10 Worst Movies of 2012

Cloud Atlas, deemed one of the worst films of the year.

By BARRY KOLTNOW
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Are you giddy yet? Between now and Jan. 10, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces its Oscar nominees, you will be subjected to endless speculation from legitimate film critics and blogging hacks alike as to which film is the front runner for the best picture Oscar.

Is it “Lincoln?” Is it “Zero Dark Thirty?” Is it “Argo?” Is it “Les Misérables?” Is it “Silver Linings Playbook?” Is it “Amour?” Is it “Life of Pi?” Is it “Django Unchained?” Is it “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel?”

Trust me, the front runner will change more times than you can count because Oscar prognosticating has become a cottage industry in Hollywood, and too many journalists and pseudo-journalists justify their existence by trying to convince you that they have inside information on the Oscars race.

If you’re not betting real money on the outcome, what’s the difference? You’ll know everything on Jan. 10 anyway.
In the meantime, a lot of truly horrible movies will get lost in the Oscar hype.

Too much time and effort is spent at the end of the year saluting the movie winners. What about the movie losers? They need to be identified because they wasted our precious time and money. They need to be singled out so that we can recognize them the next time they come around in a different form.

Great movies are worth the time and expense. Bad movies aren’t worth the price of popcorn.

Here are the worst movies of 2012, or at least the worst movies I saw in 2012, and I saw a lot of them. This may be the last time you hear these titles mentioned in polite company.

Battleship

1. “Battleship” — This was a particularly bad year for up-and-comer Taylor Kitsch, who parlayed a sexy turn as a football player on TV’s “Friday Night Lights” into two coveted spots on this dubious list of turkeys (he also starred in No. 4). I don’t know how you felt about Oliver Stone’s “Savages” (51 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but Taylor starred in that one as well. He almost got the hat trick.

2. “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” — Based on a best-selling pregnancy guidebook. Let me repeat that; it was based on a best-selling pregnancy guidebook. That is not exactly the greatest source material for a movie. And, sure enough, it was about as much fun to experience as labor pains.