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Did anyone see "The Happening"?
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I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't buy it or go see it again. 
Is it indeed a true story?
They say it's a true story, though Hollywood is known to stretch the meaning of that (read: Fargo, Man on Fire - both very loosely based on real, but unrelated events/crimes, sandwiched together to make a more interesting story).
I heard there was some similarities between "The Happenings" and the Manson killings, but I won't know until I see it myself.
EDIT: nevermind - I was thinking of "The Strangers".
They say it's a true story, though Hollywood is known to stretch the meaning of that (read: Fargo, Man on Fire - both very loosely based on real, but unrelated events/crimes, sandwiched together to make a more interesting story).
I heard there was some similarities between "The Happenings" and the Manson killings, but I won't know until I see it myself.
EDIT: nevermind - I was thinking of "The Strangers".
You'll probably laugh more than anything.
I hate M. Night Shyamalan in the first place though. Every movie of his has some "twist", and I can't help but to think the "twist" here was that the movie was intended to be more focused on dark humor. The acting was terrible; so bad it almost seemed like it was done on purpose. Even Mark Wahlburg isn't that bad of an actor. I thought the death scenes were hilarious.
I was disappointed at first too, but after thinking about how cheesy and retarded it was, I almost kind of like it.
Still, don't bother seeing it. Rent.
I hate M. Night Shyamalan in the first place though. Every movie of his has some "twist", and I can't help but to think the "twist" here was that the movie was intended to be more focused on dark humor. The acting was terrible; so bad it almost seemed like it was done on purpose. Even Mark Wahlburg isn't that bad of an actor. I thought the death scenes were hilarious.
I was disappointed at first too, but after thinking about how cheesy and retarded it was, I almost kind of like it.
Still, don't bother seeing it. Rent.
***There are very minor spoilers given, though nothing that wouldn't be clear from the previews. Any significant spoilers will be in white.***
I don't do movie reviews so this won't be elaborate, eloquent or particularly moving, I just want to strongly suggest to everyone I possibly can to save your $10 and see... anything else.
If you want the short version of my review: I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how bad it was.
I honestly don't throw this category around blithely, but this was easily one of the worst films I have ever seen. The only thing interesting about it was how it actually managed to be awful in basically every possible way.
One more thing before I dive in: I'm not a Shyamalan hater. Aside from Signs I've enjoyed all of his movies... yes, even The Lady in the Water. My favorite is Unbreakable.
Now, on to the schlock:
Acting
Overall it was amazingly bad. Mark Wahlberg was decent in some moments and very poor in others. Apparently he thinks talking in hushed, wispy tones = being sensitive. Leguizamo... okay, actually I enjoyed him for nearly half of the time he was on camera. He was more held back by the corny and vapid dialogue than anything. Zooey Deschanel was a joke. I hesitated to even put her performance under "acting." The 11 year old co-star had more depth and believability.
Dialogue
Far from believable. It was shallow and imbecilic. The only time it got 'deep' was when everyone was in a panic and racing for their lives... when it should have been shallow and imbecilic.
My favorite part of the dialogue, though, was the delivery. Ever watch SNL when they are making fun of bad acting? One of the easiest tools is to add awkward pauses mid-sentence as if the actor has either forgotten the line or never understood what it actually meant. This happens about six times in the movie...
Direction
Not sure where to put this elsewhere, but the flow, the responses to specific events and situations were an absolute joke. Spoiler-ish: The idea is that the toxin is airborne. So... if someone yells to tell you that you need to close the windows and doors because it is coming, what would be your response? Close the windows and doors, right? Not so in the movie... instead we like to look longingly at our death blowing over the grass so that at the very last second we close the window. "Tension" created out of stupidity.
The Sensationalism (minor spoilers)
Part of the event is that people effectively become suicidal. What's cheesy is that not only are they suicidal, but they also seem to intentionally seek out the most fantastic and graphic way to off themselves. If you're trying to show gory and implausible ways people can commit suicide then make a Faces of Death film. In this movie, people walk past 15 ways to kill themselves simply to set up an elaborate scheme so that it will look cool.
The Happening/the Twist (spoilers in white)
While exaggerated, some of the science actually makes sense. And thus ends the decent twist. What is apparently overlooked - either by Shyamalan or, he hopes, by the viewer - is that the wind is apparently involved. It isn't the plants that chase people, it is the wind. So either the plants are talking to the wind or making the wind. Neither even comes close to making any sense whatsoever, so even the premise of the whole ordeal is pathetic. And that's not even including the made up statistic of "the crest" that eventually saves the day.
And then there is the inconsistency of infection. Throughout the entire movie, groups of people standing next to one another are affected immediately with only two exceptions. Fortunately, those two exceptions (immediately at the beginning and ending of the movie) are willing to provide us with 'coherent' dialogue about those around them, particularly their friend at their side. How convenient.
Blah blah blah... aside from that the soundtrack was tacky and overdone, seemingly every minor character was such a caricature or buffoon that you prayed they never met anyone else, almost no one acted as anyone actually would in a crisis, and the wording of what was going on as "the happening" to keep tying in the movie with the title was so contrived that it made me squirm in my seat much more than any of the senseless gore. And I'm only stopping because this is too long already, not because there isn't more awful to warn you about.
Okay, I'm done rambling. Don't go. You'll thank me.
I don't do movie reviews so this won't be elaborate, eloquent or particularly moving, I just want to strongly suggest to everyone I possibly can to save your $10 and see... anything else.
If you want the short version of my review: I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how bad it was.
I honestly don't throw this category around blithely, but this was easily one of the worst films I have ever seen. The only thing interesting about it was how it actually managed to be awful in basically every possible way.
One more thing before I dive in: I'm not a Shyamalan hater. Aside from Signs I've enjoyed all of his movies... yes, even The Lady in the Water. My favorite is Unbreakable.
Now, on to the schlock:
Acting
Overall it was amazingly bad. Mark Wahlberg was decent in some moments and very poor in others. Apparently he thinks talking in hushed, wispy tones = being sensitive. Leguizamo... okay, actually I enjoyed him for nearly half of the time he was on camera. He was more held back by the corny and vapid dialogue than anything. Zooey Deschanel was a joke. I hesitated to even put her performance under "acting." The 11 year old co-star had more depth and believability.
Dialogue
Far from believable. It was shallow and imbecilic. The only time it got 'deep' was when everyone was in a panic and racing for their lives... when it should have been shallow and imbecilic.
My favorite part of the dialogue, though, was the delivery. Ever watch SNL when they are making fun of bad acting? One of the easiest tools is to add awkward pauses mid-sentence as if the actor has either forgotten the line or never understood what it actually meant. This happens about six times in the movie...
Direction
Not sure where to put this elsewhere, but the flow, the responses to specific events and situations were an absolute joke. Spoiler-ish: The idea is that the toxin is airborne. So... if someone yells to tell you that you need to close the windows and doors because it is coming, what would be your response? Close the windows and doors, right? Not so in the movie... instead we like to look longingly at our death blowing over the grass so that at the very last second we close the window. "Tension" created out of stupidity.
The Sensationalism (minor spoilers)
Part of the event is that people effectively become suicidal. What's cheesy is that not only are they suicidal, but they also seem to intentionally seek out the most fantastic and graphic way to off themselves. If you're trying to show gory and implausible ways people can commit suicide then make a Faces of Death film. In this movie, people walk past 15 ways to kill themselves simply to set up an elaborate scheme so that it will look cool.
The Happening/the Twist (spoilers in white)
While exaggerated, some of the science actually makes sense. And thus ends the decent twist. What is apparently overlooked - either by Shyamalan or, he hopes, by the viewer - is that the wind is apparently involved. It isn't the plants that chase people, it is the wind. So either the plants are talking to the wind or making the wind. Neither even comes close to making any sense whatsoever, so even the premise of the whole ordeal is pathetic. And that's not even including the made up statistic of "the crest" that eventually saves the day.
And then there is the inconsistency of infection. Throughout the entire movie, groups of people standing next to one another are affected immediately with only two exceptions. Fortunately, those two exceptions (immediately at the beginning and ending of the movie) are willing to provide us with 'coherent' dialogue about those around them, particularly their friend at their side. How convenient.
Blah blah blah... aside from that the soundtrack was tacky and overdone, seemingly every minor character was such a caricature or buffoon that you prayed they never met anyone else, almost no one acted as anyone actually would in a crisis, and the wording of what was going on as "the happening" to keep tying in the movie with the title was so contrived that it made me squirm in my seat much more than any of the senseless gore. And I'm only stopping because this is too long already, not because there isn't more awful to warn you about.
Okay, I'm done rambling. Don't go. You'll thank me.
Looks genuinely terrible. I thought the trailer was a spoof. Plus, "The -ing"? Seriously?
The Bloodening ...
The Bloodening ...
Not worth wasting your time or money on.
I like M. Night Shyamaln's stuff generally and wanted to like this too, but it lacks a good twist at the end, some of the acting was a little off and some of the detail that could've been used to take the story through to a decent end just didn't make sense.
Awful movie. I want my $20 back.
Awesome in theory, but apparently not so good in practice. It started out great and I really wanted to enjoy the movie, but somewhere in the middle, it began to feel more like a bad comedy than any kind of respectable horror film. I think it could have worked if some things were done differently, but I'll spare you all the details and just say that if you do plan on seeing it, wait until it's on DVD and rent it.
Awesome in theory, but apparently not so good in practice. It started out great and I really wanted to enjoy the movie, but somewhere in the middle, it began to feel more like a bad comedy than any kind of respectable horror film. I think it could have worked if some things were done differently, but I'll spare you all the details and just say that if you do plan on seeing it, wait until it's on DVD and rent it.
i thought that the acting mad it hard to watch, the story was horrible, and it wasnt scary or suspenseful at all... having said that, it was very funny... it was entertaining, but probably only enough for netflix... not worth seeing in the movies.
What happened to M. Night? Did he have a lobotomy sometime before making this film (or perhaps the one before it)? The Sixth Sense was so wonderful!
i thought unbreakable, the 6th sense, signs, and the village were all amazing movies... his last 2 have been horrible though... i will say that the happening was so much better than lady in the water... that movie was horrible.
I refuse to watch any of his movies after "The Village." To quote my mom leaving the theater after it: "I want a tax write off for a bad money investment." The sad part is everyone who overheard all heartily agreed. I read spoilers for the "The Happening" and started laughing. It's like he just plays Mad Libs to come up with movie scripts.