Over the past several days we’ve celebrated the best films and best performances from 2018. This is not that. Today I’m wrapping up my look back at 2018 by giving the year’s biggest stinkers their moment to…..shine. While it was a pretty good year for movies it wasn’t without its blemishes. Here are the five worst films I saw in 2018.
#5 – “The 15:17 to Paris”
I admit to feeling bad about this one. I mean at least Clint Eastwood deserves credit for trying something interesting. But when the end product is this flat and the acting this atrocious, it’s hard to give it a pass. It’s an amazing true story but the incredibly messy script doesn’t do it justice and casting the real-life heroes to play themselves proved to be the wrong choice.
#4 – “Winchester”
There’s a good movie here somewhere but we certainly don’t get a sniff of it. My biggest beef with this film is that it is so frustratingly bland. This thing never seems to get its footing. It just sits in neutral spinning its wheels and going nowhere. It’s devoid of any scares whatsoever and the aimless story will have you nodding off before the halfway point.
#3 – “Vice”
I’m still struggling to understand how “Vice” is getting so much awards season attention. With the exception of Christian Bale (who gives a strong performance), there is little to salvage from David McKay’s bloated, messy, and heavy-handed manifesto. Outside of Bale it’s hard to find something to latch onto. A tonal disaster from the start, it’s hard to figure out what McKay wants this to be. It’s an exhausting film.
#2 – “Rampage”
Dwayne Johnson’s beefy personality and cheesy smile can only cover up so much. It certainly can’t save the painfully dumb “Rampage”. Talk about a movie with an identity crisis. On minute it’s trying (and failing) to be funny, next minute it’s deadly serious. One scene seems aimed at kids, the next scene is pushing its PG-13 rating. In the end absolutely none of it comes together.
#1 – “The Strangers: Prey at Night”
Part of my dislike for this film is due to disappointment. But the bulk of it comes from the simple fact that it’s a terrible movie. The first “Strangers” film was a good horror picture with some genuine tension. This uninspired sequel offers nothing new or original. Honestly it doesn’t even try. The shallow story is only outdone by the shallow characters, none of which are the slightest bit interesting. Shamefully lazy and painfully generic. This is one lousy sequel.
So what about you? Agree or disagree with my choices? What would have made your list?
Rampage managed to narrowly avoid my list, it got away with being simply ‘mediocre’ instead. I’ve managed to avoid all your other picks so far but I do want to see Vice. I try and watch all the big award movies!
I was pretty appalled by “Rampage”. It kinda drove me nuts. LOL. “Vice” certainly has its fans and the Academy seems to be head-over-heels in love with it. That boggles my mind. Have you seen “Life Itself”? I really think it should have been on this list.
I haven’t yet – I’m kind of dying to see it because literally everyone hates it and I need to know how/why something can be so bad!
LOL! It won’t take long to see why! 😂
I agree with WINCHESTER. I thought the others ranged from average to decent. I just realized I forgot to comment on your Best Of list. I’ll be right back.
Did you see Winchester as a wasted opportunity? It seems like all of the ingredients are there for a fun horror/thriller.
Sure. Helen Mirren is a great actress and I don’t remember seeing her in a horror movie before. Plus, the house it’s said to be haunted also in real life. That’s cool. Other horror movies in 2018 didn’t seem to have a chance to begin with (like SLENDER MAN and TRUTH OR DARE).
Agreed. I didn’t care for either.
From your list I only saw Rampage. The others I avoided like the plague. I would have added Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Hmm. For a few exceptions, most everything I saw was mediocre at best but nothing horrible. I trust your list.
Fallen Kingdom was a disappointment for sure. It stripped the franchise of all its mystery and wonder. Even my son who is a bigger franchise fan that me was disappointed.
Have only seen the top two. i agree with the Rampage story not coming together. and am also not as confident about the Rock anymore. He was quite good in The Rundown and Snitch. But his onscreen talky-confidence seems to be getting too repetetive.
As for your number 1, I found it effective. comparatively uninspired but scary in a Halloween kind of style. villains with no motive.
I still find the Rock to be enjoyable in certain films. For example, as preposterous as Skyscraper was, I had a lot of fun with it. I do wish he was more consistent in terms of quality.
I liked Skyscraper too, while watching it. But am wondering if the Rock needs to reinvent his onscreen persona. Remember Arnold in the older days? – Red Heat, The Predator, Kindergarten Cop, and even Twins. it wasn’t really macho talk that succeeded but rather screen presence. The Rock has got the presence and maybe he can work more around that. Hoping to his career with bigger and better blockbusters.
Great observations. I think you’re right. A reinvention certainly wouldn’t hurt.
While I can say for certain that there were quite a few movies that I found disappointing last year, there were very few that I can honestly say that I hated. I managed to avoid a lot of the really bad ones last year, but there was one that I really didn’t like: Sicario: Day of the Soldado. I hold the original film in very high regard, because it pulled no punches but was very compelling. The second film, which didn’t need to be made at all, fails to recapture that sense of dread and grit that you got from the first film. It feels like Day of the Soldado was made to try and build a franchise that didn’t need to exist.
Not of fan of “Soldado”? I gotta admit to loving it. It even made my Top 10 from last year. I do agree its not as good as the first film, but I do love the direction its heading. I felt pulled right back into that world. I loved its slow-boiling tension. But you aren’t alone. I’ve spoken to many who didn’t go for it at all.
Of the films in that list, the only I saw is Rampage and yes. It is stupid as fuck. Makes me wonder if the Crock reads any script and sees if it’s good. It was so lame. Other films that I feel should be mentioned as the worst of 2018 that I’ve seen so far are…. Billionaire Boys Club (Kevin Spacey’s final film?), Red Sparrow (nude J-Law, Charlotte Rampling, and Jeremy Irons are the only things in the film that are good), and Pacific Rim: Uprising (hella-stupid).
Pacific Rim: Uprising was actually on the list at one point. It and I Feel Pretty are tied for #6!
Oh, I saw bits of I Feel Pretty and yeah, that was bad except for Michelle Williams. Amy Schumer is not funny.
I’m glad I’m not alone on Schumer!!! I do t get her appeal.
Me neither.
The only one of these I’ve seen is Vice and that made my best lest so….can’t relate. lol
I keep meaning to watch Rampage on TV after getting drunk because that seems like the only way I can enjoy a film with Jeffrey Lean Morgan in it.
In terms of tone Morgan is in straight-up Neegan mode. He’s the only one that seems to be having at least a little fun. But you aren’t missing much.
Dwayne Johnson had a pair of stinkers worthy of being on your list. Skyscraper I thought was worse than Rampage. That was just an hour and half (or whatever) of special effects and impossible stunts. Vice really wasn’t that well reviewed and wasn’t popular, so I think the explanation for the nominations is it just fit the ideology of most of the voters and they want to give it a pat on the back. (I didn’t see it, something about a biopic of a conservative from Hollywood seemed like it might not quite be accurate.)
I actually gave Skyscraper a slightly positive score. I found it to be fun and I appreciated the attempt at a more serious turn from Johnson. Far from a great film though. Vice left me frustrated and exhausted. It must hit an ideological sweet spot for voters looking just for that. The writing, direction, editing…just atrocious.
The only one I have seen so far is Rampage. It was bad, but it was the kind of bad I like, so I had a blast with it. On the other hand, I had more issues with The Rock’s other 2018 movie, Skyscraper. Some other contenders for my worst list:
The Cloverfield Paradox
Hurricane Heist
Truth or Dare
The Predator
I contend that when you weigh up expectation and the creative talent both in front of and behind the camera, in terms of pure disappointment, The Predator takes the cake as THE worst film of 2018. A genuine Shane Black misfire.
Man it’s hard to argue with you. That movie turned out to be one mammoth mess.
I never quite had the hate for Cloverfield Paradox that most seemed to have. It’s flawed for sure but I had fun with it. Hurricane Heist is bad but kinda in a hilarious way. It’s so stupid but I laughed a lot. 😂
Nice list Keith, luckily I haven’t seen any of those – the closest I came to being curious about was Rampage but common sense prevailed haha!
You chose wisely! 😂
I liked Rampage 💛💜❤️💙
Poor Clint Eastwood, sometimes he comes out with these terrible movies (talking about 15:17), although he’s capable of making great cinema!
Yep. And 15:17 is a truly amazing story. But the writing is really bad and the performances were such a distraction.
The choice of not using real actors I guess didn’t pay out very much!
Nope. Unfortunately not.
I agree with your amazing list. “The 15:17 to Paris” makes me wonder whether Clint Eastwood thought that he should not take away “the glory” from the real people involved in the incident and that pushed him not to hire professional actors.
I think you’re right. I truly believe it was a decision made out of respect. I just wish it worked better.
Definitely The 15:17 to Paris. Such a interesting story, but poorly acted and terribly executed.
Yep. The ‘acting’ is to much of a distraction. Some of the storytelling choices too. Just not good.
Yes Vice was so bad as was Winchester. I actually enjoyed Rampage just because I thought the giant monsters were kind of creative and it didn’t overstay its welcome like so many ponderous similar movies. I also thought the relationship between Rock and the ape was cute but the villains were the worst. Still I liked it way better than something like Pacific Rim Uprising personally.
Uprising was such a bland and pointless sequel. Winchester bores me to tears. Vice is the one that left me shaking my head. How that thing earned so many Oscar noms is beyond me.
Agreed. Propaganda disguised as comedy
I’ll avoid the second Strangers. The first was excellent, but the sequel sounds lame.