My Least Anticipated Films of 2015

2015 is going to be a big year for Hollywood, full of highly anticipated franchise films and thankfully quite a few originals too.  I'm still working on the list of 2015 films that I'm most looking forward to, but as is tradition for this blog, first we're going to have a look at the high-profile wide release titles that I'm not looking forward to, and will be making efforts to avoid.

All things considered, this doesn't look to be a bad year at first glance. There aren't as many obvious stinkers in this bunch as there have been in the past - but maybe that means the studios are just getting better at hiding them.  I know that nobody sets out to make a bad movie and sometimes a bad premise and mediocre talent can result in something great.  Still, there are more than a few upcoming titles that I can't imagine being worth anyone's time. So here's the list of my least anticipated films of 2015.  If past years are any indication, it's likely this will be the last time you see discussion of any of these titles on this blog. 

The Repeat Offenders - I seem to be one of the few who really disliked "Taken," and can't belive that we're already being subjected to "Taken 3."  "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" is the sixth in the series, with a first time director whose bona fides consist of editing four of the previous installments.  "Alvin and the Chipmunks 4" needs no explanation.  I didn't like the grim and humorless "Olympus Has Fallen," and have no interest in "London Has Fallen." "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" comes six years after the first movie, just as I was forgetting that it ever existed.   Oh, and "Friday the 13th" is getting rebooted.  Yes, again.

Out of Chances - "Seventh Son" is packed with good actors, but after being delayed and delayed for two years, I can only assume that the movie is as bad as its trailers.  As much as I've been rooting for Dreamworks, I don't know what to make of "Home," which has a sci-fi comedy premise that's just odd, and previews that have fallen completely flat.  "Mortdecai" has been abandoned in January, which means Johnny Depp's career has hit a new low point.  While the premise of "The Visit" sounds like fun, M. Night Shyamalan's directing credit puts me on the defensive.  And the day has finally come when the words "Untitled Cameron Crowe Project" means an automatic pass.

This is a Bad Idea - A "Point Break" reboot is a bad idea.  And going ahead with "Jane Got a Gun" without Lynne Ramsay and Jude Law is a bad idea.  And a "Hitman" spinoff eight years after the original film makes no damn sense.  Neither does a movie based on "Jem and the Holograms," which nobody remembers except people way outside the presumptive target audience.  And really, what is the point of making "The Transporter Legacy" when you don't have Jason Statham?  There have already been three movies and a television show.  We have enough "Transporter," thank you.

And finally, "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets its own paragraph, because this one has all the makings of a truly heinous motion picture.  Based on crummy source material, about salacious subject matter, and targeting a rabid audience that may only be an illusion, I'm expecting a critical savaging and a disappointing box office take.  The books have attracted so much ridicule, the mockery of the film is not only inevitable, but something many are looking forward to. 

Schadenfreude doesn't count for my purposes though, so the movie still wins a place of (dis)honor on this list.   

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