New Line Cinema got swallowed up by Warner Bros. in 2008 and attempts such as Be Kind Rewind and another of which you will see later on this list had have made the decision much easier. So many onliners like to act as if Michel Gondry is something special, but I have yet to be overwhelmingly impressed by anything he has ever done. I know so many point to Eternal Sunshine, but does anyone really rewatch that on a regular basis? As for Be Kind Rewind, this is a film that has no idea what it wants to be. Is it a comedy, a touching story about an out of touch video store clerk, or is it about Fats Waller? Fact is, it’s not funny, not touching and I don’t care one lick about the Fats story. Suffice to say, I didn’t enjoy this movie.
So many people (myself included) point to Fox as the studio that had the worst 2008. However, taking a look at the crap Sony Pictures offered up isn’t exactly a confidence booster. Just like Fox, Sony* has two films on this list and placing You Don’t Mess With the Zohan at number six feels like I am being too kind, but it’s just how the numbers fell. If hummus jokes and a half-assed attempt at a political commentary interests you then step in line, but that is just the beginning of the problems when it comes to this film.
* Universal leads on this list with three films.
No one would ever assume a film starring Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams could possibly be this bad, but Deception stares “bad” right in the face and it runs away whimpering like a little girl. Over the top, uncanny and irresponsible behavior is this film’s M.O. and it eats it up like candy. Fox even gave up on hiding the fact there was deceiving going on and abandoned such early titles as The Tourist and The List and just went with Deception. They probably wanted to refer to Marley and Me as The Dog Dies, but I guess only one obvious title a year is the rule.
