The only thing more fun than watching movies is obsessively rating and reviewing them on Letterboxd, the film site and app that’s part database and part nerdy social media platform. Letterboxd lets you track, rate, and review everything you watch, and read reviews from your friends and any one else on the site who publicly publishes their activity.
It’s also a great resource for finding movies to watch or movies to avoid. If you click on “Films” at the top of the Letterboxd home page and then go to “Genre” and then click “Sort By – Average Rating – Lowest First” you’ll see the worst of the worst of any genre under the sun, at least according to Letterboxd users.
At least as of this writing, Letterboxd doesn’t have a specific listing for the superhero genre — but if you look through other Letterboxd genres (action, adventure, science fiction, etc.), sort by the lowest average rating, and then scroll through, you’ll find the titles that Letterboxd users consider the absolute worst ever made.
Or if that’s too much work, just keep scrolling here. I went through every one of their genres, and found the 25 lowest-rated superhero movies of all time. The picks run the gamut from Marvel to DC to Dark Horse and even a couple of films that aren’t based on any existing comics. There are even a few titles I disagree with! That’s the beauty of a site like Letterboxd. It lets you speak your mind, and see how others feel about the same films.
So let’s see how many (many) other movie lovers feel about the worst superhero films ever made…
The Worst Superhero Movies Ever Made, According to Letterboxd
According to millions of users on Letterboxd, these are the 25 worst superhero movies of all time…
The first way most people experience a movie — way. before they see the movie itself, and often before they even watch a trailer or commercial — is through its poster. And while posters used to be confined to movie theaters, they’re now all over the internet and social media as well, and can be viewed by millions of potential customers all over the world. In other words, as important as posters have been to movies’ success in the past, they’re even more crucial now.
As always when we make a list of a year’s best posters, we are choosing them based on the poster not on the movie. A great film might have a terrible poster, and vice versa. The list below collects the 25 best posters of the year with zero consideration of the films’ quality. (As you’ll see, there are some great movies, and some pretty crummy ones.) Also: We’re considering the year of the poster here, not the year of the movie. While most of the titles are 2023 releases, a few are for 2024 films we haven’t even seen yet. But again, a great poster is a great poster regardless of the quality of the film. (Similarly, some of the best posters for 2023 movies were released last year — so you’ll find a few of those on our best 2022 posters list.)
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best movie posters of 2023…
The Best Movie Posters of 2023
When movie posters are good, they’re works of art. And here are the year’s best.
2023 was a great year for movies; easily the best year for movies so far this decade. And even better, it was a good year for movie theaters. After a long, painful stretch where it looked like multiplexes were in serious trouble, I saw so several movies in 2023 in packed theaters. Even with a strike, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Taylor Swift, and others kept auditoriums full all year long.
(I’ll never forget going to see a press screening at a New York City multuplex on a Monday night in late July — not usually the busiest time for theaters — and having to push my way through a sea of moviegoers, all outfitted in hot pink.)
Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows at the movies in 2023. Despite an above-average year for cinema overall, we still had some out-out-and stinkers this year as well. That includes screwy sequels, bad biopics, awful action films, blockbuster blunders, and one of the worst and most shameless cash-ins on a respected and recognizable children’s brand I have ever seen in my entire life.
Below, I have ranked the 15 worst movies I personally saw in 2023. Plenty are big theatrical releases — a couple were contenders for the biggest budget movies of the year — but a couple bypassed theaters entirely for the vast and unreliable world of streaming, where the movies are often bad but the cost of viewing is low — unless you measure cost in the precious moments of your life you lose watching a crappy rom-com starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher.
Here now are my picks for the worst movies of 2023, ranked from almost watchable to borderline pestilential…
The Worst Movies of 2023
Of the hundreds of movies I watched in 2023, these were the worst of the worst.
For basically the entirety of the 2010s, Marvel seemed nigh-invulnerable — like Galactus, if Galactus stopped eating planets and started releasing three major motion pictures every calendar year. Every Marvel movie opened to huge box office and strong reviews, and with every release, the buzz for the company and its larger Marvel Cinematic Universe only seemed to get bigger and bigger, hitting its peak with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which concluded over a decade of storytelling with a thrilling, emotional (and wildly profitable) finale.
But the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like Marvel Comics, is never allowed to end; there’s always a new monthly issue and now a new film (and show) every couple of months. And thus far, The Multiverse Saga — as Marvel dubbed their post-Endgame efforts — has been a roller coaster of highs and lows. And in 2023, the roller coaster got awfully bumpy, with disappointing TV shows, frustrating movies, and multiple major behind-the-scenes issues for the company, its executives, and its stars.
As a fan of Marvel dating back decades before the company made its own movies, I’m hoping they turn things around quickly. But you would have to be the hardest of hardcore Marvel zombie to insist 2023 was a good year for the company. In fact, it doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch to say this might have been the worst year in Marvel Studios’ history to date. Below, here are ten reasons why.
The Worst Marvel Moments of 2023
The lowlights from a pretty bad year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
It started with Iron Man and it’s continued and expanded ever since. It’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 33 movies and counting. But what’s the best and the worst? We ranked them all.
Would you like to live in a European autocracy run by Kate Winslet? Maybe not after watching this limited series, created and written by Succession and The Menu alum Will Tracy. Succession’s Frank Rich is also an executive producer, and the writing comes from a team that includes the screenwriter of Bodies Bodies Bodies and satirical novelist Gary Shteyngart—all auspicious signs for those who like their comedy pitch black.
Girls5Eva
Premiere Date: March 14
Network: Netflix
Noteworthy Cast: Sara Bareilles, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell, Busy Philipps
Thank goodness this absolute gem of a sitcom didn’t die on Peacock after two seasons: Its third will appear on Netflix, where the girls can hopefully develop a Kimmy Schmidt–esque following. Season three finds our ladies on the road, attempting to jump-start their comeback with a cross-country tour. According to Netflix, they’ll also “play a billionaire’s birthday party” (yes) and “cross paths with the biggest pop star on the planet” (double yes).
Manhunt
Premiere Date: March 15
Network: Apple TV+
Noteworthy Cast: Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, Matt Walsh
This thriller about the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination takes a surprising approach: “I saw it as more of a conspiracy thriller, more of a cat-and-mouse detective story,” producer and showrunner Monica Beletskytells VF. “I loved the idea of making Stanton the cat to Booth’s mouse.” That would be John Wilkes Booth, played by Boyle, and Edwin Stanton, played by Menzies—the Secretary of War who made it his mission to track the assassin down.
Palm Royale
Premiere Date: March 20
Network: Apple TV+
Noteworthy Cast: Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Leslie Bibb, Kaia Gerber
If Kristen Wiig as a plucky outsider trying to break into Palm Beach high society doesn’t sound like a good time to you, then what are we even doing here? The show, set in 1969, is a loose adaptation of Juliet McDaniel’s novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie. Expect pastel paisleys and tongues sharp enough to cut a Florida orange.
We know literally two things about Jordan Peele’s next movie. One: It is a movie directed by Jordan Peele, of Get Out, Us, and Nope fame. Two: It’s coming out December 25, 2024. Will previous Peele collaborators like Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong’o, Keke Palmer, or Steven Yeun make an appearance? Will the film be visually arresting and psychologically unsettling, raising high-minded questions about the way we live now? Will the title be terse? Your guess is as good as ours, pal!
Nosferatu
Release Date: December 25
Studio: Focus
Director: Robert Eggers
Noteworthy Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, Willem Dafoe
Coming from the director of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman, this take on the classic horror tale promises to be a stylish and inventive update, and maybe exactly the kind of Christmas Day counterprogramming the holiday season needs. The original film, which turned 100 last year, was a landmark in German expressionism and remains an iconic part of vampire lore. It’s a high bar, to be clear, but if there’s anything we’ve learned from Robert Eggers’s filmmaking career to this point, the man loves a challenge.
His Three Daughters
Release Date: Undated
Studio: Netflix
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Noteworthy Cast: Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen
A surprise tearjerker when it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September of 2023, His Three Daughters is an extremely intimate, deeply felt drama about three sisters gathering to await the imminent death of their father. Filmed almost entirely in a New York City apartment, and featuring the kinds of intense monologues you might associate with theater, the film from Azazel Jacobs is still incredibly cinematic—and not just because of the hypnotizing power of a Natasha Lyonne close-up. Picked up by Netflix after the festival, it’s a small film that might play well on the streaming platform, but is one of the 2024 movies worthy of a full-fledged awards push when the time comes.
Cinema is a perpetual state of change. Everything about movies is in flux: What they look like, who makes them, who is in them, how are filmed, what they cost to make, what it costs to see them, how they are projected in a theater or screened at home.
The only thing that remains constant: Some movies are good, and some movies are bad. Really, really, reallybad.
The list below charts the latter constant, and includes the single worst movie released every year for the past 40+ years starting at the dawn of the 1980s (AKA the dawn of all history) and proceeding through the ’90s, the 2000s, the 2010s, and into the early years of the 2020s. The films run the gamut of nearly every conceivable genre: Musical, comedy, action, erotic drama, swords and sandals, science-fiction, animation, horror, raunchy puppet farce, and thriller. A few are low-budget affairs, but many feature some of the biggest stars of their day. (The bigger the star, the bigger the chance for catastrophe, it seems.) What they all share is their general level of crapitude, which is quite high.
Let these movies serve as a reminder to all: That bad movies come in all shapes and sizes, and that any concept under the sun could be made into a fine motion picture. Unfortunately, that just did not happen in these specific cases.
The Worst Movie Every Year Since 1980
Here are several generations’ worth of crummy movies — the single worst movie released each year from 1980 to today.
Most anime fans will agree that 2023 was a great year for anime. Tons of new shows were released, and many major titles came and went as the year progressed, like the release of the One Piece live-action and the final episode of Attack on Titan (heartbreaking).
With so much focus on these major titles, however, many of 2023’s other anime were easily overlooked. This article will give those anime the recognition they deserve by focusing on all of the greatest underrated anime of 2023!
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Image Source: ShoPro via IMDB
Okay, so this one actually got a fair amount of recognition after its initial release. However, because it was released right in the middle of summer, it was majorly overshadowed by tons of other anime releases, making it one of the greatest yet criminally underrated anime of 2023.
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead is an unconventional zombie apocalypse anime that didn’t get nearly the amount of attention that it rightfully deserved.This anime follows the story of Akira, a businessman trudging his way through life while suffering at the hands of his soul-suckingly meaningless office job.
Once the undead pandemic hit, however, Akira couldn’t have been more excited; finally, he could have some well-deserved time off from his corporate nightmare! Rather than feel overcome by mortal terror at the end of the world as he knew it, Akira simply decided to go about his daily life, slaying zombies left and right, while crossing off the 100 entries on his bucket list.
Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero
Image Source: Houbunsha/Seven Seas Entertainment via IMDB
This anime is criminally underrated. Similar to Zom 100, Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero was released around the middle of summer 2023 alongside some pretty major anime titles, which could be the reason why it has flown under the radar for so many.
Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero is about a hero, Max, who defeats a fearsome and dangerous Demon Lord named Maou. Instead of dying as everyone expected him to, however, the Demon Lord went into a deep slumber instead, to preserve his remaining power. Ten years later, he unexpectedly awakens into an adorable chibi version of himself!
Curious about his predicament and how his mortal enemy has been faring all this time, Maou visits Max to see if he’s gotten stronger in his absence. Instead, Maou learns that Max is now a total loser living in a disturbingly run-down one-bedroom apartment. Absolutely disgusted at how low his once fearsome rival has sunk, Maou the Demon Lord decides to move in with him, in hopes that they’ll both be able to regain their former glory!
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre
Image Source: Junji Ito/Netflix via IMDB
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, other than being a mouthful to say, is easily one of the most underrated anime of 2023. This anime is based on a series of short horror stories written by Junji Ito, a famous author of numerous horror manga.
If you’re a fan of horror/supernatural anime, or are just a fan of horror in general, then you would love this series. Japanese Tales of the Macabre features an animated collection of 20 of the most horrifying, macabre stories written by Juji Ito.
Each episode features one or more of his famous works, ensuring that fans of the series remain constantly on the edge of their seats.This series is pretty much only available on Netflix, which could explain its lack of popularity.
Buddy Daddies
Image Source: Aniplex of America via IMDB
How is this anime not more popular?Frankly, I was on board as soon as I saw “daddies” in the title, but after watching it, I honestly don’t see how more people aren’t just as obsessed with this anime.
Buddy Daddies is about Kazuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa, two extremely talented assassins who happen to be roommates (oh my god, they were roommates…).This pair of deadly (and attractive) assassins have literally never failed a single job; they’ve never once let a target escape and are widely considered to be the most dangerous men in their fields.All it takes is one adorable little girl to completely change their lives forever, though.
An innocent four-year-old girl is spontaneously thrust into their lives with little explanation, and they have to suddenly figure out how to juggle being cold-blooded assassins and loving, adoptive parents at the same time.These assassins are normally able to take anything that’s thrown at them, but somehow find themselves struggling with this little kid; from taking her to nursery school to feeding her balanced meals, Kazuki and Rei realize that they may just be up against their toughest job yet: parenthood.
The Gene of AI
Image Source: Nikkatsu Corporation via IMDB
The Gene of AI is a perfect choice for fans of futuristic and sci-fi anime alike, as it takes place far in the future. The world that this anime takes place in is similar to ours, but it comes with a very specific unique twist: humanoid AIs walk and live among humans in a futuristic society.
Similar to humans, these AIs suffer from a variety of ailments and illnesses, the likes of which can’t be solved by regular doctor appointments. Thankfully, Dr. Hikaru Sudo has dedicated his life to the field of medicine, and won’t turn a patient away just because they aren’t human!
Dr. Hikaru Sudo treats these humanoid AIs with the same level of professionalism and respect that he does with his human clients, though he often has to resort to illegal methods in order to treat their ailments. But as more and more AIs become afflicted with strange ailments, and the ethical lines of Dr. Hikaru Sudo’s practice become further blurred, how will humanity be able to continue existing peacefully alongside these hyper-intelligent beings?
The Fire Hunter
Image Source: WOWOW via IMDB
The Fire Hunter is admittedly a bit of wild ride, but hoo boy you’re going to love every single second of it. The Fire Hunter is easily one of the best, yet most criminally underrated anime of 2023;there hasn’t been a single person who’s watched this anime and not loved it.
The Fire Hunter takes place in a supernatural world that’s been overrun by terrible, fiery beasts known as Flame Demons. Mankind’s last hope for survival lies in the hands of the Fire Hunters, the only ones capable of facing the fiery menace.
This anime follows the story of Toko, a young girl who is miraculously saved by a Fire Hunter while being attacked by one of the beasts. The Fire Hunter who saved her tragically died as a result of the attack, and she, along with the Hunter’s dog (who also miraculously survived) must travel to the country’s capital to deliver the terrible news to the Hunter’s family.Terrible secrets about the country’s leaders, the Demons, and the very world they live in are gradually unraveled in the process, however, and it becomes a race against time itself to stop humanity from succumbing to its imminent downfall.
My New Boss Is Goofy
Image Source: Aniplex of America via IMDB
Unlike a handful of other entries on this list, My New Boss is Goofy is a very lighthearted and unproblematic anime that’ll leave you in stitches! This anime is hilariously relatable, especially to anyone who’s ever felt underappreciated in their workplace (and I mean really, who hasn’t?).
This anime follows the sad little life of Momose, a middle-aged salaryman just trying to navigate the stale and underwhelming world of corporate advertising and business sales.After having finally reached the end of his rope at his last job due to his boss’s constant harassment, Momose decides to find a new job entirely, where he’ll never have to face his tyrant of a boss ever again.
Once he’s been hired in at his new job, however, Momose suddenly becomes filled with anxiety; what if his new boss is somehow even worse than his last?? Thankfully, however, not only is Momose’s new boss, Shirosaki, the farthest possible thing from a tyrant, but he’s also a total air-headed goofball.Like, the very definition of a dumb blonde; it’s amazing that he even managed to make it to adulthood at all. As Momose’s anxiety decreases and Shirosaki becomes hopelessly more and more attached to his new employee, their relationship begins to gradually turn into something more… bromantic.
Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions
Image Source: Kadokawa Pictures Inc. via IMDB
If this isn’t one of the greatest underrated anime of 2023, then I don’t know what is;it’s the perfect combination of murder mystery and buddy-cop.Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions has been described by many as the “anime version of Sherlock Holmes” and, honestly, I totally get it. If you loved watching BBC’s Sherlock or reading through Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlockian mysteries, then you’re going to fall head over heels for this anime!
In this anime, Ron Kamonohashi was once a genius lead detective capable of solving any case that was thrown his way. After one fatal mistake, however, he was forced to resign and never return to his career as a detective, causing him to fall into a terrible depression and become an isolated, reclusive member of society. Thankfully, that’s where Totomaru Isshiki comes in!
Totomaru Isshiki is a young and naive police officer who is, admittedly, pretty terrible at his job. After trying and failing to solve a horrifying serial murder case on his own, he knocks on Ron’s door to ask for help.Ron reluctantly agrees to help him, and their odd partnership as a mismatched detective team begins!
I’m in Love with the Villainess
Image Source: asmikace via IMDB
Now I’m not usually one to fawn over romance anime, but I’m in Love with the Villainess is a notable outlier in the genre. Not only is this anime hilarious and incredibly engaging, but it also tugs on your heartstrings and leaves you wanting more after every episode!
Similar to Zom 100, this anime did get some relatively decent recognition after its initial release, but fans quickly moved on to bigger and better titles directly after, leaving poor old “I’m in Love with the Villainess” in the dust. This anime is genuinely one of the most hilariously relatable and engaging anime I’ve ever seen; I can’t believe it isn’t infinitely more popular by now! Romance genre aside, this is easily one of the most underrated anime of 2023.
I’m in Love with the Villainess is about a corporate drone who suddenly awakens as Rae Taylor, the protagonist in her favorite otome game. Rather than feel something normal about her situation, like fear or confusion, she is astoundingly ecstatic about the opportunity to finally romance her favorite character: Claire François, the villainess. Armed with only her knowledge of the game and her passion for Claire’s affection, Rae sets out to finally court the girl of her virtual dreams!
Migi and Dali
Image Source: REMOW via IMDB
This anime somehow manages to be unbelievably creepy and hilarious at the same time. Migi and Dali is definitely one of the weirder titles that was released in 2023, but I guarantee that anyone who sticks around for this wild ride won’t be disappointed in the slightest.Migi and Dali is about a seemingly perfect little family that harbors a dark and mildly disturbing secret.
In this anime, Osamu and Youko Sonoyama are a lovely elderly couple who decide to adopt a young boy, Hitori, from an orphanage. Unbeknownst to them, however, their seemingly perfect adopted son is harboring an insane secret: he’s not even real.
In reality, Hitori is actually two twin boys pretending to be the same person.Migi and Dali (hence the name) are twin brothers who switch out at wildly inopportune times in a desperate attempt to make it seem as though they’re one child. Their motive behind keeping their true identities hidden remains a mystery in the beginning, but as their infallible plot begins to quickly unravel, the terrifying reason behind their deception becomes astonishingly clear…
And that’s it for our list of the greatest underrated anime of 2023! These anime may not have been among the most major titles released this past year, but that doesn’t make them any less worth watching. If you’re curious about the many other amazing anime that headlined in 2023, feel free to take a look at our other recommendations, like our “Best Shonen Anime of 2023” list!
The close of the year is a season of positivity, where the best of the last 12 months is awarded the praise and flowers it deserves. Critics publish Best of the Year lists, influencers post gift guides, families gather to send well wishes, and awards season heats up. What could be more fun than spreading some positive cheer to close out another long year?
Celebrating all the bad stuff, of course. The only thing better than telling people what we liked is complaining about what we hated, and there were plenty of duds to waste our time on in 2023, especially movies. One annual culprit, of course, is Netflix, purveyor of occasional hits and astronomical flops, whose bad movies, bloated with streaming money and dull performances from ultra-famous actors, are really bad.
We’ve picked ten of Netflix’s worst offerings in 2023 to highlight (read: avoid), from a dog in peril and a pair of bumbling comedy detectives to steely female spies and an entire body-swapped family. No genre, no beloved actor, no social issue was safe from Netflix this year, and its flops (one of which is allegedly its most-watched movie ever??) underscore the worst instincts of the streaming era. We can’t force you not to watch, or even love, any of these. We can only beg you.
The Worst Netflix Movies of 2023
All the Netflix movies of 2023 we won’t fondly remember.
The indispensable movie site and app Letterboxd currently lists 33,304 movies released in 2023. That’s a staggering amount of content. It would be physically impossible for someone to watch all of it in a single year — unless they somehow figured out a way to watch 91 movies every day for 365 straight days. (If someone does, let me know. That sounds like a great way to spend a year, to be honest.)
Part of what makes Letterboxd so useful is that when you what to look closely at those 33,304 movies, you can arrange and rearrange the titles in all sorts of ways; according to popularity, release date, runtime, and more. You can also look at all of the movies based on their ratings from users — seeing the films that have the highest average score (right now that’s Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce followed by Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) or the lowest average score.
Ah, the lowest scores. To see those, you go to “Films” in the top menu then click “Browse By Year” and choose “2020s.” Then at the next screen, click on “2023,” then go to “Sort By” and pick “Average Rating – Lowest First.” What you get when you do that is a wild mix of titles: Some fairly significant blockbusters, some tiny direct-to-video schlock, all united by just one thing: The users of Letterboxd said they stunk. Big time.
Here are the bottom 25 films of the year — out of 33,304 possible options! — according to those Letterboxd users. It’s current as of this writing, anyway. Hopefully we don’t have to update it to add Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on here in a few weeks.
The Worst Movies of 2023, According to Letterboxd
These 25 titles have the lowest average rating for 2023 titles on the social media movie website Letterboxd.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Great quotes can be inspirational and motivational. You can use quotes to help guide your decisions in life, work and love. Here are 50 of the best inspirational quotes to motivate you:
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”! — Audrey Hepburn
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. — Maya Angelou
Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. — Henry Ford
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. — Vince Lombardi
Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I react to it. — Charles Swindoll
If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. — Oprah Winfrey
None of us is as smart as all of us. — Ken Blanchard
I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. — Jimmy Dean
Believe you can and you’re halfway there. — Theodore Roosevelt
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. — Eleanor Roosevelt
Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears. — Les Brown
Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much. — Helen Keller
Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. — Napoleon Hill
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. — Mark Twain
I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. — Michael Jordan
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. — Albert Einstein
I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions. — Stephen Covey
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. –Henry Ford
The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. — Alice Walker
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. — Amelia Earhart
Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision, the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. — Andrew Carnegie
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. — Robert Louis Stevenson
The real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job. — Zig Ziglar
Change your thoughts and you change your world. — Norman Vincent Peale
There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures. — Josiah Gilbert Holland
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact. — William James
Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. — Farrah Gray
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. — Dalai Lama
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. — Maya Angelou
I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear. — Rosa Parks
I would rather die of passion than of boredom. — Vincent van Gogh
A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. — Unknown
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. — Albert Einstein
What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. — Bob Dylan
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. — Leonardo da Vinci
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. — Booker T. Washington
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me. — Erma Bombeck
The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket. — Will Rogers
Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart. — Ancient Indian Proverb
When I hear somebody sigh, “Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, “Compared to what?’” — Sydney Harris
Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see. — Confucius
Nurture your mind with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes. — Benjamin Disraeli
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. — John Lennon
The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. — Ronald Reagan
Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. —George Addair
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. —Plato
Nothing will work unless you do. —Maya Angelou
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples. —Mother Teresa
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. —Plutarch
As a movie and/or TV (and/or comic book) dork myself, I say this from experience: Movie and/or TV (and/or comic book) dorks are hard to shop for. Typically, they keep tabs on the things they might want (and plenty of things they don’t want) at all times. Very often, these are the people that are rushing out to buy things on the first day they go on sale. That leaves very little for the gift givers in their lives to choose from when the holidays roll around.
So a good gift guide for a movie and TV is worth its weight in beskar — which, by the way, if you’re buying gifts for a Star Wars fan, yes you can get replica beskar ingots, which would make a great paperweight or desk tchotchke. Below, I’ve collected ten fun ideas for fans of movies, TV, Star Wars, Star Trek, and more, all of which are available now, most of which are affordably priced, a few of which are downright cheap. There should be at least one thing on here to make any pop culture nerd you know happy. (All of them would make this specific pop culture nerd happy, if that matters to you.)
The list also includes links to where you can find all the items, in case you are in a real hurry to get something now now now. (And, again, knowing this demographic, it’s probably a good idea to get gifts sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the more likely it is they will just buy it for themselves.)
ScreenCrush 2023 Holiday Gift Guide
10 great gift ideas for the film or TV lover in your life.
The sequel to The Meg where a scientist attempts to train a giant prehistoric shark to obey his audio commands got a 27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. That Netflix movie Heart of Stonewhere Gal Gadot played a woman named Stone who works for an organization that follows instructions from an A.I. known as “The Heart”? 30 percent. Even that bizarre horror movie version of Winnie the Pooh got two positive reviews. (Not even just one! Two critics endorsed Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.)
So that is a way of saying: It is very easy to make a bad movie, but very hard to make a movie so universally hated that it receives zero good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Because this is not just one critics’ opinions, or their picks for the worst films of the year we’re talking about; this is a case where you need unanimous consensus among critics about something. And as the examples above suggest, some of the most universally disliked films in recent memory have their defenders.
So to achieve a perfect 0 score on Rotten Tomatoes is something of an achievement. Perhaps an ignoble achievement, but an achievement nonetheless, one perhaps just as hard or harder harder than receiving a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Below are 11 titles that were released to theaters, streaming, and home video during 2023 that have yet to receive a positive review of Rotten Tomatoes. At least so far! If they get one later, we’ll do our best to update the list. For now, these movies have proven that there is bad, there is really bad, and there is 0 on Rotten Tomatoes bad.
2023 Movies That Got a 0 on Rotten Tomatoes
These movies pulled off an impressive feat: They did not get a single positive review on Rotten Tomatoes.
The following post contains SPOILERS for The Marvels — insofar as it discusses things we cannot spoil because we cannot explain them. But it at least goes into the plot of the movie. So beware.
The Marvels — Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) — have their own team tagline: “Higher, further, faster.” And it certainly suits this trio of Marvel superheroes, who venture off into the deepest recesses of the galaxy in order to stop a vengeful Kree warlord named Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) from destroying Earth and assorted other corners of the cosmos.
You will note, however, that these heroes like to go “Higher, further, faster” and not necessarily “clearer” — which is kind of a shame. The Marvels goes higher, further, and faster for about 100 minutes (it’s the shortest MCU movie to date) and it moves so quickly that it might not be until after it’s over that viewers start to contemplate the fact that while it is full of energy, big adventure, eye-popping visuals, and some very charming performances, its plot contains more holes than outer space after Dar-Benn uses one of her Quantum Bands.
Hence the list below, which contains 12 of the plot holes or generally confusing aspects of the story that I am still stuck on a couple days after I saw The Marvels. (You can read my full review of the film here.) If you things you’ve got these mysteries solved, you’re more than welcome to let us know on social media.
Every Plot Hole and Unanswered Question From The Marvels
Here’s what we’re still thinking about after The Marvels…
Every Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
It started with Iron Man and it’s continued and expanded ever since. It’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 33 movies and counting. But what’s the best and the worst? We ranked them all.
It’s important to remember what a Rotten Tomatoes rating really represents: The average of a collection of individual scores from many different film critics. It is not a grade. It is not something determined by a group of critics who get together in a room and collectively decide on a number. It’s also not a measure of passion; on Rotten Tomatoes a 100 doesn’t mean a perfect movie. It means 100 percent of critics agree a movie is at least okay.
Some cinephiles hate Rotten Tomatoes. (I’ve met a few of them in my travels lately.) And that’s their perogative. Personally, I think if you understand what that Tomatometer number means, there’s always something interesting about it. (Maybe not as interesting as actually clicking through and reading some of the reviews that make up that number, but that’s a conversation for another time.)
For example, it is often fascinating to compare a Rotten Tomatoes score to the wider reputation of a movie online, especially as a title ages. Sometimes, a film that gets a middling response on its initial release grows into a classic. Other times, a movie becomes a monster hit and only later do people reflect and question what they saw in it in the first place.
Both scenarios can yield Rotten Tomatoes scores that are quite surprising. The 25 films below all fit the bill, whether because they hold a rating much higher — or much lower — than you would expect.
Movies With Surprising Rotten Tomatoes Scores
You might be shocked by the scores that these movies got from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
The narrator is often an unheralded character in movies, with their importance overshadowed by those who appear on screen. Nevertheless, great narration often can subtly help bring the story to life.
In film noir and neo-noir films like Sunset Blvd. and Alphaville, it helps the audience get into the heads of otherwise stoic characters as they think through mysteries. Through voice-over, dramas like Wings of Desire and Brief Encounter become not just visually poetic but linguistically as well. However, narrators do not always play their role in a film in the traditional sense. Some narrators are there to confuse and detract, like in Detour and Last Year at Marienbad, reminding viewers never to trust a narrator unequivocally.
Stacker researched films that use recurring narration or voice-over and have at least a 7.0 IMDb user rating or 70 Metascore. Additionally, the films had to have at least 2,500 votes. Organized chronologically, this collection of 30 films represents some of the best movies featuring narration found throughout cinematic history.
Read on to see which films—ranging from as early as the 1940s to as recent as 2022—made the list.
LOOK: The 30 Best Movies With Narration
Using data from IMDb and Metacritic, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated films featuring narration and voice-over.
Before the era of streaming services, TGIF and Must-See TV reigned supreme. In the 1990s, networks like ABC and NBC stocked up on comedies and realistic dramas, while relative newcomer Fox had its own arsenal of groundbreaking shows. Even cable networks like HBO and Cartoon Network started upping the ante with quality programming, marking a turning point in television history. Viewers had more options than ever to get their entertainment fix.
Stacker compiled data on all 1990s TV shows in English with over 7,500 votes on the Internet Movie Database and ranked the top 100 according to IMDb user score (as of February 2023), with ties broken by votes.
Do you remember the cop show that introduced (partial) nudity and crude language to primetime TV? Or the Nickelodeon show that launched the career of a future cast member of Saturday Night Live? How about the NBC crime drama that has had more spinoffs than there are presidents on Mount Rushmore? We include those shows and more, plus transcendent British comedies, genre-bending cartoons, and the sketch show that birthed the careers of many of the top comedians of the ’90s.
It is a testament to the power of ’90s TV that many of the shows on the list, while still holding up on their own, are being rebooted for newer generations. Each slide includes a hodgepodge of information like notable cast and crew, accolades won, the show’s legacy, and other interesting tidbits.
Continue reading to see if your favorite ’90s shows made the list.
LOOK: The 100 Best TV Shows From the ’90s
Stacker ranked the top 100 shows from the ’90s in English according to IMDb user score.
Many of the most well-loved and legendary film characters are inextricable from the actors who played them, so much so that it’s often impossible to imagine any other performer in the role.
Even remakes of cinematic classics have a difficult time filling the shoes of the original cast members, not because the actors in the newer version are untalented, but because it’s hard not to compare them to the originators of the roles. Is the quintessential couple in Sabrina Julia Ormond opposite Harrison Ford from 1995, or is it Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in the original 1954 version? Could Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka truly fill out the purple jacket and top hat as well as Gene Wilder did?
Finding the right actor to breathe life into a role is a true challenge—one that can mean accolades and a revered place in movie history or being forgotten in the endless shuffle of Hollywood. Not only does casting mean finding the perfect actor to play a part, but navigating the morass of shoot schedules, contract conflicts, and disagreements between directors and studios as well.
Oftentimes, the actors who ended up in career-defining roles were not the first—or even the second—choices of the directors, yet they were lucky enough to be available at the right time with no major issues from other big names attached to the project. Once a movie has launched and released, however, the best actors for the roles have made it hard to imagine anyone else in their place. Could there be any Pretty Woman other than Julia Roberts? Would The Matrix be the same without Keanu Reeves?
These pivotal casting decisions affect not only film history, but also the real lives of the actors, shaping their career trajectories and even, on occasion, introducing them to future romantic partners. Stacker compiled a list of 25 iconic movie roles that almost went to other famous actors—and the stories behind these choices—using film databases and news reports.
WHAT IF: 25 Iconic Movie Roles That Almost Went to Other Actors
Stacker compiled a list of 25 iconic movie roles that were almost played by other famous actors using film databases and news reports.
Television networks and streaming services are always scouring foreign production companies’ big hits and attempting to scoop up the rights and make their own version. Sometimes they end up with hits, like The Office, one of the most popular American shows of all time which was itself based on a British series that was equally popular (but not as long-running) in its home country. Reality competition shows like Dancing with the Stars and American Ninja Warrior (imports from the U.K. and Japan, respectively) are as inescapable as dramas like Homeland (based on Israeli series Prisoners of War) and Survivor (based on Swedish show Expedition Robinson).
But, sometimes—statistically, most of the time—foreign hits just don’t translate to American successes. Maybe the humor just doesn’t work, or the content isn’t something Americans are interested in, or a competition or sport that’s popular in another country just doesn’t break big over here. Whatever the reason, the history of TV is full of flop adaptations, as well as one or two just as awful successes, that remind us to think twice whenever we get the notion that what’s popular over there could take off over here. Some of these might be surprising—Did you know The Slap was originally an Australian show??—while others, like Coupling or The Inbetweeners, you may shudder to remember. We apologize in advance to any fans of The Good Doctor.
The 10 Worst American Remakes of Foreign TV Shows
They may have been hits overseas, but the Americanized versions just didn’t translate.
Rejoice movie lovers: A new Martin Scorsese picture has arrived.
His latest film is Killers of the Flower Moon, based on the shocking true story (and non-fiction book by David Grann) about a series of murders and mysterious deaths in 1920s Oklahoma, all of which centered around the members of the Osage tribe. Pushed out of their previous home and dumped on this supposedly worthless property in Oklahoma, they instead found their new land was sitting on top of a massive oil deposit — and thus were systematically targeted by their white neighbors because of the invaluable mineral rights. Scorsese’s film is not simply a mystery; it’s nothing less than a sweeping consideration of a dark chapter of American history and the corrupting influence of money and power — and possibly even a love story between two people at center of all of this violence: Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone).
Killers of the Flower Moon is three and a half hours of pure Scorsese, full of all of his favorite themes, filtered through the perspective of a man nearing the end of his career. As part of our excitement about having a new Scorsese movie to talk about, and because Killers of the Flower Moon really does feel like the conclusion of an artistic statement spread across decades of work, today felt like the best time to look back at this great filmmaker’s career and rank all of his movies. Where does this timely, powerful epic rank among all the other timely, powerful epics he’s made through the years? (The dude’s made a bunch of timely, powerful epics. It’s kind of his thing.)
Keep in mind the list that follows is just of his fiction features; it seemed weird and hard to compare, say, The Last Waltz to something like The Wolf of Wall Street. And there are enough Scorsese documentaries, particularly when you factor in the shorts and films he’s made for television, that they really deserve their own list. We’ll get to that another time; for now, here is every Martin Scorsese fiction film, ranked from worst to best:
Every Martin Scorsese Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best
