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: Sabotage, Wrath of the Titans, Man on a Ledge, Clash of the Titans, Terminator: Salvation
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, while several of Sam Worthington's films have done well at the box office, very few have received great reviews from critics, and they haven't had fantastic things to say about the actor either. Only one of Mr. Worthington's post-Avatar movies has a fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes (The Debt), and in the prosecution's opinion, he just isn't a strong actor.
For example, take Mr. Worthington's Clash of the Titans and its sequel Wrath of the Titans. It's not like anyone went into either film expecting an amazing performance from Mr. Worthington, but we believe he was the weakest part of both movies. The prosecution also thought Mr. Worthington was pretty bland in Terminator: Salvation, and was just as unmemorable in Man on a Ledge and Sabotage as well.
Mr. Worthington hasn't been mailing in his performances, but they do make the prosecution wonder why James Cameron decided to cast him in Avatar. Mr. Worthington's mediocre-to-bad performances and his mostly terrible projects are why he's up for Movie Jail, and the prosecution is confident the jury will agree that's where he belongs.
The Defense: Drift, Texas Killing Fields, Last Night, The Debt, Avatar, The Great Raid, Somersault
Ladies and gentlemen, my client's movies since Avatar haven't all been winners, but the defense doesn't think Mr. Worthington is an awful actor who deserves to go to Movie Jail. Perhaps a serviceable actor and not a great one, however that doesn't mean we should toss him in prison.
Although Mr. Worthington has appeared in a bunch of action flicks, he has dabbled in other genres, and the defense thought he did just fine in films like The Debt and Drift. The prosecution didn't like his performance in Sabotage, however we thought he was great in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, even though he didn't have much to do in the film.
The defense knows there are many who don't care for my client, and it might sound like we're not too high on the actor since we're using words like "serviceable" to describe him, but perhaps all Mr. Worthington needs is the right role prove he's more than just an "ok" actor who lucked out with Avatar. Don't forget, it wasn't too long ago that people were calling for Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey's heads for their films, and the defense believes Mr. Worthington could turn things around like those actors with an awesome performance.
IN CLOSING…
Do you think Mr. Worthington is a vapid actor who should be locked up, or should we give him a few more chances? I ask you, the jury, is Sam Worthington 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. Anyways, 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
The jury couldn't agree on a verdict in last week's trial of Shawn Levy, so the court has decided NOT to send him to Movie Jail. Maybe we'll do an update on Mr. Levy after the release of his Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (or his dreadful sounding Tinkerbell project starring Melissa McCarthy), and hopefully next time the jury will be able to figure out what we should do with the director.
PREVIOUS VERDICTS
GUILTY Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Vince Vaughn, Tim Burton, The Farrelly Brothers, Michael Bay, Jessica Alba, Ice Cube, Gerard Butler, Halle Berry, Marlon Wayans, Julia Roberts, M. Night Shyamalan , Katherine Heigl , Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tyler Perry, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Ashton Kutcher, Happy Madison Productions, Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Willis, Paul W.S. Anderson, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brett Ratner, Rob Cohen, Renee Zellweger, Shia LaBeouf, Renny Harlin, Diane Keaton, McG, Demi Moore, King Joffrey (Game of Thrones Special), David Spade, Spike Lee, Kevin James, Joel Schumacher, Ehren Kruger, Chris Rock, Mark Steven Johnson, Mickey Rourke, Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman, Josh Duhamel, Saw Franchise (Halloween Edition), Zach Braff
NOT GUILTY Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Nic Cage, John Travolta, Oliver Stone, Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Wes Craven, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Rodriguez, Kristen Stewart, Roland Emmerich, Kevin Costner, Sandra Bullock, Hilary Swank, Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Kevin Smith, Channing Tatum, Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Anna Faris, Robin Williams, Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, Paul Walker, Will Smith, Salma Hayek, Michael Cera, Johnny Depp, Ryan Reynolds, Milla Jovovich, John Singleton, Jon Voight, Jack Black, Brian De Palma, Jerry Bruckheimer, Nicole Kidman, Justin Timberlake, Freddy Krueger (Halloween Edition), Johnny Knoxville, Orlando Bloom, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dan Aykroyd, Sylvester Stallone, Gavin Hood, Jason Lee, Jennifer Garner, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, Chris Columbus, Clive Owen, Terrence Howard, Andrew Niccol, Drew Barrymore, Steve Martin, Joel Silver, Michelle Rodriguez, Kiefer Sutherland, Dario Argento, Susan Sarandon, Dennis Quaid, Rob Reiner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mel Gibson, Pierce Brosnan, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman, Ivan Reitman, Stephen Sommers, Shawn Levy
UPDATES: Robert De Niro, Nicolas Cage and Roland Emmerich, Jim Carrey, Robert Rodriguez and Gerard Butler