Every week a handful of movies his theaters and even more drop on DVD. The odds that many these are well-made or even watchable are simply not in our favor. Rather than lament the situation, I've become a connoisseur of bad film. I like to find something decent in a bad film, or even get totally surprised by something sitting on the DVD shelf that looks awful. Of course, sometimes it's also fun to just revel in that absolute failure.
The only thing I really detest is lack of effort. There's nothing worse than a mainstream film that chooses to simply crank out some lowest-common-denominator detritus. Sometimes the filmmakers just grab a high concept plot off the shelf, throw darts at the gimmick wall and populate with generic character archetypes; sometimes they pull out the "important" ideas, manipulate the audience with unearned emotional beats, slather in overacting and go straight for the awards podium (A Beautiful Mind - I'm looking in your general direction). Either way, for someone that wants to work in the industry, it's infuriating. I would rather see someone shoot too high, or simply not have the resources than these people who just coast.
For this blog, I intend to give a weekly update on the worst-looking film releasing that weekend as well as review other more unknown films out on DVD. I'll be showcasing some things you may have overlooked that might be worth a watch and trying to warn against well-dressed duds. I look forward to comments about your favorite bad movies or anything else of interest.
