Worst Film Poll: Group A

[Russell Nash]

The links go to IMDB instead of Amazon.  I didn't think anyone would be interested in buying one of these turkeys.

[Heradel]

It seems like it's harder to pick the worst than it is the best.

[Darwinist]

How did Travolta get Forrest Whitaker to take part in that L. Ron Hubbard debacle? 

[Russell Nash]

It seems like it's harder to pick the worst than it is the best.

This round was a slam dunk for me.  Armageddon is bad from beginning to end.

[DKT]

It seems like it's harder to pick the worst than it is the best.

No joke!  I was torn between three of those movies.  I ended up going with Be Cool because I hate that movie for the same reason so many of us hate Highlander 2.  Only I might be more extreme about it because Get Shorty is one of my favorites.

[Russell Nash]

Arewe going to end up with a three-way tie?

[DKT]

Hrm.  Or at least a two way tie?

[slic]

Broke the tie - Battlefield Earth sucked alot.  It sucked on so many levels that it it was video game then no one would live long enough get get through all the levels - and they would suck.

[slic]

And really guys - Armageddon wasn't all that bad...

[Russell Nash]

And really guys - Armageddon wasn't all that bad...

WHAT?!??!!?!!

There is no way you can come up with one good thing from that lemon.

[sirana]

oh, i thought hitting a golf ball at the greenpeace ship was pretty funny.

[Russell Nash]

oh, i thought hitting a golf ball at the greenpeace ship was pretty funny.

Was that before or after he ran around an oil platform shooting a shotgun?

[sirana]

oh, i thought hitting a golf ball at the greenpeace ship was pretty funny.

Was that before or after he ran around an oil platform shooting a shotgun?

now that you remind me, that was cool, too ;-)

[sirana]

And why was I the only one who voted for Alien vs. Predator? Did nobody else see this movie, or did you really think Armageddon was worse?
Cause man, AvP sucked!

[Russell Nash]

oh, i thought hitting a golf ball at the greenpeace ship was pretty funny.

Was that before or after he ran around an oil platform shooting a shotgun?

now that you remind me, that was cool, too ;-)

It would have blown sky high.  Plus Affleck always dodged the shot like it was a single bullet.  He would have had half a pound of buckshot in his ass.  The whole movie was stupid setup after stupid setup.

[DKT]

And why was I the only one who voted for Alien vs. Predator? Did nobody else see this movie, or did you really think Armageddon was worse?
Cause man, AvP sucked!

I absolutely hated AvP.  But I hated Be Cool more.  Actually, I'm happy I'm the only one who voted for Be Cool, because it makes me think maybe I'm the only one who saw it (and the rest of you are lucky).

[slic]

AvP had such potential.  I have no idea why the writers thought they needed to base on Earth.

There was this excellent comic published by Dark Horse where certain clans of Predators had a right of passage involving hunting an Alien.  If you killed the Alien , they ripped off one of it's fingers and pushed the ripped end against the successful Predator's forehead burning a scar that was a permanent sign of the accomplishment....

And really guys - Armageddon wasn't all that bad...

WHAT?!??!!?!!

There is no way you can come up with one good thing from that lemon.

Dude, they flew Oil Drillers into space, you just can't take it seriously.  It's one of those movies where the laws of nature don't quite work.  they made up have of the laws of physics as they wrote the movie.
And the asteroids were cool...

[wakela]

I'm with slic.  I was just too embarrassed to come out of the closet before.  Armageddon wasn't a good movie, but it wasn't nearly as awful as these others.

AvP had such potential.  I have no idea why the writers thought they needed to base on Earth.

There was this excellent comic published by Dark Horse where certain clans of Predators had a right of passage involving hunting an Alien.  If you killed the Alien , they ripped off one of it's fingers and pushed the ripped end against the successful Predator's forehead burning a scar that was a permanent sign of the accomplishment....

And really guys - Armageddon wasn't all that bad...

WHAT?!??!!?!!

There is no way you can come up with one good thing from that lemon.

Dude, they flew Oil Drillers into space, you just can't take it seriously.  It's one of those movies where the laws of nature don't quite work.  they made up have of the laws of physics as they wrote the movie.
And the asteroids were cool...

You can't judge a movie as bad because it disobeys the laws of physics.  There are too many movies that you love that feature horrible physics. 

Batman and Robin:  There was a street gang that had glow-in-the-dark face paint and English accents.  And when they meet Uma Thurman the most menacing line the writers could think of for the gang leader was, "Hello my pretty pretty pretty."  This was during the long era of the Schwarzenegger One Liners.  The best they could manage was, "A freeze is coming."  It's not even a pun.  It's just a statement of what he plans to do.  The line does not try to be clever and fail, it does not even try.  George Clooney, who I really like, was a black hole of screen presence.  And I completely forgot Alicia Silverstone was in the movie until I checked IMDB.  Speaking of IMDB, the user comment is "I've lost faith in humanity."  And the plot synopsis appropriate reads: "Plot synopsis is empty.  Add a synopsis."

Go read the "memorable quotes."  Find one half way memorable line.

I only saw half of AvP, and I was wasted at the time.  But really, who expected that one to be any good. 

[sirana]

Is Armaggeddon a stupid movie? Hell, yeah.
Do I think it was a good movie? Not really.
Is it as bad as AvP or Batman and Robin (which I only remember through a alcohol induced haze)? No way.

I don't really need my Action flix to obey the laws of physics or have a story that makes sense, if they are fun to watch.

Of course that comes from the man who liked Catwoman and thought Underworld Evolution was the best movie of 2006, so your mileage may vary ;-)

[Russell Nash]

I don't want to think of Armageddon enough to make more of an arguement.

On the topic of action movies as a whole, there is pushing the willing suspension of disbelief and there is insulting the intelligence of anyone who sees it.  How can a movie be thrilling or interesting if at any moment they can ignore the laws of all sciences to save the heroes at the last minute?  Isn't that the ultimate deus ex machina?

[Darwinist]

How can a movie be thrilling or interesting if at any moment they can ignore the laws of all sciences to save the heroes at the last minute?  Isn't that the ultimate deus ex machina?

That is a good question for Bruckheimer, who loves to pull that crap all the time.  I just saw the trailer for National Treasure II.   He just keeps pumping them out.

[wakela]

I don't want to think of Armageddon enough to make more of an arguement.

On the topic of action movies as a whole, there is pushing the willing suspension of disbelief and there is insulting the intelligence of anyone who sees it.  How can a movie be thrilling or interesting if at any moment they can ignore the laws of all sciences to save the heroes at the last minute?  Isn't that the ultimate deus ex machina?

Not that I'm trying to defend Armageddon, but most great action movies, Die Hard, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.  completely disregard the laws of physics, probability, and biology for the sake of an exciting story.  I don't think Armageddon did this any more than any other action movie.   Batman and Robin made a mockery of the laws of nature and basic storytelling, not to mention human decency. 

[eytanz]

Let me add my voice to the (half-hearted) defense of Armageddon - it's not a good movie by any means, but it's nowhere near as bad as some of the other films on the list. It's stupid, yeah, very, very stupid, but stupid can be fun, and Armageddon is fun.

I note that you didn't list Independence Day in group B, which suffers all the flaws you list with Armageddon but also takes itself way more seriously and I found far more difficult to watch. Armageddon is fluff, it knows that it's fluff, and never tries to be anything other than (very expensive) fluff.

Compare that to Batman & Robin (which fails at being fluff) or Battlefield Earth (which fails to realize it is fluff). I don't think Armageddon is anywhere near those two in the level of its badness.

[wakela]

Damn, I forgot about Independence Day.  Did someone nominate that?  That one really made me mad.  Dear Hollywood, please stop designing space aliens with elongated heads.  I'm lookin' at you too, Speilberg.  Thank you. 

[Russell Nash]

Damn, I forgot about Independence Day.  Did someone nominate that?  That one really made me mad.  Dear Hollywood, please stop designing space aliens with elongated heads.  I'm lookin' at you too, Speilberg.  Thank you. 

Nobody nominated Independence day but since I have three more spots, I'll add it to the list