Top 10 Worst Films/Performances of 2015

from wired.com

Note: I don't tend to go see films that I know I will definitely NOT enjoy/am assured will not be of good quality. The majority of films/performances on this list, then, are disappointments as opposed to being actively bad...with a few exceptions.

10. Austin Stowell in Bridge of Spies

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 I feel kind of bad for singling this performance out as the film is great otherwise. I toyed between choosing this and Part II of Mockingjay to put on the list but eventually surmised that I just didn't like Mockingjay Part II because of its slow pace, and not enough Donald Sutherland, and that overall it was a competent enough film. Stowell's lacklustre and slightly smug performance in Bridge of Spies hurts the film a bit because we end up not really caring about his character. Thankfully, Mark Rylance's Rudolf Abel and Will Rogers' Frederic Pryor help to salvage our immersion in the central exchange plot.

9. Southpaw

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Not an actively bad film, rather just a very, very disappointing one. What could've been Jake Gyllenhaal's Raging Bull turn is instead nullified into just another sporting picture with the inspirational underdog message. Had the filmmakers dared to go into more gritty territory, and had a more cohesive, tonally consistent script to work with, this could've been a great film. Instead it's a film with a good central performance, and some actors trying very hard to make a little out of nothing in supporting roles (Forest Whittaker, Rachel McAdams), but overall just a poor effort, all things considered.

8. Slow West

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Kind of like Southpaw, in that I don't think it really relished the concept of a quirky Western well enough. It's quite beautifully shot and has some mildly funny bits, but that's about it. Michael Fassbender actually delivers a better performance here than in Steve Jobs but it's nothing great either, but alas, the rest of cast just isn't really up to scratch, and despite running at quite a short running time it feels like a 3-hour drone with its poor pacing. Overall a very tough watch, and not in a good way.

7. The central trio of Terminator Genisys

An example of an admirable effort gone awry, this attempt to rejuvenate the Terminator franchise is no The Force Awakens, Creed or even Jurassic World, but is not without merit as a film overall. Some of the action pieces are quite fun, and old-timers J.K. Simmons and of course, Arnie himself, are fun to watch. The central trio of Clarkes Emilia and Jason, and Jai Courtney, however, are very, very dull action heroes/antagonist, and make the central plot thread of the film a massive dull trudge. Whenever they're asked to do a bit more than to stand around and deliver lines monotonely, they fail.

6. Mortdecai

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Thank god for Black Mass. This film is yet another example of Johnny Depp and his hyperactive overacting and self-indulgence going way overboard. It tries to be a satirical take on the comedy caper genre but just ends up being very smug without anything to back up the smugness. The jokes are far and few between and quite often very poorly delivered, there's always a palatable sense of awkwardness to all the performances save Paul Bettany, who comes close to being the film's saving grace as Mortdecai's faithful but none too bright valet.

5. Burnt

 A film that never, for one moment, attempts to disguise itself for the failed Oscar bait it is. I think I've reached the point of Bradley Cooper saturation now as I've begun to find his dramatics and tics as an actor more annoying than compelling. He's still fairly charismatic in Burnt as a, you guessed it, burnt-out chef looking to redeem himself from a dark past, and tries to make the most out of a dreadful script, but the problem is he's just trying too hard, and it's too evident. I dislike the film because, for all its pretences, it's ultimately just a very shallow affair that tries to juggle too much into a paper-thin premise, and ends up being a far inferior version of last year's Chef which at least knew the right tone to take for this sort of motion picture, and stuck to it.

4. Fantastic Four

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 I don't think I need to say much more than ugh, ugh, ugh, regarding this film. Any film that makes the original Fantastic Four films look good is just not a good film at all. Any film which renders the talented Miles Teller and Jamie Bell, the usually decent Kate Mara and MICHAEL B. JORDAN, of all people, into nothing more than lifeless corpses going through tired motions of 'dark, edgier' superheroes is just tripe. Toby Kebell and some of the sci-fi imagery do their best to make an impression on the viewers but, in the end, this is just a muddled mess that, while not terrible, is very, very bland and bad.

3. Jupiter Ascending

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Jupiter Ascending on the other hand, is a horrible film. In the same year we were so glad to have a return back to the Star Wars universe, there was another film to remind us just how much we all missed space opera of a decent standard. The film itself is a mish-mash of completely random tangents, from terrible expositionary dialogue, attempts at subverting the genre that just come across as painfully try-hard, a very strange array of costumes and Channing Tatum's whatever-that-is-a-wolf? makeup, Sean Bean valiantly trying to salvage a clear mockery of Han Solo. It's a mess that while bad, is kind of watchable because of how bad it is. Having been a big fan of their last film Cloud Atlas this was a massive disappointment. Channing Tatum is pretty bland in this but not actively bad, though, unlike...

2. Mila Kunis and Eddie Redmayne in Jupiter Ascending

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I'm starting to think anything Mila Kunis does that doesn't centre around her comic aptitude is just not going to work out. I don't think she's a bad actress at all, but certainly limited; and here her limitations are revealed very clearly as she delivers one of the most lacklustre leading turns in recent memory. She's appalling out of place in every scene of the film, which might not be such a bad thing considering the quality of the scenes, but she also sticks out like a sore thumb whenever she tries to add a bit of emotional quantity to the film, because of just how...lacking it all feels. It's a very poor performance that's not even entertaining in how bad it is.

Eddie Redmayne on the other hand, is a fantastic actor. But in Jupiter Ascending, perhaps realizing the terrible nature of the film he was in, he decides to ham, over-emphasise and exaggerate every line, every expression up to 11. It's a dreadful performance that was perhaps intentional, and perhaps intentionally hilarious, but I can't deny it is definitely one of the worst performances I've ever seen, even for a film of this sort. Tommy Wiseau would be proud.

1. Tom Sturridge in Far From the Madding Crowd

 

And here we are, ladies and gentlemen, the worst performance of 2015.

 

I think it's testament to how actively bad this performance was that Thomas Vinterberg actually had to direct his way AROUND the crucial character of Sergeant Troy, and place more focus on the other four focal characters, to make the film itself work. I really liked the film overall, but can't neglect how actively bad Sturridge was by the fact that even the filmmakers themselves who'd agreed to cast him, realised halfway through what a has they'd made of it.

 

As Troy, Sturridge is just a black hole devoid of any sort of emotional backbone or charisma. You haven't a clue how Mulligan's Bathsheba would even consider this silly duck over the dashing Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) and the kindly Boldwood (Michael Sheen). That the other actors manages to salvage this aspect of the film is all down to them; with a better actor in Sturridge's role (say, Sam Claflin), Far From the Madding Crowd could've been a masterpiece. As it is it's a good film with one dreadful aspect, which is a darned shame.