By Emilio Frenk.
Top 10 Worst Films of 2019:
Just as this 2019 brought outstanding and memorable movies, it also had its disappointments and flops . Here are the worst films of 2019:
10. Anna
French Filmmaker Luc Besson, had his second flop after "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets." The script written by Besson himself lacked originality and imagination. The sequences of fights were of laughter and the subject of the film was very confusing from beginning to end.
There is no doubt that Besson is a filmmaker who has made memorable films such as "Léon" "Big Blue ", "Nikita" among others but here he failed and I hope that in his next project he can learn from the mistakes he made with “Anna”.
9. The Beach Bum
On this list I mention Academy Award Winner Matthew McConaughey as he had two films that tanked in 2019. One of them is "The Beach Bum" which from the beginning to the end was a dissapointment.
I was about to walk out of the movie theater because of how annoying McConaughey´s character was in the film. I was hoping if at some point could be better but it was not the case and it reached the point that it was boring. For a comedy movie, I didn't laugh at all and this was the case of the film when you have a mediocre script it the result is going to be shown regardless who you have in your cast.
8. The Hustle
This film is the best example that no matter how good your talent is, it´s not going to save a project if the story is weak. The chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson it wasn´t there and yes, there were moments that there was some humor but not because it was funny, it was embarrassing
Another example that I mentioned in this space is the fact that when a script is written by more than two people the chances for failure are going to be bigger and this was the case.
The direction of Chris Addison was also weak, he did not know how to take advantage of the talent he had at his disposal and it was a great disappointment.
7. The Intruder
For a thriller, "The Intruder" fell into the absurd, to the extent that it became laughable. To be honest I knew what I was getting into when I saw “The Intruder” and I still gave it the benefit of the doubt.
I saw the exact same copy of John Schlesinger´s “Pacific Heights” released in 1990, which was not a good film either but compared to this was better. The only good thing was Dennis Quaid, who is well known of playing charismatic characters but here he was convincing and scary.
"The Intruder" is one of the most ridiculous thrillers I've seen in a long time and that why I put it here.
6. Men in Black: International
Without a Doubt this was one of the highest grossing films in the Summer of 2019 but at the narrative level it was a real fiasco. I know it could be considered a fourth installment of the franchise that started in 1997 but I feel it was more of a reboot and despite the talent of actors like Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson the chemistry did not work and it forgettable.
The only change was in the cast but compared to the previous films starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, this one was light years away. The script lacked originality and the direction of F. Gary Gray, who is a director who throughout his career has had consistency in his projects but here it was not the case.
I feel that he focused more on making the film visually good and completely forgot about the narrative . I hope this is a learning lesson for Gary Gray and his next project is a better one.
5. Ugly Dolls
In this list as every year a film of the animation genre is included and here was no different. "Ugly Dolls" is the example of a film with tremendous potential that was not taken in the right direction.
Although the genre is more focused on children, it is very important that the adult part is not neglected, since it is essential. I feel that this movie was very for children and the truth is that none of the characters were likeable.
It was predictable from beginning to end and in most of the film were just musical acts. Yes, I understand the fact that these elements must be included in animated films, but again it is very important to pay attention to all the details that have been there.
The most incredible thing was that I saw children telling their parents that they wanted to leave and were bored. Along with "The Emoji Movie," "Ugly Dolls" is the worst thing I've seen in animation in this past decade.
4. Rambo: Last Blood
If there is an actor who has played iconic characters throughout his career that is Sylvester Stallone, who again brings to the big screen the war veteran “John Rambo” in this fifth and what seems to be the last film of the franchise that started in 1982. The films of "Rambo" have always seemed very entertaining, especially “First Blood”, which I consider the best of the whole series; “Rambo: First Blood Part II” is pure entertainment, “Rambo III” is total mediocrity, "Rambo" of 2008 had its moments but I do not know and “Rambo: Last Blood” was the worst.
In this last part, I felt that the film was not going anywhere and I dare to say that the best part was the climax of the film.
The dialogue I heard became one of the most absurd and at times I felt that I was watching the same movie over and over again. Still I consider that Sylvester Stallone played one of his most emblematic characters along with Rocky Balboa but here the damage was more than done and is in this position.
3.Dark Phoenix
What an unfortunate debut for Simon Kinberg with a Marvel Comics movie. This was the worst movie I have seen in the “X-Men” franchinse since "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
For fans of this franchise I understand that they wanted to see something different and in this case focused on the character of Jean Gray played by Sophie Turner who was the best thing along with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy who again gave life to the characters of Magneto and Professor Charles Xavier.
t´s a movie that lasted more than two hours when it could have been trimmed to One Hour and Fifty Minutes. The story was boring and for a film of this genre the most important thing is the rhythm, along with the narrative.
Kinberg's direction was also erratic in most of the cast, except for the cases I mentioned previously and he didn't know how to take advantage of what he had at his disposal. I hope that Simon Kinberg learnes from this and I wish that he succeeds in his next project.
2. Serenity
I remember seeing the trailer for “Serenity” around June 2018 and the original release date was going to be in October of that year; then they moved it to January and normally when they postpone the release of a movie it means trouble.
I had high expectations because it was directed by British filmmaker Steven Knight, who made "Locke" in 2014 and is one of the great writers of this industry. It could be so far that "Serenity" is the film with the best cast it has had but its narrative here lacked clarity and was confusing from beginning to end.
The chemistry between Two Academy Award Winners such as Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway was not convincing and the flaws of the film were notorious.
Even with disappointments, I hope that Steven Knight's next project will be successful and that he will not repeat the mistakes he had here.
Dishonorable Mentions: “The Sun is Also A Star”, “Godzilla: King of Monsters”, “Stuber” and “The Goldfinch”
1. The Kitchen
"The Kitchen" occupies this position as the worst film of 2019. Another unfortunate debut presented itself and this time was for Andrea Berloff.
Berloff who was nominated for the script of "Straight Outta Compton" made her debut with this film and it really was due because it is an issue that we have already seen although the only thing that changed was that instead of seeing men like those who are In control we see women.
Berloff had a cast with talented actresses such as Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Moss and Tiffany Haddish (in her first dramatic role) and failed to take advantage of what she had at her disposal.
I feel that she worried about making this film unique and neglected several elements of a narrative question and the result was reflected. Despite having a duration of one hour and forty-two minutes, "The Kitchen" slowed down and had scenes that were unnecessarily long
I've always been a follower of movies that have to do with the mafia and here they really fell into too many clichés. I felt I was watching a soap opera instead of a movie here.
I think it is a project that had great potential but unfortunately it was not so and I hope that Berloff learns from her mistakes and makes a better project.
If there is a film that I did not mentioned here please feel free to comment. More reviews and updates to come.