Worst Movies of 2008

It's fast approaching the end of the year, and now is the time when many publications/critics/people publish their best of lists. Well, I too will do that with movies and video games (as I have the past few years), but decided I would start with the WORST movies of 2008. I do this mostly because I might yet catch a movie released in 2008 over the next week, and I would like to include as many candidates as possible.

Here are my criteria:
1) Must have had a theatrical (or on DVD if that was the only way it was produced) release in the 2008 calendar year.
2) Have been viewed by me (either on DVD or in the theater)....currently out of 53 viewed
3) Ranking primarily based upon my star rating (out of 5)
4) Just as a reminder, I judge ratings largely on the entertainment and rewatchability factor and less on the critically done aspects (artsy-fartsy movies don't rate very highly for me)

So, without further ado, in ranked order:

10. Tropic Thunder - 2 1/2 stars. Simply put, this movie just wasn't very funny. The dialogue was generally dumb, very few physical gags, and it reeked of self-important acting. If it was supposed to be satirically funny, then, well, I pretty much missed it. Just not funny.
9. In Bruges - 2 1/2 stars. Fast dialogue that wasn't as witty as the script thought it was. Painfully slow in the beginning, and the shootout at the end wasn't too exciting either.

8. Conspiracy - 2 1/2 stars. A B-movie starring Val Kilmer. Pretty much everything in this movie had been done before. No originality and felt like a movie you find on a cable channel on Saturday afternoon.

7. Art of War 2: The Betrayal - 2 1/2 stars. Wesley Snipes returns...and who really cares. The movie acted like people remembered his character from the first Art of War, and I bet no one really did. Pretty mundane and obvious with subpar action. 6. Meet Bill - 2 stars. A slow, boring drama...or comedy...maybe dramedy. Anyway, it was boring and unfunny. Even Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Alba as eye candy couldn't save this one. You needed to like the main character, I could care less about him.

5. The Promotion - 2 stars. A comedy that forgot a very important factor for comedies...namely, humor! Painfully unfunny.

4. The Ruins - 2 stars. I was hoping for a movie like the Descent only set in a Mayan ruin instead of a cave. What I got was Attack of the Killer Vines. Oh, wait, did I spoil the surprise? Sorry, guess you don't have to watch it now. You can thank me later. 3. Day of the Dead (remake) - 2 stars. A remake in name only. In fact, the original Day of the Dead is probably my favorite of all the "of the Dead" by Romero. This one was a cheap zombie movie that stole the name. SciFi channel quality all the way.

2. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale - 2 stars. I gave this one an extra star exclusively for the laughability of Burt Reynolds as the King. A bunch of named stars somehow got suckered into this Uwe Boll (worst director...ever) movie. Hysterical in how hard it tries to be serious. And the Worst Movie I saw in 2008....

1. Semi-Pro - 1 1/2 stars. Man is Will Ferrell the most unfunny "funny" person alive. I recently heard him described as having "air of Saturday Night Live self-regard." That finally puts a finger on what I dislike about him in his leading man comedy roles. He thinks he's funny and you OWE him your laughter. Anyway, you can count the funny moments from Semi-Pro on one hand...and I'm being generous there.
There you have it. I certainly saw more bad movies than good ones this year, and several 2 1/2 star films just missed the cut to the top 10 (including: Pathology, Starship Troopers 3, 10,000 BC, Shutter, Flawless, and Harold and Kumar 2). Anyway, stay tuned for Best Movies and Best Video Games of 2008.