Jason's Movie Blog

Hello, everyone! With the year of 2016 officially over, it’s time to exam the “best” and “worst” movies that of that year. Indeed, there was a lot of movie releases seeing in 2016. In total, I’ve personally seeing (and reviewed) over 110 (my new record) new movies that were released in the year of 2016, some were very recognizable, while others were “sleepers” that flew underneath the mainstream radar. There were also a lot of movies that made big money at the box office in 2016 as well as some that gained critical praise from both critics and moviegoers. And yet (in amidst those movies), 2016 saw a number of pretty “bad” films. Whether by a flat story, bad acting, weak writing, or poor execution, these movies were just plan horrible with little to no interest in purchasing a ticket to see it theaters or to buy / rent it for its home release a few months later.

Naturally, I have a “Best” movies of 2016, but let’s get the bad ones out of the way first. Here’s my personal top ten worst movies of 2016. But before I begin, here are some other “horrible” (I mean honorable) runner-ups that almost made it on my top ten worst move list of 2016.

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Runner-Ups

(click on the pictures for full review)

 

INFERNO

“Inferno is not the Cure“

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK

“A Failed Reach of a Banal Sequel”

THE 5TH WAVE

“An Unimpressive Dystopian Feature”

BEN-HUR

“An unnecessary sword and sandal remake”

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

“A Spy Comedy Dud”

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And now my top ten!!!

10: The Angry Birds Movie

Rating : 2.4 Out of 5

Review: The Angry Birds Movie Review

With so many great animated movies of 2016 (Zootopia, Moana, and Kubo and the Two Strings), we get The Angry Birds Movie. Based on the once popular game by Rovio, The Angry Birds Movie is just color and loud noises. The voice talents are impressive and the animation style is pleasing to the eye, but that’s pretty much it. The movie’s narrative is a shell of story (from a mobile game that already has a thin plot) and the jokes aren’t event that funny. There’s even a couple of adult jokes in the movie that I can’t believe they put in the film. The final act of the movie is just things happening really quickly and definitely becomes mindless and not all entertaining. Even the brand itself (Angry Birds) isn’t that popular anymore and to cultivate a full-length animated feature about fling various birds at buildings to rescue some eggs from pigs is a bit stupid and just a quick “crash grab” from Hollywood. All in all, The Angry Birds Movie is makes me (like Red) …. angry!

9: Mechanic Resurrection

Rating: 2.4 Out of 5

Review: Mechanic: Resurrection Review

Jason Statham has proven to be a one-man action star, providing enough crazy stunts and fisticuffs brawls to almost be the poster child for Hollywood’s action hero architype. However, then comes along Mechanic: Resurrection, with the film’s only saving grace being Statham and that’s pretty much it. I’ll be honest, the film is bad for the simple reason is that its generic in almost every aspect. From bland “action-type” story, to its bland / weak script, to its bland villain, to its bland romance (both Statham and Jessica Alba look good together, but are…bland), to its bland set pieces, Resurrection is bad sequel movie, a cobbled-up version of ideas within a standard action movie, but to a lesser degree. In truth, despite the moderate success of the first Mechanic film, no one really cried out for sequel. All in all, like I said in review…. Mechanic: Resurrection is just a “franchise killer”.

8: The Divergent Series: Allegiant

Rating: 2.4 Out of 5

Review: The Divergent Series: Allegiant Review

Speaking of a franchise killer. This one literally did it. This should be a cautionary tale for potential franchises. What started out as a promising movie series (Divergent) went into a slowly decline (Insurgent) and ultimately killed the franchise in Allegiant. Yes, literally killed the feature film franchise. Trying to follow Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games, The Divergent Series sought to raking in money by splitting the final book (Allegiant) into two movies with Allegiant being part 1 and part 2 being titled Ascendant. Unfortunately, with a heavier price tag than the previous installments, Allegiant underperform at the box office and the studio ultimately pulled the plug on Ascendant Maybe people were tried of the 2-part endeavor finale films or it was the poor script, or uninteresting plot of the movie, or maybe people just lost interest in the franchise. Will we ever see the final conclusion of Tris and Four…. who knows? There’s been talk of concluding series as a TV movie (with a completely new cast of actors) and opening it up as a TV series, which seems stupid in my opinion. Regardless, Allegiant is literally a bad movie that caused a studio to halt production on its final installment. And that’s saying something.

7: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Rating: 2.4 Out of 5

Review: Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Review

From the trailers, this Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates looks pretty funny and a potential contender to be a best comedy film of 2016. In reality, however, it’s at the other end of spectrum. With two bumbling buffoons seeking wedding dates (getting two sleazy con-artist females), it’s a recipe for something truly funny. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The film feels half-baked, with some good idea (comedy jokes, gags, and scenarios) that aren’t executed well enough to materialize into something comedically memorable. In truth, the movie seems. Coupled with a weak script, lacking heart, a bit “overacting” (with Efron and Kendrick), and its comedy that misses more than it hits, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates had the potential, but flounders in your standard run-of-the-mill raunchy comedy routines. In short, Mike and Dave just need a better movie. Plain and simple!

6: Boo! A Madea Halloween

Rating: 2.4 Out of 5

Review: Boo! A Madea Halloween Review

Another year, another Tyler Perry’s Madea movie. Some might find Perry’s Madea to be hilarious and downright funny. While there might be some truth in that, but that just isn’t the case with Boo! A Madea Halloween. Yes, I’ll agree that I find the Madea character to be funny, but the character’s overall “freshness” has become a stale and worn out its welcome. As for the movie itself, with a thinly written narrative, numerous extended scenes of unnecessary comedic banter (that don’t go anywhere), some comedic bits that are DOA (dead on arrival), and some really bad acting from certain cast members, Boo! A Madea Halloween can’t save itself from being bad and redundant film. Even with the usage of Halloween as the film’s backdrop, Tyler Perry’s latest film lacks any tricks and is definitely not a treat.

5: Independence Day: Resurgence

Rate: 2.4 Out of 5

Review: Independence Day: Resurgence Review

We had twenty years to prepare…. Twenty years to create a great sci-fi blockbuster sequel to the 1996 film. Everyone (myself included) was so amped up to see this movie. What we get is Independence Day: Resurgence, a flashy, less-engaging, and corny sequel follow-up to ID4. Where to begin…just like Transformers: Age of Extinction, the first 30 or so minutes into the movie is actually good, but just goes downhill from there, feeling less dramatic and impactful as the director Roland Emmerich paints a very cheesy and hokey sequel in this second cinematic alien invasion. From its corny laughable lines, to thinly-written characters, to ridiculous plot points, to its less “emotional” story arc (for both its immediate characters and for humanity), Independence Day: Resurgence is huge disappointment and perfect example of what’s wrong with a Hollywood sequel.

4: The Wild Life

Rating: 2.3 Out of 5

Review: The Wild Life Review

Retitled for the US release (titled Robinson Crusoe in international territories), The Wild Life is one of the movies you probably didn’t see in theaters or for that matter didn’t know it was in theaters during its release in 2016. That’s because it was such a bad movie. With its mediocre to bad voice acting, to its badly drawn animation (sometimes good, sometimes deplorable), to its off-putting narrative take on the famous Robinson Crusoe story, to its super awkward and abrupt ending, The Wild Life fails to spark any animated fun, feeling unoriginal, uninspiring, and is just…bleh! There’s really nothing more to say about it…The Wild Life is just…. bleh!

3: Masterminds

Rating: 2.2 out of 5

Review: Masterminds Review

Some might argue that Masterminds is funny and hilarious. To me personally, however, it’s downright the opposite. The movie, which is based off of the 1997 Loomis-Fargo Bank Robbery, takes a comedic spin on that tale, but fails to ignite excitement and originality in its undertaking. To be frank, Masterminds is generic and tedious, playing off weak and unfunny laughs, which is coupled with a pretty dull and weak script. Above all else, the cast in this movie, a great assemblage of comedic talents, is truly wasted on this film project. Such a shame. For a film that took several years to see a release, the film itself only took in $29 million at the box office against its $25 million production budget. In the end, Masterminds wants to be truly funny, but just ends up being mindless, boring, unentertaining, and humorless

2: Gods of Egypt

Rating: 2.2 Out of 5

Review: Gods of Egypt Review

Where to beginning…Gods of Egypt is a “hot mess” of feature film. This Egyptian fantasy adventure, despites its creative concept designs of various characters, creatures, and locales, is just bad. From its convoluted plot, to weak character dialogue, to horrible visual effects (some scenes are an eyesore with the blatantly obvious green-screen background), to several cheesy to bad acting, this film is awful. Even with some big named stars, including Gerard Butler, Geoffery Rush, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gods of Egypt is a deplorable movie that has very lofty ideas, but is just total mess. As I said in my review, just skip the movie and read the popular YA books The Kane Chronicles trilogy by Rick Riordian. You’ll be glad that you did.

1: Max Steel

Rating: 2.0 Out of 5

Review: Max Steel Review

So… what could be out all those movies as the “worst movie of 2016”. Two words…. Max Steel. Based on the Mattel toy, Max Steel is such a bad and terrible movie, so much so it was almost a bit cringeworthy (for me) to watch it. Trying to cash in on the superhero trend, Max Steel is basically your standard run-of the-mill origin story for a superhero. A wayward protagonist with a mysterious parental figure (shrouded in secrecy), a secret power, an animated sidekick, an evil villain, a love interest, etc. The film has its heart in the right place, but its execution is downright awful. From a bland script, generic premise, bad acting, predictable narrative, overall lackluster presentation, and the almost minimalistic usage of the Max’s armored suit (the only cool thing about the movie), Max Steel is just flat out a bore, with little to no excitement or entertainment value. What’s worse…is that Max Steel dragged in actor Andy Garcia (the film’s big ticketed star) into this mess or rather the big question is why did Andy Garcia even agree to do this movie. There’s setup for a sequel at the film’s ending, but I hardly doubt that will ever happen. In addition, the film couldn’t even recoup its $ 10 million production budget with the movie only making $ 6.3 million during its theatrical release at the global box office. In short, what its intent is dully noted, Max Steel is a terrible movie and my personal #1 choice for worst movie of 2016.

 

There you have it…my top ten worst movies of 2016. Of course, I did skip some movies in theaters, so there some bad movies of 2016 that I didn’t see. So what do you guys think? What was your top ten worst movies of 2015? Check back soon and I’ll be posting my personal top ten best movies of 2016.