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# The good, the bad and the ugly of this year’s cinema
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-this-years-cinema-2/
- Published: 2003-12-31T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:25:50.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

There are bad films, really bad films, and then there is “Chasing Papi,” which tops my list of the cinematic slop of 2003\. Though touted as a comedy about a three-timing Lothario (Eduardo Verastegui) who women inexplicably find irresistible, “Papi” is instead spectacularly unfunny and surely one of the most unnecessary movies ever made. Just when I thought I’d recovered from the trauma of seeing Antonio Sabato Jr. in “Code Name: Wolverine,” along comes Verastegui who, to his credit, at least had the decency to be unconscious for half the film. Ah, but misery loves company, and “Papi” had plenty of it this year: 1)“Chasing Papi” During a press screening in Los Angeles, I saw something I’d never seen before — a disgusted critic got up and walked out halfway through the film. And I’ve got to tell you, folks, every other person in the theater envied that critic. 2) “Gigli” I was mindful of the bad buzz surrounding this movie prior to screening the film. Still I went in with an open mind and assumed it couldn’t possibly be as bas as advertised. I was wrong. “Gigli” is that bad. Maybe worse. 3) “The Cat In The Hat” The cinematic equivalent of a massive flea infestation. For the crime they committed against Dr. Seuss’ compact classic, everyone associated with the film should be neutered without anesthesia. 4) “The Medallion” Filmmaking at its reason-defying worst. Folks, “The Medallion” is a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad movie — an opinion I simply cannot underscore enough. But I laughed at it. I laughed a lot. Nervous, uncomfortable laughter at first. Then a series of “Can you believe they made this crap?” giggles. And finally, I roared near the end of the film after my date joked that the only thing missing from all the new, well-appointed multiplexes were barf bags for use in case of unexpected turbulence or “The Medallion.” 5) “Basic” If you thought 12th-grade calculus was hard, just try wrapping your head around this disjointed murder-mystery. This military flick starring John Travolta could be the most convoluted 95 minutes of head-scratching imbroglio ever committed to celluloid. This is a whodunnit that left audiences wondering whytheydiddit.

DISHONORABLE MENTION: “Bulletproof Monk,” “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd,” “Head of State,” “Daredevil,” “Dreamcatcher,” “Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” and “Cradle 2 The Grave.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 31, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/123103.pdf?ref=smdp.com)