9. Terrence Malick
A particular point of contention for me is how mythologised Terrence Malick has become despite having released only 6 films over a 40-year period. Few will argue with the assertion that his first two works, Badlands and Days of Heaven, are great pieces of cinema, but after that, it all begins to go South. The Thin Red Line is an interesting, thoughful movie, though Malick's pretentious construction denies the film a real agency and ability to connect with most audiences. Still, it was a much stronger piece of filmmaking than the uninspired and forgettable The New World, before Malick revealed his opus, The Tree of Life, a beautifully-made if surprisingly hollow and simplistic film that even star Sean Penn said ended up nothing like he expected. Then, we have To the Wonder, a film so Malickian in style that it borders on self-parody, with countless shots of its characters staring pensively into the middle-distance and twirling around like small children while faux-poetic, self-serious narration plays over the top. It'd take a strong stomach and an unwavering devotion to the man's work not to recoil in horror or simply burst out laughing. The man has three films in post-production presently, so hopefully he can redeem himself, though I doubt it.