With so many predictable and generic movies hitting the cinemas these days, we should be grateful when filmmakers try to do something different and imbue their films with a little more depth and originality. It's a welcome change from predictable genre fare and without a shadow of a doubt something that should be lauded and encouraged. With that said, sometimes a movie comes along with pretensions of greatness which the final product quite simply fails to deliver. It promises commendable goals - an exploration of deep themes and intricate symbolism which transcend the conventional and the mundane - but turns out to be nowhere near as smart as it thinks it is. The profound observation it believes it's presenting is done so with too heavy a hand for the message to be effective and we're left with the distinct impression that those involved have bitten off more intellectual grist than they can chew. The following are ten such movies - films which aim high and try to present audiences with something worthy and artistic but end up being far less important than the filmmakers would have us believe. In short, despite the best efforts to make something deep and meaningful, what we're left with is showy, self-important and utterly pretentious.
