9. The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is what we consider a Great American Novel and is certainly one of the best books of the past century. Its themes are timeless, the characters well-rounded and the roaring twenties setting is brought to life brilliantly. So at face value, appointing Baz Luhrmann to direct Hollywoods latest crack at the film seemed like a good idea. Australia aside and even that had its plus points Luhrmann has a grasp of intense visuals and hedonism like few others, and he always seems to do better when working from source material (Romeo + Juliet remains one of my favourite films). But what happened here was a waste and a colossal misfire. Simply put, the aesthetic overpowers absolutely everything. Highly stylised in nature, if taken to the correct degree it would perfectly compliment the story of waste and delusion captured on screen. Yet the Australian director just takes it way over the top, to the level of what can only be described as pimptacular. When you cant focus on the characters because the sets seem so damn overpowering, youve got a problem on your hands.