The Happening

Prophecy · Post by **Prophecy** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:37 pm

"Wow what a twist!"

Vlad Analogue · Post by **Vlad Analogue** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 12:17 pm

flick was laughably awful. I can't believe I paid for this shit.

Trademark · Post by **Trademark** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:12 pm

an-also wrote:
still illiterate wrote:so I just got back from this.

The acting in this is awful. Marky Mark shouldn't be in movies like this. The female lead(zooey deschanel??) could play a great heroin addict or coma patient, but not a human being. awful casting. John Leguizamo was great in this, but his role is pretty minor.

the story is interesting. something is making people kill themselves. In pretty cool ways actually, driving cars into trees, feeding themselves to lions, etc. But the more information we get, the sillier the whole idea becomes. I mean I understand what he was trying to do, add mystery to the whole confusing situation. But it just doesn't work. I feel like he was trying to make an old timey scare movie where a mundane object/situation mixed with confusion scares the shit out of you.

In this case the villain is plants. trees and grass are emitting some hormone/chemical that fucks with peoples brains and makes them kill themselves. So there are shots of trees and tall grass that is supposed to scare the shit out of you, but it just seems so stupid.

the best scene it towards the end when the 3 main characters find their way to an old house with an old lady who has no contact with the outside world. no electricity no radio, no idea what going on. she's obviously crazy and brings the only real visible danger to the flick.

the conclusion shows the main characters walking into a field, accepting their deaths. the audience is supposed to think, how brave of them to walk on the grass. again still silly.

the score is decent. the imagery is decent. the shots are good, except for a couple of close up shots of the characters that just seem corny. In general though, the film is just disappointing. But i'm sure most you knew that already

wow. movie sounds x 1000

wow, glad I didn't go see it......sounds awful.

SYM · Post by **SYM** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:05 am

Chris McBane wrote:if you go and watch this film and hate it then your just not a very smart person!

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:08 am

Film was atrocious and yet hilarious. Pretty much a modern version of the kind of flicks they used to clown on Mystery Science Theater 3000, filled with all kinds of ridiculous dialogue and awkward pauses. So while it is essentially cinematic detritus, it was extremely enjoyable to watch. Many of the death scenes are shockingly hilarious. If this had been virally marketed in advance with a nod to irony and self-deprecation it could have been this year's Snakes On A Plane. Fantastically retarded.

hustler · Post by **hustler** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:37 am

Paragraph President wrote:Film was atrocious and yet hilarious. Pretty much a modern version of the kind of flicks they used to clown on Mystery Science Theater 3000, filled with all kinds of ridiculous dialogue and awkward pauses. So while it is essentially cinematic detritus, it was extremely enjoyable to watch. Many of the death scenes are shockingly hilarious. If this had been virally marketed in advance with a nod to irony and self-deprecation it could have been this year's Snakes On A Plane. Fantastically retarded.

i cant wait to see it, this movie sounds like its exactly what i enjoy.

A__TRAIN · Post by **A__TRAIN** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:24 am

still illiterate wrote:so I just got back from this.

The acting in this is awful. Marky Mark shouldn't be in movies like this. The female lead(zooey deschanel??) could play a great heroin addict or coma patient, but not a human being. awful casting. John Leguizamo was great in this, but his role is pretty minor.

the story is interesting. something is making people kill themselves. In pretty cool ways actually, driving cars into trees, feeding themselves to lions, etc. But the more information we get, the sillier the whole idea becomes. I mean I understand what he was trying to do, add mystery to the whole confusing situation. But it just doesn't work. I feel like he was trying to make an old timey scare movie where a mundane object/situation mixed with confusion scares the shit out of you.

In this case the villain is plants. trees and grass are emitting some hormone/chemical that fucks with peoples brains and makes them kill themselves. So there are shots of trees and tall grass that is supposed to scare the shit out of you, but it just seems so stupid.

the best scene it towards the end when the 3 main characters find their way to an old house with an old lady who has no contact with the outside world. no electricity no radio, no idea what going on. she's obviously crazy and brings the only real visible danger to the flick.

the conclusion shows the main characters walking into a field, accepting their deaths. the audience is supposed to think, how brave of them to walk on the grass. again still silly.

the score is decent. the imagery is decent. the shots are good, except for a couple of close up shots of the characters that just seem corny. In general though, the film is just disappointing. But i'm sure most you knew that already

my exact thoughts leaving the theatre

cascarrabias · Post by **cascarrabias** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:55 am

So when is M. Night going to be a total joke? Is he already because of Lady In The Water?

still illiterate · Post by **still illiterate** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:11 am

cascarrabias wrote:So when is M. Night going to be a total joke? Is he already because of Lady In The Water?

the thing is, he's a creative guy. He has very original ideas. and I like that he wants to build genuine tension in his flicks. But I don't see how you can trust the guy with a full movie ever again. Maybe he can direct someone else's movie or co-write one. but thats about it.

Brougham33 · Post by **Brougham33** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:57 am

He sucks. This movie sucked. Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan should be directing episodes of Goosebumps on nickelodeon.

The Drunken Poet · Post by **The Drunken Poet** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 10:50 pm

Brougham33 wrote:He sucks. This movie sucked. Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan should be directing episodes of Goosebumps on nickelodeon.

Not even Are You Afraid of the Dark, but Goosebumps. Damn that's cold.

Balzac · Post by **Balzac** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:19 am

i've enjoyed all of his movies (including village and lady in the water). they are all bizarre and not entirely based in reality. they're almost fairytale-ish.

i can see why people are hating on this, but if you like his other movies, this one is right up there.

best death scene is the jeep.

bradlizuck · Post by **bradlizuck** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:39 am

dante from clerks cameo...top ten ever. you only see his eyes.

Smooth Lou · Post by **Smooth Lou** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:24 am

Balzac wrote: i can see why people are hating on this, but if you like his other movies, this one is right up there.

No. It's not. I consider myself a Shyamalan apologist, having not only enjoyed, but actually found reasons to enjoy multiple viewings of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable (his best film by far), Signs and the Village, but with Lady in the Water, and whatever the hell this was, I don't think I will ever trust him with my $9.50 again.

Wahlberg was horribly miscast, there were about 15 different little threads that went nowhere, the scene with the dude getting eaten by a lion was so bad as to make me wonder whether Shyamalan may have been in it for the lulz, but then he went and tried to make it into a serious film by the end. Dude needs to give up being a writer director. Maybe just work on the direction; I agree with Ebert that I would like to see what he would do with someone else's script (and honestly, do you really think any studio would let him make his own ever again?), but otherwise, stay faaaar away from this one.

Love,

Smooth "Would have preferred a big screen adaptation of 'What's Happening!!'" Lou