In this Herald blog, I pick five recent movies that received an overwhelmingly negative reception, and argue for their value. I don’t go too deeply into why they are good, so you’re pretty much just going to have to take my word for it.

The way films are so immediately and widely received these days makes it harder than ever for certain movies to escape from under a cloud of hasty judgement and find the audience they were made for.

Here I am going to cite five recent movies that received an overwhelmingly negative response (both critically and commercially) and argue for why they shouldn’t be dismissed outright.

Disclaimer: I love movies. I mean, I really love them. There’s no two ways about it. I’ve written more than my fair share of negative reviews, but I still believe that films are a more subjective experience than popular culture often wants to admit.

Which is to say: forget what everybody else thinks (except for me), and give these duds a chance.