List

The Worst Films of 2025

The Weeknd, John Krasinski, and robots all have Smurfed up big time.

It’s time for me to take out the annual trash of bad movies. The dogs that came in the form of Smurfs, robots, Oscar winners, jerks, and psychos. Here are the ten films I hated this year, and ones that should disappear in video stores or streaming libraries. Whatever comes first.

10.) “Flight Risk”

Mel Gibson’s next directing job is as fun as a layover. Mark Wahlberg is treated like a swatted fly, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace’s chemistry is annoying, and the story is too lackluster and predictable for my tastes. I tried to tell you “Fight or Flight” was the better movie, but you didn’t listen.

9.) “Him”

The concept that suggests “Never Meet Your Heroes” should work in the horror genre, especially when it’s produced by Jordan Peele, but the execution makes no touchdowns. We have young Tyriq Withers having a poor movie year with “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and now “Him,” which has him playing a young football player falling under the machinations of his quarterback idol played by Marlon Wayans. And how many crazy characters with or without mascots do we need to make the genre clear?

8.) “The Pickup”

Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, and Keke Palmer all deserve a lot better than what the script provides for them in this Hokey Pokey heist comedy. Murphy and Davidson are armored truck drivers, while Palmer is the criminal mastermind who forces them to help her pull off a revenge heist. You see what I’m seeing? That’s money out the window.

7.) “Ella McCay”

James L. Brooks has made some of the best films in the past like “Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News,” and “As Good as It Gets,” but his first entry in years is a wasted opportunity. Emma Mackey plays the title character, who is a talkative lieutenant governor poised to be the next governor. But she must also deal with a number of tropes like her unfaithful father, her whiny husband, and whatever politics are thrown at her. It wants to have that Frank Capra feel, but it’s too annoying for us to be delighted or moved.

6.) “Fountain of Youth”

I’m not getting any younger here. I didn’t sign up for a Guy Ritchie vehicle that has John Krasinski as a thief and Natalie Portman as his estranged sister, who always criticizes him for his thieving ways. The only reason they collaborate is to find the scared fountain of youth. Funny, I thought they were looking for El Dorado, but I guess Paddington beat them to it this year.

5.) “Smurfs”

Let’s Smurf it. These three apples high blue creatures are not cut out for the movie world. The pop star voicing Smurfette this time is Rihanna, who is overly promoted in the ads as a way to try to sell this movie. She is a big talent with a lot of X factor, but she’s part of an animated movie that didn’t leave Smurf to the imagination. It’s like “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” but with more Smurfs and less LeBron.

4.) “Regretting You”

Losing a loved one is a hard thing, and I lost my grandmother earlier this year. But my family and I handled the pathos a lot better than the mother and daughter in this negative piece of crapola. Allison Williams is the mom and McKenna Grace is her daughter, and most of the movie has them acting like children. And kids in Wes Anderson movies are more mature than them.

3.) “Love Hurts”

I’m glad this action comedy bombed at the box office, because my head would have really been hurt if it was a hit. It overexploits the Oscar-winning talents of Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose by making him a fighting machine and her a childish jerk. I’ve had a nice talk with Quan about his comeback in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” at Terrificon last summer. That movie is one of the most exhilarating of all time. “Love Hurts,” that’s a different story.

2.) “The Electric State”

$320 millions wasted on rusty robots, wasted talents (led by Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt), boring storytelling, and indulgence in technology. And the whole thing was made the Russo Brothers, who have done better than succumb to this amount of idiocy. That amount of money can be put to better and more important things; this movie isn’t one of them.

1.) “Hurry Up Tomorrow”

Trey Edward Schultz is a visionary filmmaker and The Weeknd (Abel Tresfaye) is a major music talent, but their first collaboration is a pointless and increasingly stupid drama. The Weeknd plays a fictionalized version of himself dealing with insomnia and Jenna Ortega as a crazy fan who wants to get to the source of his problems by tying him to a bed and threatening to burn him alive. Where are the cops when you need them?

The Films I Kinda Skipped

“G20,” “Until Dawn,” “Shadow Force,” “The Ritual,” “Kinda Pregnant,” “Bride Hard,” “Opus,” “The Woman in the Yard,” “The Unholy Trinity,” “Off the Grid,” “The Home,” “Star Trek: Section 31,” “War of the Worlds,” “The Family Plan 2,” “Playdate,” “The Strangers: Chapter 2,” “Afterburn”

Dishonorable Mentions:

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “The Old Guard 2,” “A Working Man,” “Snow White,” “Locked,” “Wolf Man,” “Juliet & Romeo,” “Keeper,” “Karate Kid Legends,” “Honey Don’t,” “Rust,” “Old Guy,” “Into the Deep,” “The Unbreakable Boy,” “Parthenope,” “Love Me,” “Atropia,” “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” “Back in Action”

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