: I thought it had Ringo Star. I did enjoy looking at him but not for 2 hours or so and not just grunting. That was not a good date movie. I got a new boyfriend after.

JovialCougar said…

CyndiA said…
I watched some caveman movie in college. Can't recall the name of the film. It involved a lot of pointing and grunting.

---

Sounds like Quest for Fire.  If that's the one, I thought it was awful too. Another movie I hate is Children of the Corn. It's about a Midwestern town where the children killed all the adults and then waited around for unsuspecting travelers to enter the town. I think they kiled all them with a big machete. Not sure why I wacthed it but there were lots of similar ''splatter films'' when I was in college.

---

No. DUISparky got it. Caveman. There was one word in it, and I do not think I can type that here. The rest - grunts. Whew. Long movie.

I will avoid Quiest for Fire too though if it's even a little bit like Caveman. I do not like movies with no plots that I can detect.

For me its a toss up between: A Clockwork Orange and The Talented Mr. Ripley. I couldn't even last throught the first one and the second one was so drug on and boring I actually fell asleep during it.

CyndiA said…
I watched some caveman movie in college. Can't recall the name of the film. It involved a lot of pointing and grunting. Think Ringo Star was in it. I was so bored I could hardly stand it. The guy who took me laughed through the whole grunting mess. So I guess it was funny to some people.  

---

That film was "Caveman" and all that mattered to me was Barbara Bach was in it...in skimpy clothes.....I managed to sit through it....:)

Jo said…
I rarely walk out of a movie but South Park was too politically incorrect (sorry I had to say the pc words) for me to stay and watch it.

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South Park made me cringe.  NOTHING makes me cringe...but that did.....

I thought south park was funny :)  Oh well, not everyone can like every movie.  A clockwork orange is messed up.  I only watched at most 15 minutes of it b/c there was this guy in HS who dressed up as the guy for halloween so I wondered what this movie was about.  I don't even know if I made it 15 minutes - it was weird from what I remember.

So many different tastes here. ^_^

Worst anime I ever saw likely belongs to a title called 'Debutante Detective Corps' which involved four high school girls in a private all girl school who had a mercenary group after them that they had to defeat. Yes, it is as stupid as it sounds and yes, it made my head hurt to watch it. On one particular mailing list I belong to we had an inside joke going where if anyone ever broke one of the rules of the list they were to be disciplined by having to watch this title. hehe

vivasuzi said…
I thought south park was funny :)  Oh well, not everyone can like every movie.  A clockwork orange is messed up.  I only watched at most 15 minutes of it b/c there was this guy in HS who dressed up as the guy for halloween so I wondered what this movie was about.  I don't even know if I made it 15 minutes - it was weird from what I remember.

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Oh, South Park WAS funny, but gay sex with Satan is just cringe-worthy, I don't care who ya are!

ROF on Caveman movie. Must be a guy thing. The not so hot guys with clubs did not do it for me. The girls in skimpies . . . maybe worth it for the male folk. Overall - most boring movie I ever sat through and did not fall asleep or walk out.