6. J. Edgar (2011)
J. Edgar is the name of the movie that would come out of a machine specifically designed to give you motion pictures destined for Oscar glory. "To be directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio," the machine would say in a terrifying robotic voice, having spat out the script for this prestigious historical flick. And yet, when this thing actually came out, the world sensed that all was not right: here's a movie that felt like it was trying too hard before we'd even seen it. Clint Eastwood? DiCaprio in make-up? J. Edgar Hoover? A little bit too Oscar, don't you think? Turns out, yeah, we did think that: Clint Eastwood's ambitious picture focusing on the life of the guy who founded the FBI and was rumoured to like wearing dresses failed to impress pretty much anyone - a cautionary tale that proved bonafide critical darlings aren't always... well, bonafide critical darlings. J. Edgar came across as overwritten and underwhelming, and some of the performances were good (Judi Dench, for example), the whole thing feels like a wasted opportunity. Weird, for a movie that tried so hard to impress us in its premise from the get-go.