Movie Jail: This week's defendant is...Tarsem Singh!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

This is Movie Jail, a unique maximum security prison that houses some of the worst writers, directors, actors and producers from Hollywood and beyond. Their crimes? The offenses vary from convict to convict but most of these inmates have contributed negatively to the film world to some capacity* and his or her misdeeds have covered a long enough period of time that the authorities had to intervene. In each column a defendant is put on trial, arguments are made, and then it is up to YOU, the jury, to decide if the person is guilty or not guilty of crimes against cinema. Their lives are in your hands, dude.

The Defendant

The Case

The Prosecution: Self/Less, Mirror Mirror, Immortals

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Tarsem Singh first got his start directing well-received music videos and commercials before making his feature film directorial debut with 2000's The Cell, a flawed but still solid movie. However, his projects since 2006's The Fall haven't done well critically, and his latest film Self/Less was destroyed by critics.

Critics have never been too high on the director's movies though,withThe Fall being the only one close to having a fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. There's no denying that Mr. Singh knows how to make a trippy looking film, but as you know, stunning visuals don't make a great movie; sorry, Immortals fans. Part of the problem is he hasn't been working from the best scripts, and The Fall is the only one he helped write. One might argue that gets him off the hook, but in the prosecution's opinion, he needs to be hooking up with better screenplays.

Since Mr. Singh has only been behind the camera for five big screen projects, the prosecution isn't seeking a life sentence, but we believe he should serve a few months behind bars for his recent weak directorial efforts.

The Defense: Immortals, The Fall, The Cell

Ladies and gentlemen, so based on the prosecution's logic, we're supposed to lock up a director just because his films as of late haven't received critical acclaim? The only truly awful movie on his filmography is Self/Less, and although Mirror Mirror wasn't fantastic, the defense would still take it over Snow White and the Huntsman. And screw the prosecution; Immortals was awesome.

My client certainly has an eye for visuals, and the defense believes he still has a ton of potential. Can you imagine what he could do with a straight up horror film, or a comic book movie, like the upcoming threequel Thor: Ragnarok? The defense understands this about what Mr. Sing has done and not what he could do, but with only five movies under his belt, we think he still has plenty left to offer as a director.

The defense would rather see Mr. Singh continue to make movies than not, and we believe that the jury will feel the same way. He just doesn't deserve to go to Movie Jail, even with the mostly negative reviews for his newest movie.

IN CLOSING…

Are you still confident in Mr. Singh's abilities as a director, or do you think he should serve some jail time for his recent output? Does he belong in Movie Jail, or does he just need to stop working from bad scripts? Is filmmaker Tarsem Singh GUILTY or NOT GUILTY?

*The cases for and against a defendant going to Movie Jail by the author are not necessarily his views and opinions but they are some of the beliefs that one would use to effectively make an argument for both sides. Not quite a devil's advocate but you get the point. Anyway, this is all in fun so don't take it too seriously. We have a separate jail for those people called "Troll Tower" and believe me you do NOT want to go there.

WHAT SAY YOU, GUILTY OR NOT?

LAST WEEK'S VERDICT

Sharon Stone is (almost) just as hot as she was during her peak years in the 1990s, however her looks weren't enough to stave off a prison term. The Basic Instinct star was found GUILTY of all charges in last week's trial, but since it was close, the court is open to paroling the actress if she can keep her nose clean and starts to land quality movie roles again.

PREVIOUS VERDICTS

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