We look at the directors who have made us love their movies, but also ones that have disappointed us.
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Steven Spielberg’s ‘1941’
Spielberg’s follow-up to the blockbuster hit, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, 1941 was met with mixed reviews from moviegoers. Some praised the director for his ambitious visual effects and star-studded cast, while others found the movie to be unfunny. Despite this, Spielberg was able to secure financing for his next project - a World War II comedy called Jaws 2. However, after watching test screenings of the film, Spielberg and company realized that it was not as funny as they had hoped it would be. This led to a delay in production on Jaws 2 and ultimately resulted in its cancellation. ..
" 1941 is a poorly made and racist movie," said Gary Arnold of the Washington Post in his review. Jay Scott of The Globe and Mail called it “mindless” and “racist.” And Vincent Canby of The New York Times accused 1941 of being “less comic than cumbersome, as much fun as a 40-pound wristwatch.” Ouch! ..
In his later years, Spielberg has become more selective in what he makes, choosing only the most important and well-made films. His latest is War Horse, a powerful and stirring story of the horse-drawn artillery that fought in World War I.
Tom Hooper’s ‘Cats’
Tom Hooper’s career as a film director began with his television debut, directing episodes of such UK shows as Byker Grove, Cold Feet, and Eastenders. But after making his movie directorial debut with the political drama Red Dust in 2004, he managed to carve out a successful career for himself in film. The King’s Speech, Les Miserables, and The Danish Girl are some of the best movies he has made to date and they are much loved by critics and audiences alike.
The film was poorly received by critics and audiences alike, with many feeling that it was a waste of time and money to invest in it.
The new album by the British rock band Radiohead is a mess.
The movie came under fire for its bad CGI and nonsensical plotline but while critics got their claws out and tore into it, it’s not quite the disaster it has been made out to be. Sure, the cats do look a little creepy at times and the movie is tonally confused, but the production design is mostly excellent and the songs are performed with gusto by the accomplished cast. As such, you might enjoy this if you’re a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical.
Tom Hooper’s career has been marred by the catastrophic response to his pussycat musical.
Cameron Crowe’s ‘Aloha’
Despite his recent failures, Cameron Crowe is still one of the most successful directors in Hollywood. His films have been well-received by audiences and critics alike, and he has continued to make movies that are popular with both audiences and critics. His latest movie was Aloha which was released in 2015 but it was a box office flop and it fared poorly with critics. Despite this, Crowe is still one of the most successful directors in Hollywood.
The movie was released in theaters on December 25, 2016.
The soundtrack is good, as is usually the case in a Cameron Crowe movie. The Hawaiian locations are pretty. But that’s about it for compliments as this is by far the worst movie of Crowe’s career and to date, the last movie that he has directed.
Brian De Palma’s ‘The Bonfire Of The Vanities’
Brian De Palma is one of the most highly regarded directors in the world, with credits such as Carrie, Dressed To Kill and The Untouchables. However, while he has made many excellent movies throughout his career, he has also made a few clunkers - such as Wise Guys, Mission To Mars and The Bonfire Of The Vanities. For many people, De Palma’s biggest career low was 1990’s The Bonfire Of The Vanities. ..
The cast, including Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith, is a good one. The source material, Tom Wolfe’s novel of the same name, is well-regarded. But the movie, which chronicles the story of a Wall Street hotshot who sees his life unravel after his mistress runs over a young teen, was a critical and commercial flop. Costing an estimated $47 million to make but grossing just over $15 million at the US box office, it was a financial disaster. ..
The cast was poor and the story was weak, leaving audiences feeling let down. The director should have known better and made a better movie.
The making of the movie and its subsequent controversies were detailed in Julie Salamon’s 1991 book The Devil’s Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood. It’s worth a read, especially if you want to know why the movie bombed so hard. Fortunately, De Palma came back from the debacle with such movies as Carlito’s Way and Mission: Impossible but The Bonfire Of The Vanities will always be a movie for which he will be unfondly remembered.
Ridley Scott’s ‘House Of Gucci’
The House Of Gucci is a beautiful movie, but it’s not completely unwatchable. The cast is great, but the movie falls into that trap of being all style and no substance. The direction is good, but the screenplay is monotonous.
Despite the mixed reviews, House of Gucci is still a watchable movie. The cast is accomplished and the plot is interesting, but it can be a bit tedious and shallow.
Most critics say that “The Gucci Family” is often dull and tentative. ..
This movie is a bit of a letdown. The director, who has made such critical hits as Alien, Thelma & Louise, and The Martian, should have been able to bring us something really exciting and engaging with House of Gucci. Instead, we are treated to a very average movie that may not be worth your time or money.
James Cameron’s ‘Piranha II: The Spawning’
James Cameron’s first big hit was The Terminator in 1984, but that wasn’t his debut movie. 3 years prior, he directed Piranha II: The Spawning, a mostly unrelated sequel to Joe Dante’s Piranha which was released several years previously. Dante’s movie was cheesy but fun and it is still well-regarded today. The sequel, however, has none of the wit of that first movie, and it now stands as a career low point for Cameron, who presumably wishes he could send all copies of the movie to the bottom of the ocean. ..
Despite its poor reviews, “Avatar” is still a box office success. Director Cameron had little creative control over the film’s production and the final cut is not what he envisioned. Despite this, Cameron remains fairly jovial about the finished product, joking that it is “the finest flying piranha movie ever made.” ..
Oliver Stone’s ‘The Hand’
The Hand is a terrible movie that was released in the early 1990s. It has a terrible premise – the hand of a comic book artist turns into a murderous creature – and some pretty dodgy special effects. This is Stone’s worst film, more so than the laborious Alexander, another misfire from the director that came out several decades later.
The Hand is Stone’s screenplay, which is surprisingly intelligent for a movie about a rampaging body part. But as it’s rarely as scary or as campy as it could have been, this isn’t a movie that gets a lot of attention in discussions about Stone’s long and varied career. Michael Caine only made it so he could fund a new garage he was having built so at least he was able to benefit from the movie, unlike the audiences at the time who were less-than-enthused about what they were watching.
David Lynch’s ‘Dune’
David Lynch is a master of the weird, as evidenced by his films such as Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, and Lost Highway. Unfortunately, he’s not known for directing big-budget spectacles, which is partly why Dune was a flop when it was released. After turning down Return of the Jedi, Lynch decided to make this adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic work. However, his inexperience in the genre showed; while the movie still retains his sense of weirdness, it fails to capture the spirit of Herbert’s book and it is all a bit of a mess both visually and narratively. ..
Critics hated the movie, with Roger Ebert calling it “a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.” Lynch likely agreed with him as he was unhappy with the finished product and reportedly didn’t enjoy his time on the movie.
In recent years, there has been a critical re-evaluation of Lynch’s Dune adaptation in light of new research. While some people appreciate it more than critics did back in the 1980s, it’s still far from being the director’s best work. It’s nowhere near as good as David Villeneuve’s Dune which was released last year.
Rob Reiner’s ‘North’
Rob Reiner’s early directing successes included This Is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me. However, his later films, such as Misery and A Few Good Men, were not as well-received. North was his first blip in a long career of directing films. ..
Critics found the movie to be lightweight and unoriginal, with little to no suspense or excitement. Elijah Wood was praised for his performance but the rest of the cast was largely forgettable.
Reiner’s career went south after making North. While he did direct a couple of good movies directly after, including The American President and Ghosts of Mississippi, the majority of his later movies, including Alex & Emma and Rumour Has It, failed to make much of an impact. Currently in pre-production is Spinal Tap 2 so perhaps this will be the movie that breaks the bad run that he has had over the last couple of decades.
Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Jack’
Francis Ford Coppola is a director who has made some of the most highly rated and well-known movies in recent history. His films, such as The Godfather, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now, are often considered classics. He’s also been known for his work on such films as Jack!
Robin Williams stars in Coppola’s family movie about a boy who has an ageing disorder that makes him look like a 40-year-old man. This might sound funny on paper but as the boy’s life expectancy is short because of the disorder, it’s no laughing matter, despite Williams’ amusing performance. The movie does have a life-affirming message as a consequence of its premise – life is short so make the most of it – but critics were unimpressed with William’s childish schtick and the way his character’s disease was portrayed.
In 1997, director Francis Ford Coppola released The Rainmaker, a comeback film that was met with mixed reviews. Since then, Coppola has focused on films that are outside of the mainstream - Youth Without Youth, Tetro, and Twixt - but his most critically hated movie to date is Jack. Next up is Megalopolis, a sci-fi movie about an architect who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster. It’s possible that this is a metaphor for Coppola wanting to rebuild his career after the failure of his rare attempt at a family comedy. ..
- “The Fault in Our Stars”
- “The Notebook”
- “The Help”
- “The Help 2: The New York Story”
- “Walking on Sunshine”
- “Ender’s Game”
- “Pineapple Express”
- “Chef’s Table” 9. “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” 10. “The Notebook 2: A New Version.”
