92. Public Enemies (2009)
The crime drama that chronicled the pursuit of bank robber John Dillinger by FBI agent Melvin Purvis during the Depression, was familiar ground for director Michael Mann. Having won a legion of fans with films like Heat and Manhunter, it seemed there was no way Micheal Mann could not make another hit considering the source material was right up his alley. Combined with a cast that included Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, it sounded like we were in for a treat. But where Public Enemies looks and feels like a Michael Mann film, it suffered from the same problem that ruined Mann's previous film Miami Vice, it was too po-faced and dull. The whole cast appeared to have been tranquilized as they put in a performance that was almost a spoof of the kind of acting that is a trademark of Michael Mann films. It looked like they were doing everything right but behind the mumbling, where was the lightning storm that made Heat light up? Public Enemies has its fans but after the let down that was Miami Vice, Michael Mann needed this film to be a hit. But it just suffocated under its own blanket of solemnity.
91. Ghostbusters 2 (1989)
Want to know why Bill Murry had no interest in Ghostbusters 3 and why it took him so long to sign up? It had a lot to do with Ghostbusters 2 for which he had this to say;
We did a sequel, and it was sort of rather unsatisfying for me, because the first one to me was the goods, Murray said. It was the real thing. And the sequel, you know, was it was a few years later. There was an idea pitched. And it was like, well, they got us all together in a room. We just laughed for a couple of hours. And then they said, What if we did another one? Heres an idea. So they had this idea, but it didnt turn out to be the idea when I arrived on the set. Theyd written a whole different movie than the one . And the special-effects guys got it and got their hands on it. And it was just not the same movie. There were a few great scenes in it, but it wasnt the same movie. So theres never been an interest in a third Ghostbusters because the second one was kind of disappointing for me, anyway.
Ghostbusters 2 is an OK follow up but that's it. Set five years after the first film, our heroes have fallen from grace in the eyes of the public and have to resort to doing children's birthday parties and host Paranormal talk shows to make a living. But soon the city has to call the Ghostbusters one more time when it is under attack from Psychomagnoteric slime and a 16th Century tyrant, Vigo the Carpathian. The whole cast returned and Ivan Reitman was back in the directors seat. Upon its release it had the biggest opening weekend in history but was beaten a week later by Tim Burton's Batman, in any case, it was a box office smash. But there was a lingering feeling that there was no spark in the film, the humour was more miss than hit and it was just a sequel for sequel's sake that failed to be something special. Ghostbusters 3 is stuck in development hell with constant script rewrites. But if that is a sign that the third film will be another let down, maybe the franchise should just be left alone.
90. Clerks 2 (2006)
Kevin Smith has never been a director I'm particular fond off but even I could tell that Clerks 2 was a lifeless follow up to Smith's first film. Clerks 2 didn't have the low budget charm of Clerks and the humor was more forced than funny. Smith hasn't made a good film since 1999's Dogma and hopes were high that Clerks 2 was his opportunity to return to form but no, it was another disappointment on his movie CV.
89. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
William Shatner's Star Trek directing debut unfairly gets bashed as a rubbish film. The poor special effects and things like ''Uhura's naked fan dance'' don't help but the fifth Star Trek movie is probably the closest in look and feel to the Original Series. A sharp script, an epic story and a great performance from Laurence Luckinbill as Sybok, it is pure Star Trek at heart. So why was it disappointing? After the three part story arc star started with The Wrath Of Khan and concluded with The Voyage Home, Star Trek was on a high. The Voyage Home was a commercial and critical success and is currently the second highest grossing Star Trek movie of all time. The pressure was on Paramount to keep the momentum going and when teaser posters appeared asking ''Why Are They Putting Seat Belts In Cinemas?'' with a picture of the USS Enterprise warping past a cinema chair, it looked like they were on the right track. However, issues including delays caused by a strike by the Writes Guild Of America and ILM unable to provide the special effects, the finished product was a colossal let down. The film's failure almost derailed any future Star Trek movies but thanks to Star Trek's 25th anniversary around the corner and Paramount wanting to capitalize on it, they commissioned one more film but directing duties were given to Wrath Of Khan director Nicholas Meyer who made sure the original crew went out on a high in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
88. Diary Of The Dead (2008)
George Romero, the man who invented the Zombie movie decided to give his fifth Zombie film, Diary Of The Dead a Blair Witch style, hand held look. About a group of friends who are making a horror film and end up getting caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak, the story, shooting style and Romero in the directors chair all pointed to another great 'Dead' film by the legendary director. Diary Of The Dead is an OK horror but nothing special. The film's over reliance on CGI and a group of people who you don't care if they live or die, Diary Of The Dead lacked any suspense or tension that made Romero's other films so memorable. Was it the way it was shot or was it a script that played like an average teen horror flick that was at the heart of it's problems? Probably a bit of both.