I think there are two kinds of bad movies.

The first is the kind that can’t help but be bad. The second kind of bad movie is the one that doesn’t even care.

“New Year’s Eve” falls firmly into that second category. The latest from director Garry Marshall is a completely uninteresting excursion that features a parade of familiar faces given absolutely nothing to do. It’s like someone took all the worst parts of a Katherine Heigl romantic comedy and meshed it into one giant ball of garbage.

Speaking of Heigl, there she is as a caterer who comes face to face with her former boyfriend (Jon Bon Jovi), a musician who left her shortly after their engagement.

This is just one of a multitude of meaningless plot threads – ranging from Seth Meyers and Jessica Biel as an expecting couple who get into a competition with another couple to try to have the year’s first child, to Robert DeNiro as a dying man, to Michelle Pfeiffer as a mousy assistant who enlists the help of a young courier (Zac Effron) to help her complete her list of resolutions.

The cast also includes Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Ashton Kutcher, Ludacris, Sarah Jessica Parker and pretty much anyone else who happened to walk in on the set during filming.

If this all sounds familiar, well it is. Marshall has already done this before, with equally awful results, in last year’s “Valentine’s Day.” Like that mess of a movie, this is one big product placement for Hallmark greeting cards, with people reciting dialogue that never comes up in a normal conversation stuck in stories that feel like they were rejected from the 1970s TV series “Love American Style.”

In a year that has seen “Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and Jill” and “Bucky Larson,” this is actually worse. I guess I shouldn’t take it personally, though. Clearly no one involved with this project cared. Why should I?

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is “Margin Call” (B) – an engaging look at the start of the current financial crisis. Writer/director J.C. Chandor’s film has the confidence of Steven Soderbergh, with dialogue that rivals a David Mamet script.

Boasting an electric cast and some compelling writing, “Margin Call” takes place in a 24-hour period at a Goldman Sachs-type investment firm in New York. When longtime employee Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci) is fired, he leaves a project for Peter (Zachary Quinto) – a former rocket scientist who is now a lower-level finance adviser – to look over.

Peter quickly realizes that the project is a report of financial doom for the company, leading many higher-ups to gather and determine how to limit their own losses before the company comes crumbling down.

The stellar cast includes Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Demi Moore and Jeremy Irons as the head of the company. The scene where Irons is first briefed on the situation is fascinating, with the Academy Award winner commanding the room in impressive fashion.

Tucci and Spacey also have some good moments, with Quinto providing solid work as the moral center of the piece.

The screenplay sizzles with smart dialogue that reminded me of Mamet. You wouldn’t think a film where the characters talk a lot about the market and numbers would be so interesting, but it works here for the most part.

The strong script is also a burden, with the film getting a little too soap-boxy at times, but the positive moments more than make up for the lulls.

“Margin Call” is rated R for language and will be available Tuesday on DVD.

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– To get sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Compton’s up-to-the minute thoughts on all things movies, visit his blog at http://mcompton.wordpress.com or his Twitter page at twitter.com/mcompton428. You can also email him at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.