Made in Britain, remade in America

Worst: “Great Expectations”

The negative flip side to “Clueless,” this is what happens when a classic literary work—in this case, Charles Dickens’ tale of an impoverished boy’s rise to fortune and yearning for his true love—is transposed to the modern era with no compelling justification beyond a desire to appeal to “kids today.” Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow have done good work before and since, but here they’re at their most insufferably faux-moody as Dickens’ star-crossed lovers. Surprisingly, this misfire was directed by the otherwise reliable Alfonso Cuarón ("Children of Men," "Y tu mamá también).