The Happening

[DylanSkylar]

Trailer:


The other night my best friend, his boyfriend and I went to the movies and saw "The Happening". I haven't liked a M. Night Shyamalan since "The Sixth Sense". So, with this, I was already expecting another bad movie with a twist you would see coming from the start. I, however, went because Zooey Deschanel was in the film and afterall, it was something to do and a chance to see my friends.

Let's just put it into simple review terms-- It was AWFUL. Probably the worst "blockbuster" film I have seen in a very very long time. Not even ten seconds into the opening credits, I looked over to my best friend and laughed "Oh God, this is gonna be about _________". Sure enough, it was! But, it gets even more idiotic with each passing scene. And by the time, the mystery is revealed, and explained in redundant fasion (please we aren't all to stupid to understand the legnthy explanation the first time), the theater was full of laughter! Not a good sign when the film is a horror story showcasing grisly deaths and such. All in all, pretty damn funny.

I can say that the cast all turned in the worst performances of their careers. With such bad dialogue, it is no wonder. To deliver some of the lines they had to work with would be difficult for anyone. Mark Wahlberg has pretty much made a career out of playing the bad guy or naughty boy. Playing a "nice guy" really does not fit him at all in this film. Everytime he tries to show affection or be "cute", it comes off like a bad SNL skit with no meaning! Zooey Deschanel, who often plays the offbeat best friend, girlfriend in most her films, now has a lead role in a Hollywood Blockbuster. With that, any and all talent she once possessed over the past decade or so is thrown out the window as the film finds one shot after another zooming in on her wide-eyed Bambi in a coma stare. John Leguizamo doesn't have enough screen time really worth mentioning! The film feels very rushed. It feels as though the director was on a minimal budget with minimal time to establish anything and basically just settled on the first take of every scene. Doesn't exactly give any of the actors time to fall into their role emotionally or physically.

And, one good thing-- SOUTH PARK is going to have a field day with this movie. I can promise that within a matter of weeks, we will see Cartman's version of the film, and it will be a whole lot more entertaining than the mess of the actual film!

I won't give away the "secret" to the film for those of you who still want to see it. But, I promise you, when you find out, you will be shaking your heads and walking backwards out of the theater!!!
My grade: D- / F (half a star!!!)

Anyone else see this? Want to share thoughts?

 

[luminum]

You know, Ebert gave this movie a good review because he viewed it from the perspective that the movie is really about how people (Whalberg and Dashenel) are forced to change their lives radically when something random and unexplained occurs. I think he looked at the "horror" element as merely being the backdrop/impetus of change and the movie rally being about Whalberg and Dashenel's relationship. Even he noted that people wouldn't like it because there's "very little action," if they were expecting a fast-paced horror thriller.

I can definitely see that. It's similar to a lot of Stephen King's novels and stories where the supernatural element can be relegated to the background and only a means to amplify the character dynamics. I think the movies are so disappointing because of the way they're being billed. I mean, by saying it's his "first R-Rate movie" and all that crap, they're building it up as a super horror thriller. Maybe that's not what he's going for. ::shrug::

Also, as for the spoiler, it's not really that (highlight to see) the plants are "angry" about the planet being mistreated. That's only one explanation that's thrown out in the movie and when it is, few people end up believing it (as shown at the end of the movie). If anything, the whole event that's "happening" is probably meant to be unknown and the reasons why are unimportant (like stated about the bees in the beginning--no one knows why, it just happens). Could it be that everyone dying because of plants (which was never really demonstrated to be fact) is just meant to be a random, unexplained, supernatural event that consequently forces Whalberg and Dashenel (and other people) to reexamine their lives and what's important? If that's the case, the fact that none of what happened is ever truly understood points to it being a plot device and not the central plot itself. Sort of like how King's short story "Home Delivery" isn't really so much about the dead coming to life and killing their living relatives than it is about an uncertain woman taking charge of herself and her life.

And as for the acting, well, Whalberg's never been a great actor and I raised an eyebrow when I saw that Zoey Dashenel got cast in a leading role after her unconvincing stint in SciFi's "Tin Man" miniseries.

I will say that I'm really tired of pseudo-science being used as the basis for horror films. The whole crap with honeybees dying out is not some "mystery phenomenon." There are several postulations, one of which espoused by my parasites professor (who's one of the current authorities) that it's actually the mites that are parasitic on honeybee larvae. European honeybees have been exposed to mites from African honeybees which have a shorter period before they emerge as adult bees. Since European honeybees take longer, the mites are able to suck more blood, meaning that emerging bees cannot pump blood into their new wings and therefore can't fly and thus the death of the colony. Pseudo-science is tiring and I think this is the second movie (Signs) he's done this with.

 

[falconfan]

You know, Ebert gave this movie a good review because he viewed it from the perspective that the movie is really about how people (Whalberg and Dashenel) are forced to change their lives radically when something random and unexplained occurs. I think he looked at the "horror" element as merely being the backdrop/impetus of change and the movie rally being about Whalberg and Dashenel's relationship. Even he noted that people wouldn't like it because there's "very little action," if they were expecting a fast-paced horror thriller.

I can definitely see that. It's similar to a lot of Stephen King's novels and stories where the supernatural element can be relegated to the background and only a means to amplify the character dynamics. I think the movies are so disappointing because of the way they're being billed. I mean, by saying it's his "first R-Rate movie" and all that crap, they're building it up as a super horror thriller. Maybe that's not what he's going for. ::shrug::

Also, as for the spoiler, it's not really that (highlight to see) the plants are "angry" about the planet being mistreated. That's only one explanation that's thrown out in the movie and when it is, few people end up believing it (as shown at the end of the movie). If anything, the whole event that's "happening" is probably meant to be unknown and the reasons why are unimportant (like stated about the bees in the beginning--no one knows why, it just happens). Could it be that everyone dying because of plants (which was never really demonstrated to be fact) is just meant to be a random, unexplained, supernatural event that consequently forces Whalberg and Dashenel (and other people) to reexamine their lives and what's important? If that's the case, the fact that none of what happened is ever truly understood points to it being a plot device and not the central plot itself. Sort of like how King's short story "Home Delivery" isn't really so much about the dead coming to life and killing their living relatives than it is about an uncertain woman taking charge of herself and her life.

And as for the acting, well, Whalberg's never been a great actor and I raised an eyebrow when I saw that Zoey Dashenel got cast in a leading role after her unconvincing stint in SciFi's "Tin Man" miniseries.

I will say that I'm really tired of pseudo-science being used as the basis for horror films. The whole crap with honeybees dying out is not some "mystery phenomenon." There are several postulations, one of which espoused by my parasites professor (who's one of the current authorities) that it's actually the mites that are parasitic on honeybee larvae. European honeybees have been exposed to mites from African honeybees which have a shorter period before they emerge as adult bees. Since European honeybees take longer, the mites are able to suck more blood, meaning that emerging bees cannot pump blood into their new wings and therefore can't fly and thus the death of the colony. Pseudo-science is tiring and I think this is the second movie (Signs) he's done this with.

Ebert gave it a good review because since his near death experience I haven't seen him give anything a bad review.

And the movie would've in fact been far better if no explanation was given but instead it had a half hearted quasi explanation.

 

[luminum]

That's true...I guess it should have just done without the quasi-theories.

 

[-Lance-]

Why does Shamyalan even put his name on the title of his movies?

People really HATE his films. More people probably would've seen the film if he didnt let it be known he created it!

He's just digging himself a hole.

And to be honest, Sixth sense and Signs were decent films, but nothing to go apeshit over.

I go apeshit over batman, go dark knight! lol

 

[NoIAmNotYourFriend]

I don't know if anyone else on here reads Movies in Fifteen Minutes (M15M), but y'all should get on that.

http://community.livejournal.com/m15m/18593.html

The Happening in fifteen minutes. Spoilers. Hilarity. Enjoy.

 

[getoverit]

I did not like it at all. The acting in it is terrible!!!

 

[socalistud3]

i liked it...kinda wanted there to be a more underline meaning and more hidden secrets...

of course staring at Mark for 1 1/2 was awesome except i kept hoping he would take his shirt off for some reason

 

[PhoenixBoy]

On a brighter note, the Wayans brothers have new material to make "Scary Movie 5".

OK, lots of movies have stupid premises, but this one also falls short of the mark in: cinematography, dialog, character development, and a cohesive plot line. At least 15 minutes of this film is nothing but trees and bushes waving in the wind menacingly. Ohhhh scary! NOT!!!

FUNNIEST PART: Mark Wahlberg TALKS TO A PLASTIC PLANT!

 

[PhoenixBoy]

"The Day of the Triffids" WAS A BETTER FILM!!