I actually agree that the fake plant scene was meant to be funny. That was obvious.

agreed.

God awful from beginning to end. If it was truly Shyamalan's intent to make a B-movie, the guy must have an incredibly low opinion of B-movies.

F

I almost ranked this ahead of WALL-E as my favorite film this year so far.

I saw this at the end of June and intitially held off on reviewing until my opinion settled. Walking out of the theater my response was initially a high B-, but the film has aged like a gallon of milk on the sun's surface. All of the people who gave it a good grade, I ask you to reconsider now.

D+

That is the most bizarre thing I've heard it quite a while...

Are you saying that seriously? - - Without a second viewing?!?

I don't see what's bizarre about that?

Well it's not THAT bizarre, but it's a little lame you're assuming just because you felt a certain way a month after seeing it, without even viewing it again, that everyone who gave it a decent grade should reconsider as well.

That's not lame at all. Films linger on in memory. I think it's perfectly reasonable for people to re-form their thoughts on a film once it is placed in a proper perspective. First reactions and second viewings have a biased aspect to them as well.

Meh. I got sort of caught up in the hooplah of the summer season, and I assume most people did as well (what with two of the best movies in the past few years being released in the time since The Happening's release). I assumed most people did the same. I wasn't exactly telling people that their reviews were "wrong" if they thought the movie was good.



Thank you. Digestion is as important to film appreciation as actually watching the movie itself. The movie simply didn't sit well with me, even though it tasted fine going down.

Still feeling the same way about it...

Cool

D-


Whats with this films without a purpose.

I know what you mean, or at least I believe I do.

I'm a huge Shyamalan fan and was dying to see this. I felt how mediocre it was, but as I left the theatre opening day I couldn't help but try to convince myself I loved it. I went into total M. Night apologist mode. "Oh, he wanted certain scenes to be corny," etc., etc. But then I just realized, no, it's not worth it, this is Night being lazy and coasting. Not even coasting very well.

He's still a great DIRECTOR, but the writing here was so awful. I hated the small lines of dialogue which rang so false. For example, how Leguizamo's character said his wife was headed to "the town of Princeton" rather than just Princeton. What man or woman in a high-tension situation, yelling over a loud crowd, is so formal as to say "the town of"? It's a fleeting moment, but it lifted me right ouf of the experience. And it happened again.

The acting was also bad, which surprised me. How/why did Wahlberg and Deschanel forget how to act? They didn't even seem to have any natural acting instincts -- they just seemed completely bored and lost.

I loved the very ending, but the television news scene before it (to hammer home the point) made me gag.

Okay, I believe you.

I guess what I just don't understand, is how you can fool yourself when you're watching the movie in the first place. It seems so different from my own experience of viewing movies (and perhaps why my opinion seems to be so different from many KJers). When I watch a movie, I watch it unfiltered - - I directly experience the movie live. I immediately form my opinion based on the experience I am having. No matter what the reputation of the movie or it's director or it's hype, if I don't enjoy a movie while I'm watching it - - it's a bad movie in my book. Conversely, if I love a movie - - even if it doesn't get a single good review on Rotten Tomatoes or whatever - - it's a great movie to me.

If my opinion of a movie changes, it is never before multiple viewings - - and over decades, not days...

Looks like we're on our own, bradley.

I'm still here.

Also, while a movie like WALL-E is definitely less flawed, I still find The Happening to be far, far more fascinating, in terms of what the hell it is. Does Night think he's making a genuine thriller? Is he making an homage to the horror flicks of the '50s? Is he just totally batshit crazy? Is the scene with passing gun still one of the sweetest one-take deals in a while?

Yeah, still my #3 behind only In Bruges and The Dark Knight. I REALLY want to watch it again.

I left the movie thinking it was about average, but in retrospect that was the Shymalan love convincing the rational side that it was better than it actually is (definitely not average).

I really really want him to direct a script that isn't his own. I have no doubts he could take a mediocre script and turn it into a great movie.

Like I said earlier, digestion is as important to my appreciation of movies as actually watching the movie itself is. A few rare exceptions aside, all of my highest graded movies are movies I love to think about and left a lasting positive impression on my mind for days or weeks afterwards. I never dish out an A+ until I've had time to let the movie sit, because only then does a movie reach "perfection" for me.

Different stroke. Hopefully you still love me Bradley

Seen it twice still like it.

Yes, of course I do...

I do think it gets the job done, as I probably said before. Which is good for the regular blockbuster (and it sure beats alot of them), just not good enough for Shyamalan imo.

It's just too damn weird (bad weird) to put it on a higher level, closer to Lady in the Water, even. And the acting just didn't work for me this time. :\

It's a mess.

Good:

-Great death scenes
-Tension is solid
-The scene with the woman and her daughter on the phone was great
-I cared for the characters

Bad:

-HORRIBLE acting. Serioulsy, wtf. Whalberg and Deschannel are way better than this. I suspect Shyamalan wanted some type of B-movie feel, but he failed miserably.
-Why not make it a worldwide disaster? It would've been much better.
-Moments on uninentional humor ("are those people clawing themselves?")
-Horrible ending. They give closure on the Alma/Elliot story but then end it with a WTF cliffhanger.

The original version of the script that I read was much, much better. I think the studios rejected it and Shyamalan had to do re-writes, but that version was very superior. The ending was great and gave meaning to the movie. This version is just meaningless. What was the point of Elliot and Alma reuniting if the whole world is about to be inmersed in the catastrophe and they'll have to go through the experience all over again? Sequel? Why not just have the first and only happening be worldwide, like in the original script?

Shyamalan, you've let me down for the first time.

C+

This is stuff that should really end careers. Zooey, Marky Mark, M. Night, the whole fucking lot.

I constantly defended M. Night's directing abilities and thought his writing was holding him back in some cases. That argument has totally turned into shit with this film, the directing is even worse than the script, the guy just seems clueless and has been regressing ever since Sixth Sense.

The whole "I was shooting to make the ultimate B-movie" statement is such a pathetic cop out. This is just a BAD movie, nothing redeeming at all (the one scene I did enjoy was Walhberg talking to the fake plant). Everyone involved in this film should be ashamed of themselves.

Grade - F