Ridley Scott's The Counselor: "worst ever made"?

Ridley Scott's new film The Counselor has opened in the States to some of the most negative reviews of the director's career. The drug trafficking thriller, penned by renowned author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road), baffled and bored critics, even prompting one -- Salon's Andrew O'Hehir -- to deem it the "worst movie ever made". Despite a star-studded cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt, audiences didn't go for it either, leaving the film with a miserable box office opening that's also one of Scott's worst. The Counselor opens in NZ on November 7.

The Bombing of Robert Zemeckis' Mars Needs Moms

Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture animated film cost $150 million to produce but earned only $6.9 million in its debut at the domestic box office.

Ouch, that's gotta sting...

I'm really no fan of the creepy motion-capture animation technique Rob Zemeckis has been doing for a last wee while, so maybe he'll return to making live-action movies after this dismal result. I haven't loved everything the guy's done, but he's got some serious filmmaking chops (at least one hopes he still does) that have produced terrific, dazzling work - Back to the Future, Contact and particularly, Cast Away - and it would be an utter shame if he never made another film with flesh-and-blood humans again.

Here's the trailer:



PS: I wrote this under the impression that Zemeckis had directed the film, but he actually only produced it.