Tag Archives: Rex Reed

Movies

A little late…

…but I just found it.  From observer.com:

Rex Reed’s 10 Best and Worst Films of 2017

Last year I had fun with the 10 “Worst” films on Mr. Reed’s list (you can read that here) and, while he doesn’t offer many comments for why he feels these particular films are worthy of falling on the worst of list (though several of them have links to his reviews of the films), I’ll nonetheless present his list here (if you’re interested in what he considers the best movies of the year, click on the link!):

  1. Mother!
  2. The Disaster Artist
  3. Get Out
  4. The Layover
  5. The Cure for Wellness
  6. It
  7. Downsizing
  8. Suburbicon
  9. Colossal
  10. Fallen

Mother! certainly had its share of detractors and, of the list presented, is the one I’m most curious to see, if I should have the time.  I know perhaps a little too much about it at this point, so it doesn’t seem terribly likely I will get that opportunity, despite whatever curiosity I may have.

Intriguingly, he really didn’t like Get Out, which was one of the more successful films that came out in the last year.

I was familiar with all the other films save for the last on the list, Fallen.  I had to look that one up and, having read its plot, doubt I want to see it.  The IMDB listing is here, if you’re at all curious.

Aaaaanddddd…

Here’s where the rubber hits the proverbial road.

Once again, I’ve got a list of intriguing titles of which I’ve seen not a single one of the films on it.  As I mentioned, I won’t list Mr. Reed’s 10 Best films of 2017, but of those, I’ve also not seen a single one on that list.

Intriguingly, though not falling on either list, Mr. Reed was not as impressed by many critics regarding both Dunkirk and The Shape of Water, the film that currently has the most Oscar nominations for any film released last year.

Movies

Rex Reed’s Worst Movies of 2016

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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.