Quote of the Day (April 23, 2008)

We've already hit Arrested Development and Flight of the Conchords, tv shows that everyone at the QOTD bureau loves very much. But it's time to start expanding our horizons to the fine art of cinematic criticism. For what do we love more than the combination of a little Joe Queenan snark and the topic of the worst movies ever made.

He concludes that Heaven's Gate, the 1980 Michael Cimino movie that's not at all about this guy --

is the worst movie ever, beating out QOTD favorites like Battlefield Earth, Mitchell and Rollerball. But what really touched us was his idealistic mission statement:

"Several years ago, I read that a movie about a blind dental technician and a paraplegic athlete who enter a white-water rafting competition was playing at a cinema near me. I immediately bought a ticket for Good Luck, enthralled at the idea of seeing what figured to be one of the worst movies ever made. To be honest, that is the reason I became a critic in the first place; criticism seemed to be a way to channel my unwholesome fascination with train wrecks and fires into a socially acceptable framework. The truth is, every time I go to the pictures, I get goose bumps all over, anticipating that this, after all these years, could be the worst movie ever made."

--Joe Queenan, The Guardian, "From Hell", March 21, 2008