Your Voices is a simple concept created to encourage conversation and opinions between movie lovers. It works like this: I throw out a certain topic and I’ll take time to make my case or share my opinions. Then it’s time for Your Voices. Head to the comments section and let fellow readers and moviegoers know your thoughts on the topic for that day!
Each year has its share of surprising movies, but it also brings disappointments. That’s what we are talking about today. When thinking on this topic a couple of movies instantly came to mind. Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” had many good things about it, but ultimately it fell short of Anderson’s better pictures. But I began to wonder if my reaction was heavily influenced on my expectations and deep love for the filmmaker’s other work. Therefore it’s not a film that should headline this discussion.
Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” is a different story. I was very hesitant about this film from the start because I never felt Aronofsky and this material went together. For me that proved to be true. Aronofsky’s agenda wasn’t to tell the biblical story that many people hold dear but to create a weird redefinition of the story and the characters involved. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise considering the director’s perspectives and style of filmmaking. Still I found the approach to be a disappointment.
Even worse I didn’t expect the movie to be so clunky and at times downright dopey and ridiculous. There are moments in the film that are so absurd and holes in the story that no amount of style can cover. Perhaps Aronofsky doesn’t deserve all of the heat. A big part of the blame can go to the poorly conceived script which is at times mind-boggling bad. It’s really a shame because it wastes a great lead performance from Russell Crowe and leaves behind a ton of wasted potential. I wanted a lot more from this film and was really disappointed in it, but this isn’t all about me. Now it’s time for you to sound off.
YOUR VOICES: What is your biggest movie disappointment of 2014 (so far)?
Now it’s time for Your Voices. With so many 2014 movies to consider, which one did you find to be the biggest letdown? Please share Your Voices on today’s question. I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
keithandthemovies.com 
A couple of films come to mind. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 & Begin Again. Spider-Man 2 was a mess and Begin Again had the actors and the feel in the trailers that I would love it. Bored me silly.
I’m 100% with you on Spidey 2. Didn’t like it at all. Messy, clunky, and poorly done. Begin Again is one I still need to see. You’re right, it definitely has the actors. Sad to hear it disappoints.
Thanks for taking time to comment. Appreciated.
That makes three of us for Spidey 2 in this category — and to top it off, disposing its most interesting character/actor, too!
I didnt think the movie didnt build up its villains well enough at all. So many of the confrontations were flat and so much of the tension unearned. Just a terribly disappointing movie.
Agreed. Unfortunately, we saw hints of that in the first “Amazing Spider Man”. I think Marc Webb was out of his comfort zone with this. Great with the personal relationship scenes, and out of his depth with the villains and action sequences.
We have the exact same take on it. The personal scenes are intetesting and easily the best parts.
I enjoyed Wes Anderson’s ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ a lot so the question you pose is a good one. I’d say ‘Noah’ was the first film that came to mind for disappointing. ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ was probably the worst film of the year, I’d say.
Thanks for commenting Cindy. I liked Budapest but I wanted to love it. A Million Ways looked absolutely dreadful. I’m not surprised to hear it was so bad.
Noah is a very good shout!
I found Transcendence to be very disappointing, especially with the cast it had!
Oh thats a really good mention. Trancendence was universally slammed and with that cast! What a shame.
I was even nodding off in the cinema and that never happens!
I’ve heard that. I was really sad to hear that for Rebecca Hall. She is a really good actress but movies like that won’t help her.
first one is Sin City, didn’t have that magic the first one did. Second one is White Bird in A Blizzard. I had high expectations because of Shailene Woodley and Eva Green, but found it very disappointing.
I was one of the few that didn’t care for the first Sin City but I know many people did and most of them left the sequel disappointed. I gotta say I’m not familiar with White Bird. Sounds like I didnt miss much though.
I didn’t have high expectations for “White Bird” but it agree it was a truly disappointing film
I think the film made by Kenny Riviera was pretty disappointing. The cinematography was bad, almost like it was done discretely with an iPhone. I know it was his first film. But his technique needs more work to capture the essence of paggletonism worldwide.
It had imp-like tendencies.
Deliver Us From Evil was a huge disappointment.
And it looked so promising. I loved the cast but I ended up skipping it because it was universally panned.
Mockingjay Part 1, the film could not supersede the book. Not bad, just a letdown after the first two films.
Thats sad to hear. I thought the first film was pretty good but really liked part 2. Still haven’t seen the third one. Bunner to hear that it doesnt continue what the second film did so well.
In terms of films I really wanted to be great but didn’t really work out. Godzilla really disappointed me 😦
Ouch! You’ll love this – I loved Godzilla! 😀
I liked it but it did disappoint me 😦
You aren’t alone. Godzilla has popped up several times in the comments section!
I hated The Amazing Spider-Man 2. To be honest, though, I thought the first was only meh and wasn’t expecting anything from this one. It didn’t give me anything so it’s a wash.
On the other hand, I was severely disappointed by Godzilla after how much love everyone was giving it. I was all pumped to watch it and it was painfully bad. Just did a write up of this very topic.
http://dellonmovies.blogspot.com/2014/11/noooovember-godzilla.html
Very interesting. I was one of those who loved Godzilla. I thought the slow buildup was great and seperated it from movies like Pacific Rim. I also loved the sense of panic and paranoia that was also a big component of those classic creature features from the late 50s.
But you arent alone. I have heard from several people who didnt care for it.
Well, Interstellar. I thought it was going to be much better. But so far I have been fortunate – Gone girl was excellent and my other anticipated – Foxcatcher – is apparently brilliant
I KNEW IT!!! I knew you would say Interstellar. 😉
I’m really anxious to see Foxcatcher. It is getting good press but unfortunately it isn’t showing anywhere around me.
Yes, Interstellar for me 😦
Ouch! I truly has lived up to its title as ‘the most divisive film if 2014’.
One movie I felt really let me down was Godzilla. In a film called Godzilla the titular creature is in it for all over fifteen minutes, and two or three times they would set up an epic monster battle only to cut away. Because we totally paid to see human characters in a monster movie. The only cast member I wanted to see was Bryan Cranston, and they bumped him off!
Thanks for taking time to comment. You arent alone in mentioning Godzilla. I gotta say though I loved it. The slow reveal really worked for me as it brought back memories of the old creature features of the 50s. But obviously the nostalgia factor didn’t work for many.
‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ was a huge let down for me after the terrific ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, and what made me feel worse was that Gary Oldman was totally wasted.
I thought it was pretty good but I didnt just love it like many people did. It’s predictability was insane and it borrowed so much from stories we have seen before.
I’m going with Days of Future Past. Awesome to look at, great action, but everything else in between was kinda dull to me.
Thanks for the comments man. Always like reading what you have to say.
Aside from the jarring early moments, I actually liked DOFP. As the year has moved on it hasnt held a place as a favorite of mine though.
Good question. I’ve actually enjoyed every movie I was looking forward so far this year, something that never happens. I can say though that despite my dislike for Lars von Trier, I really liked Nymphomaniac Vol 1.
That’s a good thing. I had a couple that just didn’t measure up for me. I’m really curious as to why and if my enthusiasm and expectations influenced my final reactions.
Hey Keith, I guess I should’ve saved my comment about Noah on my post for here. “Aronofsky’s agenda wasn’t to tell the biblical story that many people hold dear but to create a weird redefinition of the story and the characters involved.” Yep, that’s the reason I haven’t seen this yet, I mean why even bother taking a story from the Bible if you’re not going to even honor it? I know he’s an Atheist but I think that calls into question his integrity as a filmmaker too if he doesn’t really care about the source material of something he’s adapting. Noah wasn’t an environmentalist, I mean who even know what that concept means back in the day?? He’s honoring God’s word, but of course non believers would find THAT absurd. So for that reason alone, I knew this would disappoint me so might as well skip it.
To answer your question though, I’d say WILD as I really didn’t expect it to be so boring. Yet the critics think it’s such a masterpiece, blech!
“Blech”? I love that reaction. I’ll probably still see Wild but there is something about it that doesn’t really excite me.
“Noah” is frustrating. I truly believe Aronofsky had an agenda. The environmentalism and animal-rights angles are incredibly heavy-handed but aside from that there are several other frustrations. His portrayal of God is far from flattering. He also takes so many liberties, not just for drama, but for redefinition.
And in terms of filmmaking in general, there are times where this comes across as simply amateur work. Dopey and dumb.
I actually enjoyed both Noah and GBH, though I can see them being disappointing. GBH especially I don’t think is nearly as good as the general consensus would lead one to believe. They were both kinda just alright to me, if ultimately forgettable in the end.
As for my own pick for disappointing film, I’d have to go with Captain America 2. I loved the first, and I was really hyped for it, as I loved what they were doing with the Phase 2 Marvel flicks up to that point. But CapAm2 didn’t meet any of my expectations. I know everyone loves this one, but almost nothing about it worked for me, especially the action, which felt uninspired and flat to me. I dunno, like I said, everyone else loves this one, but for me, it’s among the most let down I’ve ever felt by a movie in a theater. 😛
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Movies are funny things. Case in point – I loved Cap 2. I thought the action (other than the bog CGI finale) was a lot of fun and rooted more on stunt work than animation. I also loved the spy thread that ran through the film. For me it felt different than a lot of the other Marvel stuff.
And I know what it’s like to go against the Marvel movie grain. I thought Guardians of the Galaxy was fun but nothing great. But most people adore the movie. But I think that is one of the things I love most about cinema. It effects different people different ways.
Thanks again for commenting. I always appreciate the insight and opinions of others. It makes this fun.
I actually haven’t had a major disappointment so far this year. There are a few movies many people have mentioned (Noah, for one), I haven’t seen. That said, Interstellar wasn’t quite what I hoped, but I don’t think I could call it a disappointment at all. I also wasn’t blown away by either Theory of Everything or Birdman, but I still enjoyed both films, even if neither spoke to me quite as strongly as I hoped for. Truly, even The Amazing Spiderman 2 didn’t disappointment too much. That said, I went in with very LOW expectations because I like the original films far more than these remakes.
I’m sure a film will disappoint me this year eventually . . . haha.
That’s actually really good. You certainly don’t want to be disappointed and the fact that you haven’t is a good thing. I would recommend staying away from Noah if you want that streak to continue! 😉
Haha, I will gladly take your advice! Unless I need a laugh. I just heard from basically everyone that Noah was a mess.
It’s a mess and it is so far removed from the biblical account.
I’ve got to say Lucy. The trailer was awesome but it was so horrendously bad.
Hey Abbi! Great to hear from you.
Lucy is a great choice! It was one I was really anticipating. Unfortunately the reviews were unanimously negative both from critics and fans. For that reason I never went and saw it. I usually go and see movies like that anyway but I was so frustrated in what I was hearing about it.