The movies listed here may have sounded like a good idea at some point in time. Which producer wouldn't mortgage their homes to finance a screen adaptation of a popular L. Ron Hubbard novel starring John Travolta and Forrest Whitaker? How about a low-budget black urban comedy? These movies traditionally make money, so why not? Of course, no one sets out to make a bad movie. It's just that for a variety of reasons, the movie on paper is not the movie on the screen, and as a result, everyone involved is short-changed, from the filmmakers to the moviegoers.

It's interesting to note that John Travolta and Kim Basinger had a really bad year. For Travolta, Battlefield Earth (6%) came out in early May, but the movie tanked at the box office and set a new standard movie-making low. Yes, Battlefield Earth is that bad. Then in October, his comedy Lucky Numbers (20%), with Lisa Kudrow, opened to a cold reception. It was easier to win the lottery than to find someone willing to sit through this movie.

For I Dreamed of Africa (8%), Kim Basinger braved the wildlife of Africa and primitive personal hygiene to bring this true story to the screen. Unfortunately, no one was interested when it was playing in the theaters. Then, in August, the unexceptional Bless the Child (6%) failed to generate any business at the box office and was quickly forgotten.

As bad as those movie are, this year's Rotten Tomato Award goes to none other than 3 Strikes (0%), a black urban comedy about a criminal who has two strikes against him and a third one looming that could put him behind bars for good. 3 Strikes has the distinction of not having any recommendations out of 23 critics who reviewed it. As Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly points out in her review, "you may find yourself fanning the air much as Uncle Jim's family does when the old coot lets one rip." Take this one to heart and stay away when you pass by it on the video shelves. While you're at it, you may want to stay away from the rest of the finalists in this category, too.

Please note that since the time of the RT Awards, the scores may have fluctuated due to new reviews being posted.

Number of Movies: 25    Average Tomatometer: 10 %

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