Al Pacino – Jack and Jill
Al Pacino is one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen, legendary for his performances in the Godfather movies, Scarface and more. As such, when Pacino appeared alongside Adam Sandler in 2012’s Jack and Jill, performing a song and dance routine in a fake Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, many of his fans struggled to recover from the blow.
Meryl Streep – She-Devil
Meryl Streep quickly became Hollywood’s most revered actress in the 80s off her Oscar-winning turns in Kramer vs. Kramer and Sophie’s Choice, but 1989’s She-Devil is unlikely to ever be mentioned in the same breath. Streep is miscast as a vain, arrogant romance novelist, and the film’s attempt at dark humor is badly misjudged.
Denzel Washington – Heart Condition
One Academy Award winner whose name most definitely isn’t synonymous with comedy is Denzel Washington. Even so, in the wake of his first Oscar for Glory, Washington made 1990’s Heart Condition, playing the ghost of the man whose heart has been transplanted into Bob Hoskins’ cop. It’s not surprising Washington has steered clear of comedy roles since, as this one really isn’t funny.
Frances McDormand – Æon Flux
With three Best Actress Oscars to her name, Frances McDormand is one of the most highly decorated film actresses of all time. Few could have expected this acclaim would lead to Æon Flux, 2005’s incoherent adaptation of a sci-fi cartoon. Happily, McDormand’s role was small enough that most viewers soon forgot she was in it, although leading lady Charlize Theron wasn’t so lucky.
George Clooney – Batman & Robin
George Clooney’s Hollywood leading man career was almost over before it began, thanks to Batman & Robin. The thoroughly misguided 1997 comic book movie was blasted as one of the worst films ever made, and because he was in the Bat-suit, Clooney bore much of the blame. Fortunately, his subsequent roles in the likes of Out of Sight and Ocean’s Eleven revived his fortunes.
Kate Winslet – Movie 43
2013 anthology comedy Movie 43 didn’t turn out great for anyone involved, not least Kate Winslet. The Oscar-winning actress appears alongside Hugh Jackman in a jaw-droppingly dumb sketch. It’s hard to believe either actor signed on for it; even worse, this scene was somehow used to convince other big-name actors (including Halle Berry and Uma Thurman) to sign on for the truly terrible film.
Robert De Niro – Dirty Grandpa
The creative downfall of Robert De Niro is, for many, one of the saddest stories of early 21st century cinema. His many latter-day misfires live in infamy, but 2016’s Dirty Grandpa is surely the most lamentable of the lot. To see the star of so many classics demeaning himself in the lowest of low brow comedies is genuinely quite painful.
Cate Blanchett – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
In fairness to the esteemed Cate Blanchett, it’s unlikely anyone could have saved Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, given the number of gifted people who worked on the ill-conceived sequel. Even so, Blanchett’s two-dimensional turn as Soviet agent and would-be psychic Irina Spalko didn’t do much to help the film, or her career.
Tom Hanks – The Ladykillers
As only the second person in history to land consecutive Oscar wins for his lead performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, many have long felt that Tom Hanks could do no wrong. Much the same has also been said of writer-director duo Joel and Ethan Coen. Sadly, when Hanks teamed up with the Coens on 2004’s The Ladykillers, the result was a stilted mess.
Helen Mirren – Caligula
Helen Mirren was 34 and a respected Shakespearean stage actress with several films to her name when she signed on for an epic take on the life of notorious Roman Emperor Caligula, alongside the similarly revered Peter O’Toole and John Gielgud. The 1979 film proved an outrageous mess that appalled critics with its blend of ham-fisted classical drama and gratuitous, graphic sexuality.
Harrison Ford – Six Days, Seven Nights
After 1977’s Star Wars, Harrison Ford enjoyed a mostly uninterrupted run as a major leading man in hits that wowed both audiences and critics. Alas, this wasn’t the case with 1998’s Six Days, Seven Nights, in which Ford and the late Anne Heche crash-land on a dangerous island. This misjudged comedy adventure started Ford on a downward spiral he wouldn’t escape for years.
Michael J. Fox – Teen Wolf
The widely respected Michael J. Fox hit a pretty low point here, and even if you like a werewolf movie, this one is (no pun intended), a true howler. Even with the ethical stance that we should accept people for their differences, this movie is never going to rate highly.
Dustin Hoffman – Ishtar
This one is a double whammy, as Warren Beatty is the co-star. You would hope two such esteemed actors could do better, but even the best of the best normally have a dud to their name. It’s a pretty humorless 100-odd minutes – hard to watch if you’ve seen the Oscar-laden Rain Main (and if you haven’t, you should!)
Steve Buscemi – The Ridiculous 6
Steve Buscemi, what were you thinking? Ridiculous is the word … even for Adam Sandler fans, this dire excuse for a comedy is bad. Two hours of low-brow comedy (if you can call it that) and off-color jokes leave little to make it watchable. Only worth a shot if you’re pro-Adam Sandler or one of the other aforementioned ridiculous six.
Halle Berry – Dark Tide
The sharks are the only interesting part of this dull-as-ditchwater film. Sad to see Oscar-winning Halle Berry in such dirge. No surprise to anyone that a film that features the main character poking sharks for fun prompts tragedy and trauma, really. There – now you know the basic plot, you can save yourself the 90 minutes of boredom. You’re welcome.
Zoe Saldana – Constellation
Zoe Saldana can’t save this mushy, overripe mess. People staring into one another’s eyes, going for long walks and giving in to emotional outbursts. It’s hard to pinpoint the plot, let alone the worthiness of the film. If you like a sentimental movie that warrants a box of tissues so you can weep as you watch, you might like it.
Jon Hamm – Stolen
Regardless of what one might think of Jon Hamm, there’s precious little in this film to redeem it. It drags like a sulky teenager, never really getting out of the doldrums. Granted, the film deals with some dark topics, but even so, it’s a bit heavy and ham-fisted (no pun intended). One for die-hard fans Jon Hamm only, otherwise there is plenty better.
Claire Danes – The Mod Squad
It could all have been so much better. The concept was solid, having been based on the old TV series of the same name, but somehow it lost its way. All that the troubled teens (including Claire Danes’ Julie) seem to do is sneak about so they can spy on the bad guys and record their conversations. Yawn.
Kevin Bacon – The Darkness
Ask yourself a question: what is worse? A terrible film, or a film so insipid that it doesn’t even warrant that adjective? Well, The Darkness falls solidly into the latter camp, with the whole movie feeling about as heavy as the rocks that the son of Kevin Bacon’s character brings back from their holiday. About as scary as a cheese sandwich.
Bill Murray – Passion Play
You know when you think a film should be good because the cast is? Case in point right here, and sadly the exploitative gangster character played by Bill Murray is no more memorable than the unconvincingly winged Megan Fox, the buff but grumpy Mickey O’Rourke, or the mock-angry Rhys Ifans. Simultaneously bizarre and rubbish.
Donald Sutherland – Shadow Conspiracy
OK, A-list actors sometimes agree to a movie because they want the pay check at the end. That’s the only acceptable reason why Donald Sutherland would want his name associated with this film, it’s that bad. Even those of us who have to watch to the end will get there faster than Charlie Sheen’s character. Absurd, and not in a good way.
Diane Keaton – Because I Said So
There are two lessons to be learned from this film: firstly, that a mother should never meddle in her daughter’s love life; and secondly, that Diane Keaton should have known better than to say yes to this cliché-ridden mess. She manages to perform well even so, which is astonishing, given the terribly predictable and unfunny nature of this film. No thanks.
Gerard Butler – Playing for Keeps
Don’t be fooled by the casting – this is about as limp as an overly moistened cookie as far as rom-coms go. In fact, you could dip an Oreo in milk for well past the recommended five seconds (yes, someone has tested this), and still have a better structured, more enjoyable experience than this movie would provide.
Ray Liotta – In The Name of a King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Anyone expecting Oscar-winning performances and serious cinematic integrity probably wouldn’t expect it from a film starring Jason Statham (love him or loathe him), or indeed from the enormous Ron Perlman, but it’s sad to see the late, great Ray Liotta bring such a dismal pretence as this one. More wooden than the Appalachian Trail, it really is an abysmal effort. Sorry Ray.
Henry Cavill – The Cold Light of Day
You can put great actors into a film, but that doesn’t make it great. Rather like putting lipstick on a pig, and about as appealing. Bruce Willis’ brief appearance did little to improve the movie, and Henry Cavill didn’t have much of his charisma here. The real cold light of day is that this is a poor film by anyone’s standards.
Jamie Lee Curtis – Christmas with the Kranks
OK, the festive season allows for a little extra schmaltz. Yet somehow, this film manages to make even the most wonderful time of the year seem crass and unpleasant. The plot parades conformity, which in this age of diversity and acceptance only serves to make it all the more tasteless. Jamie Lee Curtis was clearly just topping up her bank balance here.
Thandiwe Newton – Norbit
Astonishingly, this shocker of a film was Oscar-nominated, perhaps unsurprisingly, for Best Achievement in Makeup. Thandiwe Newton’s acceptable performance as the childhood sweetheart doesn’t make this any better. In fact it’s hard to find much of any merit, unless you happen to be a die-hard Eddie Murphy fan, in which case, you’ll love it, as he plays three different characters.
Gemma Arterton – Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Never has a fairy tale gone so far off the beaten track as this blood and gore-laden mess. Admittedly, stories from the Brothers Grimm tend to be dark, but this one is as hollow as the trunk of a long-dead tree. Gemma Arterton might look great as a witch hunter, but her character is as vacuous as the plot.
Gary Oldman – Lost in Space
The admiration one has for talented actor Gary Oldman is somewhat diminished when you watch this utter tripe. Well, maybe don’t watch it – or don’t watch it again, if you’ve sat through all two hours and ten minutes of it in the past. The script definitely got lost in space, along with any respect you might have had for Matt LeBlanc’s acting ability.
Lawrence Fishburne – The Matrix Revolutions
When we saw Lawrence Fishburne in the original Matrix, he was mysterious and impressive. Hard to be impressed with anything beyond the (possibly excessive) special effects in this third outing, as the two hours and nine minutes don’t really answer any outstanding questions with any satisfaction, and the characters become irritatingly predictable.
Jeremy Irons – Dungeons & Dragons
Apparently, when asked why he took the role, Jeremy Irons replied “I’d just bought a castle, I had to pay for it somehow!” Clearly his self-respect took a back seat for this film. Woeful acting (yes, even from the top billing), a dreadful script and cheap props mean this really shouldn’t have been made – but now it has, try to forget it.
Steve Martin – The Pink Panther 2
Not everyone is a fan of slapstick, but when it’s done well it can be amusing, like the original The Pink Panther starring Peter Sellers. The usually-hilarious Steve Martin however somehow manages to eke all the humor out of this sequel. Perhaps he’s taking it too seriously. Perhaps he just doesn’t think it’s funny. Either way, it isn’t – which is key for a comedy.
Martin Short – Clifford
Perplexing that Martin Short could contemplate acting the role of a ten-year-old boy, much less a spoilt little brat on one, but that’s precisely what happened. He puts in an admirable effort, along with Charles Grodin as the father, but this is such a lame movie that it’s doomed to failure from the get-go.
Hilary Swank – The Core
What makes this movie such a humdinger is undoubtedly the plot. The very idea of drilling down to the earth’s core is preposterous, so this with a huge pinch of salt. At least Hilary Swank and her co-stars are decent enough to make it just about tolerable, but who has time for a film this lackluster? Good for sheer ludicrousness if you want a giggle.
Rachel Weisz – Constantine
Battling demons is the concept here, but Rachel Weisz and Keanu Reeves presumably have their own to battle, having accepted the roles in this bleak, overly lengthy narrative on heaven, hell and all things related. Not exactly the film to lift your spirits (no pun intended) – visually impressive, perhaps, but there’s not much else to recommend it.
Ralph Fiennes – The Avengers
Not sure anyone would have pegged Ralph Fiennes as any sort of avenging hero, and this movie rather shows that his light shines stronger elsewhere. Pretty much anywhere else, really. Uma Thurman is out of place too, and the script and plot don’t have enough substance to provide even the best actor a leg to stand on. Hence it’s a big ol’ flop.
Helena Bonham-Carter – Planet of the Apes
Great cast … not so great on the script, though. You can’t polish a turd, to put it bluntly, and the ending to Tim Burton’s 2001 take on the sci-fi tale was laughable – and not in a good way. Even Helena Bonham-Carter as one of the apes doesn’t cut it any slack – it’s just weird. Stick to the 1968 original, or even one of the many spin-off films.
Cillian Murphy – Aloft
There’s not much you can fault about Cillian Murphy’s acting career so far. However, even the brightest star will have its black spots and this is one such example. Not to suggest that Cillian Murphy can’t act – clearly he can – but this slow burner effectively burns itself out, it’s so arduously long.
Toby Jones – Red Lights
You’d be forgiven for thinking that a film starring Toby Jones – oh, and Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy – would be half decent. Not even half, unfortunately. What a load of paranormal bunkum, and what a pity that such a superb cast could be involved with it.
Marlon Brando – The Island of Dr. Moreau
This one is legendary – a movie that Marlon Brando was accused of sabotaging, and where everyone seemed to loathe everyone else. It was described at the time as “a $40m train wreck”, in part due to the tension between Brando and Val Kilmer. So much bad feeling on set no doubt fed through to the screen, and this is one uncomfortable film to watch, as well as bizarre.
Laurence Olivier – Inchon
In an interview with Laurence Olivier about this movie, he explained his reasoning for taking the role … “Nothing is beneath me if it pays well”. That goes some way to explaining what on earth possessed him to do it. Utterly vapid and completely without structure, it’s just laughably bad. Not even in the realms of so-bad-it’s-good – it’s just plain bad. Even the late, great Laurence Olivier was capable of garbage.
Kurt Russell – Poseidon
Kurt Russell plays a classic American hero-type in Poseidon, attempting to save passengers who have been trapped on a capsizing luxury liner. The movie is based on the 1970s film, The Poseidon Adventure, but comes across as one of those churned-out pieces that feels as though it was only made to fill a quota.
Tom Hardy – Capone
Tom Hardy has an excellent reputation, especially when playing characters of a similar ilk to gangster Al Capone. The movie focuses on his life after the dust has settled on his former gangland stomping ground. Hardy put in a surprisingly subpar performance in a movie that promised so much but delivered so little.
Tom Cruise – The Mummy
Tom Cruise is a man with acting ability, but also a man who once decided that he would only ever use his acting talent in movies that just spew utter nonsense at you from beginning to end. We could have put any of the eye-roll-worthy Mission Impossible films in, but instead, we have gone for The Mummy. In this film, Tom Cruise’s character wakes up an ancient Egyptian mummy, of course.
Anya Taylor-Joy – The New Mutants
Anya Taylor-Joy has taken on some thoroughly interesting parts in her career so far, from chess player Elizabeth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, to Michael’s traitor of a wife in Peaky Blinders. This makes it all the more upsetting to see her wallow in the peaty bog of a superhero spin-off movie such as The New Mutants.
Emma Watson – The Circle
The Circle had a great cast, including John Boyega, Tom Hanks, and Emma Watson. It’s just a shame that the film’s lack of substance made it one to forget. The plot revolves around Watson’s character Mae getting her dream job at a tech firm, who have secret bad intentions of removing society’s right to privacy.
Paul Newman – The Silver Chalice
The standard of acting in 1950s movies is hit and miss, with Paul Newman generally being one of the hits. However, The Silver Chalice was a blot on his record, with the biblical drama proving to be a failure among critics and moviegoers. Newman even came out and apologized for being part of the movie, which says it all really.
Millie Bobby Brown – Godzilla
Alright, who are the ones paying to watch Godzilla films, and subsequently propping up this side of the movie industry? It defies belief that there are still those who clamor for movies where a huge animal decides to wreak havoc on a place, usually the USA, while armies of fighter jets and soldiers scramble to deal with the issue. Millie Bobby Brown is surely a bright enough talent to be able to slam the door on these types of movie offers.
Michael Caine – Jaws: The Revenge
The popularity of Jaws inevitably spawned a string of sequels that never, ever should have been made. Jaws: The Revenge is the fourth (!) installment of these movies, starring no other than Michael Caine. It still doesn’t make sense as to why an actor of Caine’s caliber ever said yes to a part in a movie series that should have been permanently shelved after film number one.
Amy Adams – Leap Year
You know that song, 24 Hours From Tulsa? Well Leap Year, starring Amy Adams is basically a movie version of it, following a woman who is traveling to see her long-term partner in Dublin with the idea of proposing to him on Leap Day. Her flight gets diverted to Wales and she ends up falling in love with the man who somehow says yes to taking her all the way to Ireland. The movie’s plot is destroyed by the trashy, rom-com-style acting that surrounds it.
Keanu Reeves – Hardball
Drowning in debt, Keanu Reeves’ character in Hardball takes over a Little League baseball team to try and pay his bills. Unfortunately, sports films have a habit of reeling off cliché after cliché, before ultimately ending the movie in a last-gasp, tension-filled, game-winning moment. Unfortunately, not even Reeves could save Hardball.
Christian Bale – Thor: Love and Thunder
It’s slightly depressing how many run-of-the-mill Marvel superhero movies they have now made. It’s even more depressing that they have the budget to make great actors look average by acting in them. Bale plays the role of Gorr the God Butcher, fighting against Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and his other superhero friends.
Viola Davis – The Help
Oscar winner Viola Davis was drafted in to play the role of Aibileen Clark in The Help, an African-American maid in Jackson, Mississippi. The film had the potential to document the struggles of black American women during the times of civil rights unrest, but the writers decided to tell the story from the perspective of a white character instead. Viola Davis has since condemned the way the story was told.
Sir Patrick Stewart – The Emoji Movie
For all of Sir Patrick Stewart’s great work, it seems strange that he would feel the need to accept the role of the poop emoji in The Emoji Movie. It’s actually strange that they would make an movie about emojis in the first place, but hey, it’s a sign of the times. If you’re going to get Patrick Stewart in, at least make him one of the main emojis, and don’t give him a lesser role than James Corden of all people.
Sir Ian McKellen – Cats
There were so many great actors, and James Corden, in the movie Cats, including Dame Judi Dench to Sir Ian McKellen, but even they couldn’t save this unfortunate monstrosity of a film. The cats were beyond creepy, looking more like humans than cats. The film was widely slammed by critics and moviegoers.
Kristen Stewart – Twilight
The Twilight series propelled Kristen Stewart into global fame, giving her the pedestal to demand more challenging parts, so she likely hasn’t ever regretted taking the role. However, you do have to wonder if the part were to have come about after she had made it big, whether she would have ever taken it on.
Jamie Dornan – 50 Shades of Grey
50 Shades of Grey was made off the back of the book it was based on becoming the success it was. They didn’t wait around to make the movie, churning it out as quickly as they possibly could before the market died down. They roped in some decent actors for the roles, including Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.
Saoirse Ronan – The Host
Saoirse Ronan doesn’t often get her roles wrong, having taken on some interesting parts during her career so far. The Host was not one of these movies, with critics and audiences giving the general consensus that it was, on the whole, an uninteresting, cringeworthy film to sit through.
Tilda Swinton – Trainwreck
The aptly-named Trainwreck included a ton of characters that have been regurgitated throughout cinema history. Tilda Swinton is the stereotypical, no-nonsense boss, with her tight skirts and catty persona. Swinton is usually an actor who plays roles that are intriguing and worth thinking about, at least.
Edward Norton – Kingdom of Heaven
The historical drama Kingdom of Heaven focused on medieval battles in Jerusalem and had a star-studded cast backing it up. Liam Neeson, Orlando Bloom, and Edward Norton were all involved, but couldn’t inject a great deal of life into an uninteresting script and storyline.
Daniel Day-Lewis – Nine
Nine has six Academy Award-winning actors in the cast, including the great method actor Daniel Day-Lewis. However, neither he nor the others could prevent the movie from being anything but dull, leaving critics and audiences feeling incredibly disappointed after the film’s release.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Critters 3
Leonardo DiCaprio was always destined for a long career. You could see his potential and his camera presence a mile off, even if he was making his feature film debut in one of the worst movies of all time. Critters 3 came out in 1991, six years before DiCaprio would really announce himself in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
Emma Stone – Aloha
Emma Stone is a talented actor, but her role in Aloha was bizarrely tarnished because the writer’s decided to give her character an Asian surname. The movie triggered backlash, as many Asian viewers in particular were wondering why on earth the casting directors couldn’t have just hired an Asian actor for the role. The movie was also criticized for having more of a backstory than an actual story.
Scarlett Johansson – The Perfect Score
Before Scarlett Johansson’s career had rocketed skyward, she was part of a movie named The Perfect Score. It centered around a high-school heist, where four overly stereotyped students decided to break into the exam board’s HQ and steal the answers to the upcoming exams. The concept was taken too seriously by directors, overblown to the point where the humor was completely lost.
Robert Downey Jr. – Dolittle
Robert Downey Jr. had spent over a decade acting in the quagmire of the MCU when he decided to take on the role of Dr. John Dolittle in, Dolittle. He must have thought he’d lost his spark when the reviews came in, criticizing both the movie and his performance in it. Thankfully, he has managed to show the world what he can do in the years since.
Samuel L. Jackson – Snakes on a Plane
Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in over 200 movies throughout his career, becoming one of the most high-profile actors in the world in the process. With his experience in the industry, it’s surprising that he didn’t throw the script of Snakes on a Plane out the moment he laid eyes on it. Unfortunately, he will always have his name associated with a movie that’s famous purely because it’s so awful.
Margot Robbie – Suicide Squad
Film critics unanimously hated Suicide Squad, which is effectively the Avengers for bad guys. However, they did tend to spare a nice comment for Margot Robbie’s performance in the movie, as she did do her best as the deranged Harley Quinn. Thankfully, the underwhelming nature of this failed blockbuster didn’t derail Robbie’s career, which has gone from strength to strength since the movie’s release.
James McAvoy – Split
Although M. Night Shyamalan’s Split is a pretty poor watch considering the concept’s potential, James McAvoy does a stellar job in playing each of the multiple personalities of his character. He shifts between them with ease, while never having audiences asking who he is meant to be at any one time. It’s still a bad movie though.
Peter Dinklage – Pixels
Pixels is an Adam Sandler comedy focused on the world of video games, so you can probably imagine the sort of quality you can expect from it. Peter Dinklage does his best to save the movie, playing the role of the charmingly annoying video game champion Eddie Plant.
Michelle Pfieffer – Grease 2
The first Grease movie took the world by storm, with its great tunes and kooky little storyline. This caused them to make an unnecessary sequel, which hardly anybody bothered watching, let alone remembering. A rare positive aspect of the movie is Michelle Pfieffer’s performance, but she couldn’t save Grease 2 from being awful.
Adam Driver – Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
Even after all these years, they’re still trying to squeeze every last drop out of the Star Wars franchise, with seemingly very little care about whether they make a watchable movie or not. The one positive from Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker is not its ridiculously long title, but the performance of Adam Driver, a very competent actor.
