Manic Expression

Guilty pleasures; things we like even though we know we should not. This can be applied to mulitple mediums, but for this article I will be listing the ones I have in regards to film. It should be noted that even though this is a Top 10 list; these films will not be organised it terms of how much I like them, but by how little I can defend liking them.

So without further ado, here is...

Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Films

10. Star Trek Generations

The first film outing of the Star Trek: TNG cast was a big disappointment. There was no narrative, major plot holes, and character flaws. That being said, the visual effects are rather impressive and I felt it had some really good ideas. However, the main reason I like it anyway is that it has the charm of it being TNG first film that keeps me invested. From every other perspective I should not care, but the presence of the cast makes me want to anyway.

9. Batman Forever

This film is for the most part reallyboring; it was slow-moving, over-plotted, and had Val Kilmer (or as I call him Val Blander) as the most forgetable person to play Batman. While the visuals are good from a technical standpoint, they are out of context given the already established franchise. However, I am willing to sit through all of that for the incredibly enjoyable performances of both Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones. Some found them annoying, I just had a lot of fun.

8. Rocky IV

This franchise continued to rehash its own story and throw ridiculous dramatics to try and cover that up and this is no exception. Some of you may ask "Why do you like this then?" The answer is that I liked those dramatics in this film. It has such a high energy and fast pace that I can not help but fall in love with it for its effort, even though it is just another "black mark" on Sylvester Stallone's resume. Speaking of whom...

7. Rambo III

THE FILM COULD NOT EVEN GET ITS OWN TITLE RIGHT! Alright, I should state that I have only faint memories of this film and that is why you should take what I say with some reservations on this. However, I enjoy this film as an over-the-top B movie for its...well...over-the-top B movie action. Wow! that was anti-climatic, moving on.

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze

I actually had a lot of repect for the first live-action TMNT film, the sequel is another story. While the great puppetering and fight scenes from the first film are still intact, everything else is not. The darker edge of the first installment is gone with an overly goofy tone and dumb plot points as well (Vanilla Ice really !?!). However, they make up for it (as far as I'm concerned) by INCEASING the amount of martial-arts sequences and INCREASING the amount of puppetering. I even like the Ninja Rap (DON'T JUDGE ME!).

5. Freaky Friday (remake)

This for the most part just another bland remake. Let's make a list shall we: there's the bland story, bland plot, bland characters, and bland Lindsay Lohan (okay, that last one is not common in remakes but I still felt like pointing that out). The one thing that saves the day is... Jamie Lee Curtis! She has such strong comedic timing that even though nothing she says is really funny, but she can make you laugh anyway.

4. Ghost Rider

This is REALLY bad! The tone is incredibly uneven, it is over reliant on CGI and the supporting cast is sub-par. Albeit; there are a few good action set pieces, but the only really good quality this film has is Nicolas Cage. His quirky performance is just plain awesome and I enjoyed every minute. Ooh, and Peter Fonda is in it.

3. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Bland plot + bland action + bland acting = bland movie. To make matters worse, it has very little to do with the source material. What sets it apart for me is that I do enjoy watching all these famous literary character working off each other, and more importantly it has Sean Connery in his last film role. I REPEAT IT HAS SEAN CONNERY, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT !?!

2. Power Rangers: The Movie

Both this film and the tv show its based on are INCREDIBLY over-the-top and corny. Even as a fan of the tv show I should hate it since the main villains from the show are put in the background, and the overall story is basically just a long episode. However; it is so deeply rooted in my childhood, and brings back so many good memories I can't hate this. I love this film, even for its flaws.

1. Mamma Mia

This film fails on multiple levels. The cinematography is sloppy, the script is formulaic, with some of the worst miscasting imaginable. We have Peirce Brosnan who can not sing to save his life, we have Colin Firth who can not dance to save his life, and Meryl Streep making a fool of herself. However, it makes me happy. The tone and the songs are upbeat, poorly done but still upbeat, and I am such a sucker for that I end up singing MAMMA MIA I LOVE THIS FILM!

There is my list, I hope you enjoy it... or enjoy that I enjoy it.