(Just Communication is an ongoing series of opinion pieces written by the author of Red Comet Reviews.)

I have a confession to make: I love bad movies.

I don’t mean to say that I enjoy movies indiscriminately, or that I actively wish for the ones I’m watching to be bad. But sometimes, I find myself in the middle of a more-or-less objectively terrible film that, through some stroke of inspiration or madness, ends up being just as entertaining to me as a legitimately good one.

I’ve been meaning to share this for a long time – a list of my top five ironic favorites, along with brief justifications for each entry. Think of it as a kind of reverse Criterion Collection.

Selections appear after the break.

5. Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Probably the closest thing on this list to an actual good movie. I genuinely admire Jupiter Ascending for how wildly ambitious it tries to be – here is a story with roots that span aeons and galaxies; a complex sci-fi game of thrones that absolutely has big-time franchise potential. The film is built up even further by its art design, all floating space palaces and fantastical creatures; and what is, at first glance, an all-star cast. But while the film reaches for such great heights, the real fun is in watching it fall from them. Ultimately, nothing it brings to the table can balance out the awful dialogue, baffling plot decisions, incomprehensible action scenes, or the worst performance of Eddie Redmayne’s life. Still, as an example of something only the Wachowskis would even dare to make, it’s worth taking the time to see.

4. The Twilight Saga : Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
The one Twilight production that actually seems to be aware of its own awfulness. It’s evident in the cast’s world-weary faces; in the way the most awful lines are the ones delivered most passionately; in how the camera lovingly lingers over many a disastrous scene, making no attempts whatsoever to conceal the embarrassingly bad CGI. It’s funny enough to watch everyone on screen suffer through an existential crisis together, but then the film goes one better. Towards the end, director Bill Condon serves up one of the most legitimately awesome movie fight scenes of 2012, before pulling the rug out from under the audience in the cheekiest way imaginable. A masterpiece of professional trolling.

3. Troll 2 (1990)
A movie so hauntingly awful that an award-winning documentary was made just to try and explain it. Of course it would be on this list! There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said about this cult classic. I guess I should mention that my favorite parts are the infamous “OH MY GAWWWD!!” line and the scene where the evil witch tries to seduce a teenager with an ear of corn. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Now you see what you’re missing!)

2. The Big Hit (1998)
Never have a film’s perceptions been further from reality than in this weird action/comedy about the adventures of Melvin Smiley, a hitman with a pathological need to be loved. Leading man Mark Wahlberg seems convinced that he’s totally nailing the elusive “sensitive badass” archetype, but he’s hilariously wrong. John Woo’s name appears in the opening credits, but any hope for a great action scene is dashed after the first one, which plays out as a nonsensical, visually confusing mess. There are comedy bits, too – many of them misguided – and the film can’t ever decide how much it wants to be taken seriously. All of this culminates in what is hands-down the most awkward, uncomfortable, and gross “romantic” scene in cinematic history, as Melvin flirts with one of his marks, a cute Chinese girl, over a turkey dinner. It’s a must-see, although the memory of it will haunt your soul forever. The real treasure, though, is Lou Diamond Phillips, who gives this film what it deserves with the scenery-chewing performance of the decade.

1. Dancin’ It’s On (2015)
A new classic of bad cinema, Dancin’ resembles the legendary Plan 9 from Outer Space in the way it combines earnest attempts to entertain with a complete and utter lack of competence. Not even two minutes in, when the title card (lovingly rendered in MS Paint) flashes across the grainy establishing shot, it becomes obvious that this is something special. Over its 90-minute run time, the film features bad acting (maybe the worst ever), inappropriate relationships, bizarre tourism montages, grating music, confusing wardrobe choices, awkward sub-plots, and much, much more. Literally every element is as baffling as it is hilarious. Characters forget things they said to each other just moments earlier. The key love song is about lesbians for some reason. There’s someone called The Captain who hands out sage advice while break-dancing. I could go on about this movie for hours – there are layers and nuance to this misguided masterpiece, which legitimately entertained me as much as any other film I saw in theaters last year. It comes with my highest recommendation.

So there you have it. I hope, dear reader, that you’ll consider watching some of these films, or sharing your own favorites from the garbage pile. After all, as a certain recent superhero blockbuster has reminded me, sometimes a bad film can be just as thought-provoking and worthwhile as a traditionally good one.