13. Grindhouse (2007)
At the time, the thought of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teaming up to make not one, but two films inspired by the exploitative Grindhouse pictures that both grew up watching, was enough to send most of us film buffs into a chainsaw wielding frenzy of excitement. With promises of missing reels, dirt on the film stock, hardcore violence, fake trailers and the like, things look set to make
Grindhouse something truly special. Yet the end result was nothing more than a mere gimmick of a film that never truly paid off. So much so, that the Weinsteins decided instead to release both films separately, thus negating the whole Grindhouse concept of two films for the price of one. Neither film turned out that great either, Rodriguez's
Planet Terror being nothing more than a standard zombie pic albeit with a Rose McGowan complete with machine gun leg, and Tarantino's
Death Proof being an exercise in nothing more than four girls sitting around talking for half the movie. Major disappointment.
12. I Am Legend (2007)
Richard Matheson's seminal vampire novel is one of the very best of the genre and if you've not read it then I implore you to do so immediately. The book has already been adapted before, first in the sixties as
The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price then once again in the seventies as
The Omega Man with Charlton Heston. But this new version promised to be a true iteration of Matheson's source material. The early trailers showcased stunning visuals of an deserted and overgrown New York City, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of the book, and for the first half of the film, we got what we were promised. Will Smith surprised with a tender and magnetic performance, far exceeding, in my opinion, anything he's done. The atmosphere, the world, everything was perfectly realized... then those damn CGI darkseeker things showed up! What a waste. Third time it seems was not a charm. Click "next" below to read the next part...