Opinions of works of art, one must repeat to oneself, is a subjective matter.

That book or movie or artwork of song you like, even flat out love, might be crap -or worse!- to others.  I’ve always been fascinated with reading negative opinions on works of art, even those I may like that others do not (Need I repeat, for the upteenth time, the fact that I happened to love the much maligned Batman v Superman?).

Sometimes reading negative reviews, provided the reasoning is strong/logical, provides a fascinating alternate look at things you might find very good.  Again, the key here is to read an informed, logical explanation for why something doesn’t work for you.

With that in mind, I present:

Rex Reed’s Worst Movies of 2016

Sadly, not all the movies presented in this list are given an explanation for why they’re on the list.  For example, at #7 is Martin Scorsese’s The Silence.  I haven’t seen the film and don’t know if I will, but I’m curious as to why it falls in this list.  So too film #6, The Lobster.  Some have offered great praise for this film while others feel it isn’t all that great.  Why does he feel it fails badly enough to make it to his worst of the year list?

But the main reason I bring up Mr. Reed’s list is for movie #8, The Nice Guys.  Here’s what Mr. Reed had to say about that film:

Afflicted by the same hammered, incomprehensible immaturity that makes modern American comedies unwatchable by any sane person’s standards, this action spoof of the brain-dead, odd-couple cop-buddy franchises popularized by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, or Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold, is equally dumb and forgettable but not even half as amusing. This one, by the jarringly untalented writer-director Shane Black, is merely violent, vulgar and stupid.

I was very eager to see The Nice Guys when I first heard of it.  Shane Black, the movie’s director/writer, was the man who wrote the screenplay to one of the older films referenced in this mini-review, the Mel Gibson/Danny Glover film Lethal Weapon.  Naturally, I was damned curious to see the film, for Mr. Black’s presence (he also directed the very funny Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) but also to see how Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe would interact.  When the trailers appeared, things looked encouraging…

When I finally got to see the film, it proved a disappointment.  The best laughs, as I noted in my original review, were found in the movie’s trailer.  The mystery wasn’t all that intriguing and by putting a 13 year old character in the center of the film (she is Ryan Gosling’s daughter), whatever danger the characters faced was dissipated as I just knew Mr. Black and the film’s backers wouldn’t dare actually endanger a 13 year old.

I ultimately gave the film two and 1/2 stars, noting it was just a little above average.  And yet the film has made the “best of” lists of several critics, something I find baffling and perhaps why I can’t help but smile at Rex Reed’s biting remarks regarding this film.

While I wouldn’t put The Nice Guys on my “worst films of the year” list, it may well be #1 on my “Most Disappointing” films of the year.  I don’t believe I’ve had as high hopes for any other movie this year as I have The Nice Guys and, if I’m being very honest, despite finding the film “OK”, it was far, far less than I had hoped.