'Happening' leads list of 2008's bad flicks

At the risk of repeating myself: 2008 was not my favorite year for movies.

In fact, I could have filled several sections of this paper by discussing all the truly awful films I saw during the calendar year.

Who would really want to read that, though?

Anyway, no other movie infuriated and frustrated me as much as "The Happening."

M. Night Shyamalan's environmental horror-parable was unbelievably heavy-handed, even by his standards. And the performances by the human cast were more wooden than the film's seemingly murderous plants and trees.

While I'm at it, here is my full list of the nearly two dozen, 2008 films that I genuinely loathed:

1. "The Happening"

Did screenwriter/director Shyamalan really intend this movie to be that funny?

2. "The Spirit"

"Sin City" creator Frank Miller turned Will Eisner's beloved comics creation into a wretched, unfunny comedy of sorts.

3. "Meet Dave"

And any goodwill Eddie Murphy engendered after "Dreamgirls" went right out the door…

4. "Everybody Wants to be Italian"

Everyone who was unlucky enough to see this film wanted their money back.

5. "The Love Guru"

Comedy fans should have joined in the protests against this ethnically insensitive, Mike Myers monstrosity.

6. "Four Christmases"

Stars Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon supposedly wanted to kill each other making this alleged comedy. If you see it, you'll understand why.

7. "Delgo"

An animated bust that starred the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Let that one sink in.

8 (tie). "Hancock" and "Seven Pounds"

After seeing these two Will Smith stinkers, suddenly "Wild Wild West" (1999) didn't look so bad after all.

10. "Sex and the City"

It was bad enough making husbands and boyfriends sit through this tasteless nonsense with their respective others — but did it really have to be 2½ hours long?

The Rest of the Worst (in alphabetical order): "An American Carol," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" "Miracle at St. Anna," "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "Punisher: War Zone," "Speed Racer," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "What Happens in Vegas," "X-Files: I Want to Believe."

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com