I wasn’t a huge fan of Mary Poppins Returns
I’m surprised at the positive reviews of Streep in A Cry in the Dark. I didn’t see it but distinctly remember several friends saying it was crappy and mocking her delivery of the line “A dingo took my baby!” https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cry_in_the_dark
During the '90s and 2000s I used to say that Brad Pitt had a knack for picking good scripts. I’ve kind of lost track of his later career, but he’s the first name I thought of.
Though Daniel Day-Lewis is probably the thread winner.
EDIT: Then the next good script reader I noticed was Michelle Monaghan. Unfortunately for her career she didn’t really get famous until her 30s, but for a while there she was in all the cool stuff.
Well, he himself thought Up Periscope was terrible.
Leo DiCaprio has made very few bad movies in his career, especially for someone who started as a child actor. Ever since he got even a little bit of clout, he’s taken care to work only with high-quality directors on serious projects.
Did someone say Jack Nicholson? How about The Raven and Little Shop of Horrors?
Clint Eastwood?
I have never seen Martin Sheen in a bad movie.
Sean Penn?
Spawn? Pretty much the definition of a bad movie.
Anyone who ever appeared in a movie with Adam Sandler is disqualified from this thread.
At the time, Every Time We Say Goodbye was considered to be the most expensive Israeli film ($3.7 million), however, the film was a major box office bomb, with worldwide gross of only $278,623. To this day, according to Box Office Mojo, it remains the lowest grossing theatrically released film starring Hanks. Reviews of the film were lukewarm at best, and the film had a limited release in theaters.
Film critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying “Tom Hanks is utterly out of place in the Israeli romance ‘Every Time We Say Goodbye’ for at least two reasons: because there’s something so innately comic about him, even in solemn surroundings, and because he has so much more energy than the film does.”
Drew Barrymore? Maybe “The Wedding Singer” wasn’t the best movie ever made, and “Fifty First Dates” wasn’t the best either, but neither was what I’d call “bad.” They were entertaining and fun, which is what they were meant to be.
Further, she was great in “Music and Lyrics,” and especially in “Whip It.” Yes she was in a couple of rom-coms with Adam Sandler, but she can act.
To me, a “bad” movie is one where there is no action, no suspense, no character development–“The Honorary Consul” (which a past girlfriend suffered me to sit through), would be an example. So would “Havana,” with Robert Redford. Just people talking, about boring things, for two hours. There was a Thread Game recently, about movies that needed explosions–well, both of those did.
But discounting Adam Sandler’s co-star in a couple of rom-coms? Naw. Drew Barrymore lifted Sandler’s typical exploits into the “better-than-bad-movie” level.
Not completely alone - that movie sucks. A boring non-plot about a human Jar Jar Binks stumbling through life doesn’t meet my minimum standards for ‘good’, no matter what sort of special effects they use to alter the footage of dead people.
Frank Oz looks to have a pretty decent record, if you turn a blind eye to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Tom Hulce?
He was pretty tepid in The January Man but then so was everyone. It was a pretty tepid film (and I say that as someone who generally likes Kevin Kline films).
Are you sure you are remembering your friends saying it was crappy because they’ve seen it or…
Because Elaine in Seinfeld used the line to get rid of annoying people in the episode The Stranded?
I was about to mention Phillip Seymour Hoffman with confidence. Then I saw that he was in Patch Adams.
Sorry, Phil. You will never, ever make the list.
mmm
The line was used on Frasier also. And the entire movie was a joke. The only people that have seen this movie recently and rated it are rabid Streep fans.
I think Helen Mirren deserves serious consideration.
I also find movies about dead children hilarious, can I subscribe to your newsletter?
(I’ve personally never seen it, and it also sounds that neither have you, and you are basing opinions on parodies afterwards. I’ve always thought this was one of the films which made Streep’s name, but I’m not particularly a fan of hers. However, we appear to be walking down the “Schindlers list was a joke” pathway, which works too given Seinfeld references, just makes you want to kiss a woman).
I watched the movie. It’s awful. If you haven’t seen it you shouldn’t be commenting on it.
Tom Hanks’ version may have been subpar, but Guinness’ version was excellent. Since we are talking about both actors, you need to be explicit.