What a disaster. Jamie Foxx is such a fine actor that matching him up with Quvenzhané Wallis (who was Oscar nominated for her role in 2012’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” at the age of 9) to modernize the beloved stage musical “Annie” sounds promising. On paper. What’s onscreen feels squeezed, dull and curiously lifeless. It’s got no kick to it. The 1982 adaptation directed by John Huston and starring the great Albert Finney wasn’t great at all, but it was charming and entertaining (still is). The 2014 version is the complete opposite. You know the story by now: Annie is a foster kid who was abandoned by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday. One day she meets the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) and in order to boost his campaign, he takes her in. What happens next will either 1) put you to sleep or 2) make you beg for mercy. There’s no grandeur here. No excitement. No heart. No spirit. Hell even the singing made my ears bleed. The new “Annie” just lies there like old news that’s not worth a second thought. I can’t think of a worse Christmas gift than a ticket to see this turd.

Rating: 1.5/4