Atlanta-made movies make list of worst-reviewed in 2015

By Jennifer Brett

Georgia’s booming film industry churns out lots of winners – “Mockingjay part 2” and part 1 and “Catching Fire” before it, “Selma” and “Goosebumps,” to name a few. But some movies filmed here don’t do so hot and a number of locally produced projects have landed on movie review site Rotten Tomatoes’ list of flicks that flopped this year.

“Taken 3,” with Liam Neeson earned a sad 9 percent approval rating on the “Tomato-meter” (a calculation that represents the number of critics who give a movie a positive review) and this harsh verdict: “Hampered by toothless PG-13 action sequences, incoherent direction, and a hackneyed plot, ‘Taken 3’ serves as a clear signal that it’s well past time to retire this franchise.”

“Vacation,” the reboot starring Ed Helms and Christina Applegate with Chris Hemsworth in a ridiculously raunchy role, earned a somewhat better 27 percent rating. But even cameos by Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo failed to warm critics to the project. “Borrowing a basic storyline from the film that inspired it but forgetting the charm, wit, and heart, ‘Vacation’ is yet another nostalgia-driven retread that misses the mark,” was the RT critic consensus.

“Lila & Eve” earned a 36 percent rating. In the words of one critic, the drama starring Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez “deteriorates into a tawdry shoot-’em-up whose screenplay takes an ill-advised surreal twist that propels the movie deep into the ozone.”

“A Walk in the Woods” with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte earned a 44 percent rating. Not terrible but not great, either. Much like the film itself. Critic consensus: “Amiable yet less compelling than any road trip movie starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte should be, ‘A Walk in the Woods’ is ultimately a bit too pedestrian.”