As we enter the season of list-making and superlative-giving, it's worth sparing a thought for those lone voices of dissent.
Because not everyone loved Boyhood. True story.
We've gone through some of the year's most adored films and found the rare critics who failed to share in the pleasure. Let us know if any of these films left you cold. There's no judgement here.
(Images: All Star)
The LEGO Movie
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
"...more exhausting than fun, too unsure of itself to stick with any story thread for too long."
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Nightcrawler
Rotten Tomateos rating: 95%
"Gyllenhaal’s whompingly one-note performance tells you all you need to know. He’s veh-ry skerrrr-y, kiddies — ahwoooooooo!"
David Edelstein, Vulture
The Babadook
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%
"...it's hard to see what all the fuss is about...it feels awfully familiar and surprisingly tame by the time it reaches an anti-climax of an ending."
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%
"This meticulously appointed dollhouse of a movie just went on and on, making me want to smash many miniature plates of plaster food in frustration."
Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice
Mr. Turner
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
"Lottery money has allowed Leigh to hoist his production values sky high. I suspect, it has also allowed him to ignore the needs of the vast majority of the people who buy the tickets."
Andy Lea, Daily Star
Two Days, One Night
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%
"An old-fashioned social-problem film where the problem magically evaporates."
Budd Wilkins, Slant
Pride
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%
"...a simplistic, featherweight cornball...the makers rely on the clichés we see in way too many light-as-a-feather British comedy-dramas"
David Edwards, Daily Mirror
Guardians of the Galaxy
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 90%
"It all goes by as slowly as an IRS audit because there’s no suspense...Guardians of the Galaxy brings to mind some of the most unforgettable sci-fi event movies of the last 30 years. Alas, those films are Howard the Duck and Green Lantern"
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Boyhood
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 99%
"Linklater’s bland imagery and presumed “realism” make Boyhood’s running time excessive. It raises that old mumblecore problem: Can a hipster also be banal?"
Armond White, National Review
Frank
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%
"...the mash-up of elements combine with a singularly unpleasant roster of characters to create a work of genuinely off-putting quirkiness."
Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter
